Man attacked by bear while trying to scare it off outside home, FL officials say

A man was trying to scare off two black bears running across a front yard in Florida when one attacked him, authorities said.

The bear scratched and bit him, and now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission is searching for it.

The incident happened as the man was leaving home in Apopka around 4 a.m. Aug. 15, the FWC said.

He spotted the pair of juvenile bears as he walked out and yelled to encourage them to leave, but one didn’t listen.

“For some odd reason, he turned around, did more stutter steps towards me and bit my arm and then clawed my rib cage,” Alexander Rojas told WESH. “I was able to kick his feet out and knock him in the nose.”

Rojas shared Ring footage with WKMG showing the moment one bear charged him as he appeared trapped right outside the front door.

“I called my girlfriend, and she had heard me screaming, and I was telling her to bring me towels, I was bleeding all over the ground,” he told WESH.

He went to a hospital, where he said he received rabies and tetanus shots.

FWC staff said they responded to the area Aug. 21 and set a trap on the property where the attack occurred to try to capture the bear.

Apopka is about a 20-mile drive northwest from downtown Orlando.

This story was originally published August 26, 2025 at 5:33 PM with the headline "Man attacked by bear while trying to scare it off outside home, FL officials say."