Hairdressed Juli Roberts shot this photo of a bear outside her salon Thursday.
Hairdresser Juli Roberts shot this photo of a bear outside her salon Thursday.
Juli Robert shot this photo of a bear climbing a tree outside her hair salon.
Juli Roberts shot this photo of a bear climbing a tree outside her hair salon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Juli Roberts came to Florida expecting to find gators in the water, but not bears up a tree.

But that’s exactly what happened Thursday at Roberts’ VIP Hair Salon on 111 East Lady Lake Blvd.
“I’m from Cincinnati and back home we go to the zoo to see wildlife,” Roberts said Friday. “I’ve seen gators in the water but now I’m finding bears about 10 feet from the front door of my hair salon.”
On Thursday evening, Roberts spotted a couple of black bears outside the salon door, and they were a lot bigger than Yogi and Boo-Boo.
“There were real, live bears climbing up the tree,” she said. “The mama bear was in the bigger tree and the baby bear was up in the smaller one.”
Roberts said she first spotted the two bears late in the afternoon and they were still hanging around when the salon closed in the early evening. She said there had been reports of bears in the surrounding area.
Roberts took a couple of pictures of the bears and said she also called Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. She said she was told to remove all garbage and food and anything else that might attract the bears. FFW cautioned her that bears can be dangerous and to stay away from them, she said.
“I wasn’t planning  to take them home,” Roberts said. But she said the bears were kind of “cute” in their own way.

Juli Roberts
Juli Roberts

“I call the big one Charley,” she said. “My grandpa’s name was Charley.”
Florida Fish and Wildlife offers advice on bears at its web site,    http://myfwc.com/conservation/you-conserve/wildlife/black-bears/
To keep bears away from homes and property, FFW states:

  • Secure household garbage in a shed, garage or a wildlife-resistant container.
  • Put household garbage out on morning of pickup rather than the night before.
  • Secure commercial garbage in bear-resistant dumpsters.
  • Protect gardens, apiaries, compost and livestock with electric fencing.
  • Encourage your homeowners association or local government to institute ordinances on keeping foods that attract wildlife secure.
  • Feed pets indoors or bring in dishes after feeding.
  • Clean grills and store them in a locked, secure place.
  • Remove wildlife feeders or make them bear resistant.
  • Pick ripe fruit from trees and remove fallen fruit from the ground – bears love fruit!
  • Screened enclosures are not secure and will not keep bears out.