One moment, Susan Chalfant was enjoying a walk with her dogs in her secluded neighborhood in Seminole County.
Then next, she’s being mauled by a black bear.
A “highly-protective” female bear — a roughly 275-pound beast with three cubs and a diminished fear of humans — gnawed on her face during the terrifying attack a month ago, wildlife officers concluded in report released Tuesday.
Chalfant, 54, was bitten several times in the face, head and neck by the animal in her gated subdivision off Markham Woods Road on Dec. 2 in the most severe bear attack on a human in Florida history.
“That bear was trying to kill me, it just kept coming,” Chalfant said in the report.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s report offers new details about her injuries, which were previously only described as unspecified head wounds.
Investigators concluded Chalfant did nothing to intentionally provoke the bear but the animal could have interpreted the woman as a threat to her three cubs.
Read more: OrlandoSentinel.com
