Three Florida residents have been arrested for illegally feeding black bears in the same neighborhood where a woman was almost mauled to death by a bear in April, the Orlando Sentinel reported.
Wildlife authorities say the Seminole County residents have continuously fed the black bears over the last year, an offense that experts warn can lower the animals' fear of humans and lead to attacks.
In April, 44-year-old Terri Frana was nearly mauled to death by a bear in her driveway in the gated community of the Carisbrooke.
From September 2013 to this March, Frana's neighbor, Eugene Cifers, had been "intentionally feeding bears, allowing bears access to food and/or garbage multiple times," according to a complaint from the Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission obtained by the newspaper.
The 63-year-old pled not guilty to the misdemeanor charges on Friday. Another Seminole County couple pled no contest to the charges the same day. They were fined $200 and received six months probation.
Wildlife officials caught on to the bear-feeding after seven of the animals were put down following Frana's attack. The Carisbrooke bears were "unusually food conditioned and highly habituated," causing them to be extremely dangerous to humans," Mike Orlando, a FWC wildlife biologist, told the Orlando Sentinel.
Supporters of Cifers say they can't imagine him ever hurting animals.
"He has a lifelong history of supporting environmental causes in Florida," Patrick Rose, executive director of the Save the Manatee Club, of which Cifers is a board member.
The couple that was fined, 28-year-old Corey Zeak and Lori Clem, 29, said they did not knowingly feed the bears.
"We left a bag of trash out," Clem said as they appeared before the judge, the newspaper reported. "I had three children to take care of. It's something I forgot."
But FWC officials claim the two received several warnings not to leave their garbage out and throw their leftovers on their front lawn. The judge issued a final warning to the pair as he fined them $200 each.
"You don't want to do this again," Judge Fred Schott said. "You may get mauled or killed next time."
