LONGWOOD, Fla — It’s the time of the year when experts say bears are on the move in Central Florida, and a Longwood man says he recently experienced how dangerous it can be to come across one of them.

This year officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission say thousands of bear encounters have been reported in Central Florida.

They say most encounters go smoothly, and no one gets hurt, but there have been times when homeowners have been injured.

Stuart Peisner says a recent encounter with a bear nearly put him in the later category.

Going for a walk is something he and his dog, Sable, do daily. Peisner said loves his neighborhood because of the large lots and nearby Wekiwa Springs State Park.

He has walked area streets for many years without issue, even though bears in the area are not uncommon.

“It’s not a shock in the 30 years my mother has lived here and the 15 years I have lived here, we have seen bears on a regular basis,” Peisner said.

The animals turn up often in this Longwood neighborhood — FWC officials say close to 3,000 bear-related calls were received in Central Florida this year.

Peisner was one of those calls.

“So, the bear came out from here — it was about six o’clock in the morning and the bear started charging us," he said. "And I let go of the leash and the dog went backwards, the other way. And I just stood yelling at the bear, and I slipped and fell, scraping me knees. And I was getting up, and the bear was about 2 feet from me, snapping its jaws.”

Peisner said it was a frightening walk through his own neighborhood and said the bear was likely after his dog.

“It was the absolute scariest thing that has happened to me," he said. "To have a large, aggressive male bear charge you — that is certainly capable of doing significant physical damage to you, if not killing you.”

While responding to a report of a bear in a Central Florida neighborhood, Mike Orlando, who has been going on bear calls with the FWC since the 90s, said that bear sightings during this time of year are common. 

"In this case, we're not sure why (the bear) was sleeping on the side of someone's house," Orlando said. "We think it could have something to do with it's almost season for hibernation, where a lot of bears will get gat in the fall. We call that hyperphagia."

In 2022, Orlando said FWC has captured a total of 47 bears in Central Florida.

For his part, Peisner said he learned a lesson from his encounter with a bear.

“I keep my can of bear spray on me at all times," he said. "Whether it’s dark or not dark, just as a preventative measure.”

Another preventative measure is his bear-proof garbage can— experts say bears love what people throw away — which is mandatory in Peisner's community.

“It is a bear-proof can that is designed to keep the bears out of your garbage," he said.

For Peisner and Sable, with the bears are getting ready to go into hibernation, hopefully fewer bear sightings happen during their walks.