A woman who attempted to pet a 400 pound black bear in Dade City at a captive wildlife facility was bitten on Friday afternoon.
According to Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Beryl Martin, 50-year-old Virginia Riggs was flown to Tampa General Hospital. She is in critical condition, officials said.
Martin said she suffered severe damage to her right arm.
The Florida black bear's name is Abner.
The facility that houses Abner, called Wildlife Haven, is licensed by the FWC. Wildlife Haven is a sanctuary for wild animals and also an animal rehab facility.
Wildlife Haven has released the following statement regarding the incident:
"As you can hopefully understand, the members of our rescue that were present this afternoon are pretty shaken over what happened, and we will unfortunately not be able to make any appearances this evening. However, we hope the following will provide some clarity.
"Earlier this afternoon, a friend of Wildlife Haven Sanctuary went beyond the secondary safety barrier of our bear enclosure and reached inside for reasons that are unknown at this time. As a result of that interaction, the individual was grabbed by one of the bears and suffered serious injuries. Our thoughts and prayers are with her and we ask the community to pray for her recovery, as well.
"We are working with local and state authorities to assist with their investigation and are complying fully.
"As a result of this incident, we will be conducting our own internal review of our policies and procedures to determine how this happened, and we will do everything in our power to make sure that nothing like this ever happens again. We will work with the state to determine whatever is best for the bear and for public safety."