AN American man in Florida shot and killed a 180-kg black bear after it broke into his house two nights in a row to get to a bag of dog food, a state wildlife officer said Friday.

    “I felt in danger enough that since it wouldn’t leave I had to shoot it,” said Victor Peters of Lady Lake of the Wednesday night incident in a video interview posted online by the Orlando Sentinel.

    Killing a bear in Florida is illegal. Wildlife officer Greg Workman of the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation said he would hand the case to prosecutors this week for their consideration at the completion of his investigation.

    “It sounds like he did what he could do to try to keep the bear from coming back,” Workman said. “We’re looking at all sides to make the best decision.”

    Bears and humans cross paths, occasionally fatally for the animals, in Central Florida where sprawling subdivisions have sprung up in former bear habitat and along their natural corridors around the Ocala National Forest.

    In a previous case this year, seven bears were euthanized in April by wildlife officers in the search for the culprit after one grabbed a Lake Mary woman by the head outside her home.

    Peters called 911 Tuesday evening after the bear entered his glassed-in porch by smashing out the metal-framed windows to get the dog food, Workman said.

    At the direction of wildlife officers, Peters removed the dog food from his porch, but the bear returned Wednesday evening. (SD-Agencies)