DESTIN, Fla. – A crowded beach in Florida had an unexpected toothy creature come out of the Gulf of Mexico on Saturday when a black bear swam out of the water.
Beachgoer Chris Barron shared a video on Twitter showing the Florida black bear feet away from people in the water as it swam onshore.
A child can be heard exclaiming, “That’s a bear!” while others say, “Aw!”
Barron said the bear swam right beside his 12-year-old son, and at first, he feared it might be a shark.
“The bear was out pretty far. A lot of people started swimming in. I was worried it was a shark. I walked over and thought it was a dog,” Barron said.
The furry encounter didn’t freak people out as much as seeing a bear in the water surprised them.
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“No one expected to see a bear in the Gulf of Mexico,” Barron said.
The bear didn’t stick around for a teddy bear picnic and quickly ran off into the dunes.
It was a hot day in Destin with temperatures in the lower 90s on Saturday, so it’s no surprise the black bear wanted to cool off.
The FOX Forecast Center is tracking temperatures in the lower 90s this week for the Florida Panhandle, along with the potential for severe weather.
Florida black bears can be found throughout the Sunshine State, sometimes in downtown neighborhoods.
Bear and human encounters do happen, but a majority of the complaints the Florida Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) receives about bears are general encounters and bears getting in the garbage. Still, dangerous interactions with bears do happen.
According to data from the FWC, the black bear population in the Florida Panhandle has been on the rise. From 2002 to 2015, the population in the eastern Panhandle increased by 86%. Overall, about 4,000 black bears live in Florida.