Tampa residents in this neighborhood near Busch Gardens and Adventure Island got their own unique dose of adventure and excitement on Tuesday morning, when a black bear chose to take a nap in a tree in the residential area.
Nearby resident Amos Brown didn’t want to go to work when he woke up that morning, little did he know he was about to be given one of the best (if not most bizarre) reasons he couldn’t go in – there was a bear outside his house.
“I didn’t want to go to work. I said, ‘Oh God, I gotta go to work today.’ It wasn’t five minutes later, I hear, ‘boom boom boom.’ Loud knock on the door. It’s the police. ‘Don’t come to your door, there’s a bear in your backyard!’ That’s all I needed to hear. That’s divine intervention!” Brown laughed.
Brown looked outside and noticed the bear had posted up and made himself comfortable right outside his window.
“About 20 minutes later he went to the side, climbed the tree. Then, all the sudden, cameras, reporters, police. Oh my God, it was action,” said Brown.
The 250-pound bear was first seen around 5:30 am, as it was running down the road, by a Tampa police officer. It was so unexpected, the officer wondered if it was actually just a big dog.
The bear was eventually tranquilized after police, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission and a trapper surrounded the home.
Image: Fox13.com
The bear was later taken off in a cage to be relocated to the Apalachicola National Forest.
It’s unknown how the bear got as far into town as her did, but with development infringing on the bears’ natural habitat, occurrences like this may become more common, especially with an unchecked bear population.
FWC is set to consider holding a second bear hunt this fall with some controversy.
