NAPLES, Fla. – Bears are a common sight in Florida.
They often show up in trees or are spotted rummaging through garbage cans.
But it’s not often you see them hanging out on a boat.
However, that’s exactly what happened at a marina in Naples on Wednesday.
[VIEW VIDEO OF THE BEAR BY CLICKING IN THE MEDIA PLAYER BELOW]
Todd Dillman owns TowBoatUS Naples-Marco Island, and he says the encounter was “mind-blowing.”
He said he was towing boats at Royal Harbor in Naples when he first spotted the bear.
When he came back to the area about 45 minutes later, he said it was hanging out on a sailboat.
“I couldn’t believe it actually, it would have had to have jumped in, swam across the bay, got up on the dock and then into the boat,” he said.
He said he stuck around for another 45 minutes taking videos of the bear.
“He was just kind of going back and forth, you know, from the bow to the stern, port (to) starboard, just kind of walking around looking at stuff. He didn’t seem to be agitated or worried about anybody or anything,” he said.
After lingering for a while, Dillman said he went home, but the bear did not.
“I know that later on that evening he ended up running through 9th street, kinda by downtown and stuff like that,” he said.
News 6 reached out to the Naples Police Department. The public information officer, Lt. Bryan McGinn, said officers are working with wildlife officials to make sure the bear makes it back to the woods.
McGinn said there are no plans to capture it, as there has been no risk to human life or property.
He said the bear could be one of three recently spotted in the area and is urging the public to “leave the bear alone and he will hopefully find his way back to the woods soon.”
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