Go ahead and add refrigerated booze to the list of bear necessities.
Leave to the state of Florida to produce an outdoors video like this one. Often times, the headlines focus on the men in Florida. You’ve probably clicked on plenty of “Florida man” stories before… I know I have. But occasionally, the crazy stories swing towards the wild animals of the Sunshine State, and this one in particular apparently has fine taste in alcohol.
The black bear is the only species of bear that calls Florida home, and it’s estimated that around 4,000 wander freely in the state. The one in this video was down in the Naples area, and was making itself rather comfortable in the patio area of the house owned by Florida resident Celine Emerson.
She told WSVN 7 that she noticed something was up when she went outside and their outdoor fridge was ajar. Emerson told her husband to check the security camera footage to see if anything showed up. Sure enough, a well-positioned camera captured it all. The black bear that had come through an unlocked side gate was literally standing up with its paws on the countertop, looking for something to wash down some trash that he had just eaten.
The big ol’ bear eventually had some luck with the nearby, outdoor fridge. It opened it with ease, and helped itself to some booze that was being stored within. Emerson still can’t believe the video that her and her husband’s security system recorded:
“Oh, it was just crazy, it was so unusual to see it, like, so close to us. It was a little scary seeing him out here, and then when he stood up, he looked pretty tall, like 6 feet.”
There’s no doubt that this Florida black bear is a big one.
The motivation of its garbage and booze-filled raid was probably to fatten up for the winter season. It’s important to note that bears in warmer climates – like Florida – don’t hibernate for as long as fellow species members in colder places on the planet. However, they still bulk up during this time of the year… and evidently don’t pass up alcohol either.
Emerson says the black bear first ate trash in the front yard before it wandered back to her patio to make himself a drink (an iced tea vodka, to be exact):
“It ate the trash in the front yard for 30 minutes. I figured he was thirsty.”
And he got exactly what he needed to quench that thirst, as you can see:
@abcnewsA bear wandered into a Naples, Florida home, making a pit stop at the fridge, where it stole a refreshing alcoholic beverage. A bear wandered into a Naples, Florida home, making a pit stop at the fridge, where it stole a refreshing alcoholic beverage.
Emerson’s Naples, Florida neighborhood is now on high alert, and is making sure to bear proof as much as possible. The homeowner says she’ll make sure to lock her gate from now on too… and I’d imagine the Emerson household might also explore not leaving the black bear’s favorite drink out in the patio fridge.
