Two Alligator Point, Florida, residents were greeted by a 400lb black bear on their front porch as they looked out of their window.
Wildlife authorities sedated the hungry beast in an attempt to return him to his home in Osceola National Forest, but little did they know how things would turn out.
Upon being hit by a tranquilizer dart, the bear began swimming toward the ocean.
Had the drugs not kicked in, this would have been an enjoyable moment for the bear.
Observing the struggling bear, Adam Warwick, a biologist with the Wildlife Commission, jumped into the water after it as it began to drown.
” My colleague looked at me and I said, ‘I need to go out there and stop him.’ So I jumped in the water and swim toward him to head him off and keep him from going deeper into the water,” Warwick said.
Seeing the helpless bear in the water dying made me make a sudden decision. As soon as I saw him, I had a rush of adrenaline pumping through me.”
It didn’t take him long to grab the enormous bear and pull him toward the shore.
Despite losing more and more feeling in his body, the bear became heavier and leaned on Adam more, but Adam was unfazed by his weight.
In order to get the bear onto a truck, he had to be hoisted up using a tractor bucket.
In order to ensure the bear’s safety, Adam accompanied him back to his home so he could sleep off the tranquilizer.
CBS News originally reported the story in 2008, but it resurfaces every now and then on social media – and it’s great!
We hope he will stay in the area he knows for the rest of his life.
