Beary thirsty.
A sly black bear snuck into a Florida homeowner’s backyard and helped itself to an alcoholic drink and tasty meal of trash over the weekend.
The grizzly bandit ran through an unlocked gate and made himself at home on Naples resident Celine Emerson’s back patio, WSVN reported.
“I turned around and saw the refrigerator was open, and I was like, I yelled at my husband, you know, ‘Can you check the cameras?’” homeowner Celine Emerson told the local station.
Emerson then caught a glimpse of the furry intruder, which she estimated stood about 6 feet tall.
“Oh, it was just crazy, it was so unusual to see it, like, so close to us,” she recalled.
“It was a little scary seeing him out here, and then when he stood up, he looked pretty tall, like 6 feet,” she added.
The stunned homeowner said the bear swiped an alcoholic drink from her outdoor fridge after munching on some trash in her front yard.
“It ate the trash in the front yard for 30 minutes. I figured he was thirsty,” Emerson quipped.
The next morning after the bear’s unexpected intrusion, the Naples resident found a large paw print on her counter.
Emerson said she’s learned her lesson to “maybe” start closing her gate after the hungry creature’s break-in.
“We don’t close it when we leave, come and go at nighttime,” she admitted.
“So maybe that, as our granddaughter gets older, obviously, you know, we’re going to be a little more cautious with things like that,” Emerson said.
Bears typically eat more during the fall season to build up fat reserves in preparation for hibernation during the winter months, which can lead to more encounters with people, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.
Black bears, specifically, are found in several areas within the Sunshine State and have an estimated population of around 4,000.
