“The bear, estimated at about 6-feet tall, was first spotted by a Tampa Police officer at about 5:30 a.m. The officer was responding to an unrelated call when he saw a large animal running by. At first he wasn’t sure if it was a bear or a very large dog. He determined that it was a bear and attempted to follow it.” This was reported by WFLA in Tampa.
We heard the police helicopters above our house early this morning but we never know. We have had escaped convicts in our area, hospital emergencies, reported alligators swimming nearby but never so close a black bear. This morning, I went walking with my hand and leg weights for exercise about an hour going the other direction, so I missed the news crews and reporters 4 blocks down the street from us. We face some interesting challenges in Florida. I am usually more afraid of what is under my feet as pythons were rumored to be set free after owners could no longer afford them. Sometimes we keep our eyes wide open at the people walking around the area. Everyone seems to visit Florida and since we are in a very eclectic neighborhood, we keep our eyes open.
This is the first time a black bear has been that close to us.
I am glad I brought the weights with me although not sure if I would have been looking up at the trees. Just a thought.
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Oh my gosh you have all kinds of animals over there! Wow
Yes, we do. The snakes are reported usually further South but we have a large park near here called Tacoma where I walk with the pug all the time. I don’t think I will be walking there again. This was a baby bear and now they are trying to find the mama. Just to give you an idea of the busyness of the area, it is near Busch Gardens, Adventure Park..tourist areas.
Wow that is crazy!
Busch Gardens crew helped locate the bear and now it will be relocated to the wild. It was not from Busch Gardens. It would have been a shock for anyone walking their dog at 5:30 this morning.
and if we still had the store, we would have been travelling that route at 5:30 a.m.
My goodness, you’ve got a zoo going on. I wonder at those owners who get pets and let them off like that. What irresponsible behaviour! Isn’t it better to them to an animal shelter or so?
That may be the case with snakes. Never heard of anyone keeping a bear around. This bear had to cross a 6 lane highway at some time to get here: Fowler, Busch, and 30th! It is probably one of my walking haunts which I definitely will ignore now! Now in Dubai, and AD, there were some natives who kept some interesting cats as pets!
Yes indeed, I’ve heard of the big cats owned by natives. You should keep your distance for a bit until its taken back into safety or moved along.