Juvenile black bear saves self from tree in Naples, runs back into woods

NAPLES, Fla. (WINK) — A juvenile black bear garnered some attention after getting itself stuck in a tree in Naples, then lowering itself and running back into the nearby woods. 

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission responded to the stranded male black bear near Immokalee Road and Interstate 75 on Wednesday.

The tree branch the bear was lounging on hung over the lane to enter the Tarpon Bay Shopping Center. The bear was perched on the branch for two to three hours through the heat, and then the wind and rain.

Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers on scene said they hoped the bear would come down on his own, avoid the cars traveling through the busy intersection, and make it to the nearby wooded area. Around 2:30 p.m., the bear worked his way down the tree, paw over paw, and got to the bottom before dashing across the street to freedom.

"He's probably wondering why there are so many people watching him," Dominic Sampaio said.

Sampaio was having lunch with his grandmother when he saw FWC officers in the bank's entryway. He then looked up and saw the bulk of black fur through the branches.

"I live near the estates, so we always see a bear, but I would expect the bear to be over there, not down here, like I said earlier," Sampaio said. "But yeah, no, I would never expect it to be in a tree."

Sampaio said seeing the bear in such an unexpected location was surprising.

"I think it's pretty cool, but it's just you wouldn't expect it in the middle of, like, a restaurant area across the bank, in a bank parking lot, especially," Sampaio said.

FWC officers watched the young black bear take a dip in a retention pond across the street, then work his way into the woods away from people. They made sure the bear reached a safe area, but did not need to intervene.

Nick Velders and his family are visiting from the Netherlands and watched the bear in the tree on their way to lunch. They then watched the bear come down after they had finished.  

"I'm not from here, and I know Florida is crazy, and there's a lot of wildlife here, but I'd never expect to see a bear here," Velders said. "Maybe in the state park."

Velders said Florida is living up to its reputation, that you never know what's going to happen.

"We just went to, like, a park this morning, and we saw two gators and a raccoon," Velders said. "But, like, I never expected to see the bear here."

FWC officers said they couldn't have hoped for a better outcome. The bear is now safely far from people and cars.

The footage below shows the descending black bear and its subsequent escape.