On Sunday, June 11, 2023, a black bear was spotted swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near Silver Dunes condominium in Destin, Florida.
In video compilation from several beachgoers today, you can see the small bear swimming in the Gulf of Mexico before making its way up the beach safely. As the crowd began to form, the bear quickly made its way through a line of beach chairs heading for the dunes.
- At the time of this writing, there have been no reports of where the bear originated from or where it went after leaving the beach.
Footage captured by Jennifer Smith, Jan Graham, Steffani Saddler, and multiple beachgoers.
15 Responses
Damn good reporting, thanks for sharing this with us
Hope it didn’t run on 98 no chance it survived. Poor baby. That’s what all the over building is doing running native animals out of their homes
This time of year the traffic hardly moves on hwy 98. Easy for a bear to get across.
Awesome story appreciate the share!. Bring on more.
Omg..I LOVE IT! HE was hot Ă nd just wanted a little swim swim! Aahhhh sweet fella! That is crazy and so cute at the same time! However it does make me sad to think that they are being forced out of where they live( ya know that we need more houses and malls ,the wild life be damned!sad!
Okay, who saw the bear go into the water? Anyone? Where didi he come from ???
Sad. This is going to happen more often than not. Their homes are being destroyed do to overpopulated human growth. Developers destroying every shred of woods . People seem to forget for every land cleared an animal loses their home. Bears , deer , turtles , birds , armadillos, possums, wild hogs , foxes the list goes on. Share the land with other living souls.
It looks very thin adolescent and desperate to get out where all the people are. Poor baby I feel so sorry for the wildlife like we needa clear more land for greedy A-holes. I pray it makes it somewhere safe and that it prospers
One sentence? That’s a report?
There wasn’t a lot to go off for the story. At the moment, all we have is video footage of the bear until we hear back from FWC.
There’s a bear in Grayton that loves to raid the trash cans. He’s about six feet tall when he stands on his hind legs.
Hell yes I love every minute of it Arkansas
Everyday more and more building tearing down every last patch of trees left they are being forced out of their homes with no where to go! Sad really❤️
If the bear originated where it landed..someone would have seen it enter the water. I say the bear was distressed and lucky to have made it to the beach. Hopefull FWC can figure it out. He could have been “bear paddling” for hours….hope he gets help if he/she needs it…..really strange.
Funny, but unfortunately, lots of wildlife are losing their natural habitats in the state of Florida. Hopefully, the bear made it to a wooded area that might be safe for it to stay but with the high temps he or she may be back in the water & on the beach another day.