A mother bear and her two cubs made a visit to an Immokalee neighborhood this weekend, and the encounter was all caught on camera.Neighbors in the Arrowhead Reserve community say the bear family has become a regular sight, but seeing them during the day was something new.Video taken Saturday shows the bears wandering through yards and digging through trash on Bush Street West. In another clip, one of the cubs walks right up to a home and rips the screen off a window.The woman who recorded the video told Gulf Coast News she was about to take her two small children to get the mail when she looked outside and saw the bears. She said they’ve been showing up more often as more homes go up nearby.Another resident, Sully Balderas, said she was scrolling on Facebook when she saw the videos and realized they were taken right near her home.“My heart started pounding. I was home alone with my kids,” Balderas said. “And just to think, I had my son come outside and throw trash in the bin.”FGCU biology professor Dr. Nora Demers said development across Southwest Florida is pushing wildlife like bears closer to people.“The amount of development that’s happening in Southwest Florida is phenomenal,” Demers said. “You’ve got gated communities where they’re putting the houses right up to the conservation areas because they’re higher value there.”The Arrowhead Reserve community sits next to the CREW and Corkscrew Swamp sanctuaries, key habitats for Florida black bears.FWC reminds residents to secure trash cans, bring pet food indoors, and never approach or feed bears.DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.
IMMOKALEE, Fla. —
A mother bear and her two cubs made a visit to an Immokalee neighborhood this weekend, and the encounter was all caught on camera.
Neighbors in the Arrowhead Reserve community say the bear family has become a regular sight, but seeing them during the day was something new.
Video taken Saturday shows the bears wandering through yards and digging through trash on Bush Street West. In another clip, one of the cubs walks right up to a home and rips the screen off a window.
The woman who recorded the video told Gulf Coast News she was about to take her two small children to get the mail when she looked outside and saw the bears. She said they’ve been showing up more often as more homes go up nearby.
Another resident, Sully Balderas, said she was scrolling on Facebook when she saw the videos and realized they were taken right near her home.
“My heart started pounding. I was home alone with my kids,” Balderas said. “And just to think, I had my son come outside and throw trash in the bin.”
FGCU biology professor Dr. Nora Demers said development across Southwest Florida is pushing wildlife like bears closer to people.
“The amount of development that’s happening in Southwest Florida is phenomenal,” Demers said. “You’ve got gated communities where they’re putting the houses right up to the conservation areas because they’re higher value there.”
The Arrowhead Reserve community sits next to the CREW and Corkscrew Swamp sanctuaries, key habitats for Florida black bears.
FWC reminds residents to secure trash cans, bring pet food indoors, and never approach or feed bears.
DOWNLOAD the free Gulf Coast News app for your latest news and alerts on breaking news, weather, sports, entertainment, and more on your phone or tablet. And check out the Very Local Gulf Coast app to stream news, entertainment and original programming on your TV.