Black bear relocated for second time after being shot down from back garden tree

A black bear that was captured in a Tampa, Florida, neighbourhood has been released back into the wild. Eloy Perez said if someone told him his morning walk would ever involve a bear, he wouldn’t believe them. That is until Friday morning.



“I noticed when I looked, there was a bear on the ground. Like three feet away from the dog,” said Perez. Perez said when he called 911, they couldn’t believe it either. "I told them there was a bear in my backyard and I guess they thought I was crazy," he said.


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"I know that they exist in Florida but never seen one down here," said neighbour Bruce Cohen. "When you go up towards Chasawista, that’s bear country - but not Tampa!” Deputies and wildlife officers responded to the scene, and they shot the bear with a tranquilizer dart. The official shot him again several minutes later, and the bear fell out of the tree.



Officials said the bear, which appears to weigh about 400 pounds, has a tag, which means he has interacted with humans before. According to FWC spokesman Gary Morse, the bear was originally found in Orlando months ago. Wildlife officials trapped him and took him to the Ocala National Forest, which is where officials have relocated him again.

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