Man Saves a Bear from Drowning in the Ocean

Adam Warwick is a hero. This wildlife officer took off his clothes and plunged into the ocean to go after a bear weighing 364 pounds, to save its life. The bear had been hit by a tranquilizer dart and surely would have drowned otherwise. It had been found roaming in a beachfront community in Florida.

From The Daily Telegraph:

Wildlife officer Mr Warwick, 29, who works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission-wasted no time in stripping off to help.

”I wasn’t sure what I was going to do when I jumped in,” he said.

”It was a spur of the moment decision, I had a lot of adrenaline pumping.

”I was swimming towards the bear, trying to prevent him from swimming into deeper water.

”He was losing function in his arms and legs, and was obviously in distress. I knew I had to keep him from drowning.

”The clearly confused bear looked at me as if he was either going to go by, through or over me . . . and at times he even looked as if he was just going to climb on top of me to keep from drowning,’ he said.

As the animal struggled to keep its head above water, Mr Warwick slipped one arm under the bear to cradle its body and clamped the other on to the scruff of its neck, dragging it ashore.

That’s quite a feat of strength, and bravery to boot. Once Warwick got the bear onto the beach, a local resident used his mechanical digger to lift the bear the rest of the way out of the water. The bear was later released into a state national forest.

Link [The Daily Telegraph]

Bicyclist Injured After Hitting a Bear in Colorado

Normally, we hear stories about bicyclists having run-ins with vehicles while out on the streets. In this case, however, the obstacle that one cyclist unexpectedly ran into had claws and sharp teeth. Tim Egan, 53, was riding in Boulder, Colorado one afternoon and hit a speed of 45 mph when a bear suddenly appeared in front of him.

From Rocky Mountain News:

This bear looked at me with a look of terror on his face and sort of made a noise,” said Egan. “I looked at him with a look of terror and we went, ‘aaaahhhhh.’”

He cracked some ribs, suffered cuts on his head and had road rash. Egan said he and the bike flipped and flew over the bear, hitting the pavement hard.

The bear ran away after the accident when a deer appeared.

Afterwards, he got back on his bike and pedaled to a hospital.

I guess I’d rather hit a bear than a tree – it’s at least softer – though trees don’t chew on your foot after you hit them.

Link [Rocky Mountain News]
Photo credit Daquella Manera

Because You Can Train Bears to Do Just About Anything: The Hockey Edition

Great FSM! This video of a bear playing hockey disturbs me on a deep level. That thing would be a monster in a hockey fight.

Bears belong in forests.