Bear Takes Alcoholic Drink From Florida Backyard Fridge

A black bear entered Celine Emerson’s property near Naples, Florida, through an unlocked gate and, according to Emerson, took an alcoholic drink from an outdoor refrigerator before eating rubbish in the yard. Emerson said she noticed the refrigerator was open and asked her husband to check the home’s security cameras. She said the footage showed the bear entering the property and going to the refrigerator. The reports describe the drink as alcoholic; one account identifies it as a Sun Cruiser beverage. The bear spent about 30 minutes eating rubbish in the front yard, Emerson said. She described the encounter as unusual and unsettling, and estimated that the animal looked about six feet tall when it stood upright. That was her visual estimate, not a measured height. The next morning, Emerson said, she found a large paw print on her counter. She acknowledged that the gate had been left open and said the family would be more cautious about securing it, particularly as their granddaughter grows older. The account does not establish how the bear reached the refrigerator or whether it entered the home itself; reports describe it in the backyard and patio area. The Florida Fish and...