A juvenile black bear that caused a stir in Orlando's College Park neighborhood Tuesday continued to hang out after neighbors thought he was gone.
- College Park bear hung out in tree for more than 5 hours
- Bear was shooed out with paintball gun
- Bear was spotted soon later about a block away
The bear huddled in an oak tree at a residence on Country Club Drive for more than five hours, drawing a crowd of onlookers, before a contractor with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission shot at it with a paintball gun to shoo it down and away.
But it was soon spotted again about a block away.
Tim Wise, who moved into the neighborhood about six months ago, said he and his family love the area for the peace and quiet. So he said he was pretty shaken up when he noticed something up in a tree in his backyard.
“It gave me the weebie jeebies,” Wise said.
Wise snapped a couple of pictures before hurriedly heading back inside. The bear then continued its College Park adventure, heading into Bob Truluck’s yard.
Truluck said he went into the backyard to find out what his dogs were barking at and quickly realized that was not the best idea.
“(I was) walking around the corner, and there is a bear from me to you," he said. "I'm not the Bear Whisperer, so we left him alone.”
The black bear finally scampered off, leaving residents wondering if and when it would be back.
FWC officials said if the bear is left alone, it will likely return to its home in the woods. There is no immediate plan to try to trap or tranquilize the bear unless it shows some form of aggression.