Search
Close this search box.

Bear spotted swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near Destin, Florida

On Sunday, June 11, 2023, a black bear was spotted swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near Silver Dunes condominium in Destin, Florida. In video compilation from several beachgoers today, you can see the small bear swimming in the Gulf of Mexico before making its way up the beach safely. As the crowd began to […]

On Sunday, June 11, 2023, a black bear was spotted swimming in the Gulf of Mexico near Silver Dunes condominium in Destin, Florida.

In video compilation from several beachgoers today, you can see the small bear swimming in the Gulf of Mexico before making its way up the beach safely. As the crowd began to form, the bear quickly made its way through a line of beach chairs heading for the dunes.

  • At the time of this writing, there have been no reports of where the bear originated from or where it went after leaving the beach.

Footage captured by Jennifer Smith, Jan Graham, Steffani Saddler, and multiple beachgoers.

15 Responses

  1. Hope it didn’t run on 98 no chance it survived. Poor baby. That’s what all the over building is doing running native animals out of their homes

  2. Omg..I LOVE IT! HE was hot ànd just wanted a little swim swim! Aahhhh sweet fella! That is crazy and so cute at the same time! However it does make me sad to think that they are being forced out of where they live( ya know that we need more houses and malls ,the wild life be damned!sad!

  3. Sad. This is going to happen more often than not. Their homes are being destroyed do to overpopulated human growth. Developers destroying every shred of woods . People seem to forget for every land cleared an animal loses their home. Bears , deer , turtles , birds , armadillos, possums, wild hogs , foxes the list goes on. Share the land with other living souls.

  4. It looks very thin adolescent and desperate to get out where all the people are. Poor baby I feel so sorry for the wildlife like we needa clear more land for greedy A-holes. I pray it makes it somewhere safe and that it prospers

    1. There wasn’t a lot to go off for the story. At the moment, all we have is video footage of the bear until we hear back from FWC.

  5. There’s a bear in Grayton that loves to raid the trash cans. He’s about six feet tall when he stands on his hind legs.

  6. Everyday more and more building tearing down every last patch of trees left they are being forced out of their homes with no where to go! Sad really❤️

  7. If the bear originated where it landed..someone would have seen it enter the water. I say the bear was distressed and lucky to have made it to the beach. Hopefull FWC can figure it out. He could have been “bear paddling” for hours….hope he gets help if he/she needs it…..really strange.

  8. Funny, but unfortunately, lots of wildlife are losing their natural habitats in the state of Florida. Hopefully, the bear made it to a wooded area that might be safe for it to stay but with the high temps he or she may be back in the water & on the beach another day.

Join the conversation...

Continue reading 👇

Community Comments

“Thee is no such a thing as affordable housing for over half the people that live in this area. People can’t afford 300, 400 or 500k for a house. Build...”
Respond
“That portion has been closed because of wild hogs destroying it, I believe”
Respond
“Got make up for the 10 mill purchase of the SS United States and getting fined 1k a day while it still sits in port”
Respond
“Follow the $. It's highly probable the developers have a military connection. And "affordable housing" is a sad case of smoke and mirrors.”
Respond
“Why not give the actual location of the new school, but from the little you gave on that point, I'm "assuming" that it will, like just about nearly every school...”
Respond
“Is HCA Twin Cities able to provide cardiac care?”
Respond
“It is amazing on one hand Walton county will purchase 2,000 acres for a state park and claim it is all about the enviroment amd protecting the Florida Black Bear...”
Respond
“Here goes all our natural Woods & Wild Life . Next thing you know they'll be building Businesses. And Gas Stations . And Big Houses .”
Respond
“It would be nice to know where it will be located. What about designs and will it have primitive camping or a combination of RV sites. What, no artist rendition?...”
Respond
“Can we get a more exact location of the park???”
Respond

GET OUR FREE LOCAL NEWSLETTER

Get the weekday email that actually makes reading local news enjoyable again.