Florida

Bear Enters SW Florida Home, Eats Easter Candy

A sweet toothed black bear who broke into a southwest Florida home and gobbled up a family's Easter candy tried coming back the next day for more, NBC affiliate WBBH reports.

Estero resident Caroline Tidwell told WBBH she awoke early Friday to what sounded like Venetian blinds coming off the track, then heard the sounds of furniture moving around.

What she was hearing were the sounds of a 300 to 400 pound black bear that had gotten into the house.

"He was making slobbering noises and bear noises," Tidwell said.

Tidwell feared the bear may have been eating her cats. The feline family pets were completely safe, but the chocolate treats held in a dish in the living room were not, as Tidwell found the sweet toothed bear going to town on the candy.

Tidwell called 911 and was able to scare the bear away, but only for a day. The following morning, the bear returned and she and her husband banged loudly on pots and pans and managed to scare the bear off.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tells WBBH that black bear sightings are common this time of year in certain parts of Florida.

The bears are quite hungry and will make a meal of just about anything they can find, including sweets and chocolate, FWC says.

The FWC has proposed that bear hunting be legalized again in an effort to curb Florida's growing population and to lessen the chances of dangerous interactions between bears and humans.

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