A black bear who boarded a luxury yacht in Florida was caught on camera and the clip was shared online, delighting viewers.
Thirty-six-year-old Todd Dillman of Naples, Florida, who co-owns the water assistance company Tow BoatUS Naples & Marco Island, was finishing up a job towing a boat on Oct. 5 when he saw something unusual. A black bear had left the woods and hopped onboard a 50-foot catamaran named “TomCat,” which was docked at the Naples Sailing and Yacht Club.
“It was just walking around the boat,” Mr. Dillman told The Epoch Times. “I think he was probably looking for food. He didn’t seem stressed out or too worried or concerned [about] what he was doing.”
Knowing that this was a rare sight, Mr. Dillman decided to film it.
“We have a lot of bears in Naples,” Mr. Dillman said. “It’s not uncommon for us to see them, just we don’t ever see them on boats.”
According to Mr. Dillman, no one else noticed the bear as it was dark, and the owner wasn’t on the vessel.
Eventually, the bear ran off the yacht and into a local neighborhood where he was picked up and relocated to Okeechobee. The viral response to the cheeky bear’s brief “daycation” was “pretty crazy,” said Mr. Dillman, who added, “I guess it isn’t something you see every day.”
Besides the novelty of his Oct. 5 sighting, one benefit of the black bear’s viral fame has been recognition for the three-decades-old tow company that Mr. Dillman recently bought into.
As for what to do if a black bear ever boarded a boat with people, Mr. Dillman has a plan for that too.
