“Never have I everโ€ฆ.seen a black bear swim up out of the Gulf Coast and onto the beach.” –Jennifer Majors Smith

Wild scene from Northwest Florida where a black bear popped out of the Gulf and ran past a group of bewildered beachgoers on Sunday. AL.com spoke with a charter boat captain who operates out of Destin about the sighting who said its not uncommon to see bears out in the local waters.

โ€œThere are a lot of bears at Eglin Air Force Base. They swim across the bay. Sometimes they go for a joy swim.โ€ –Captain Chris Kirby

Jennifer Majors Smith was vacationing from Nashville andย posted the footage to Facebook. Here’s what she had to say about it:

ย โ€œA man was yelling out โ€˜Bear!โ€™ You would expect โ€œshark or dolphinโ€ but not bear. It came out of the Gulf and look tired but relieved. Of course, my animal loving son started following it, so my mother-in-law grabbed him. We were all shocked by and amazed to see what we saw. We were all glad to see him safe from the water. We all enjoy a dip in the water, but who knows how long he was in there.โ€

Francis Xavier is a seasoned writer for Unofficial Networks, bringing a lifetime of outdoor experience to his work. Having lived in a ski resort town for years he has a deep connection to mountain culture....