Wednesday

A 375 lb. black bear was becoming too familiar and close to a residential area in Alligator Point which is near Tallahasse, Florida. 

Not wanting to hurt the bear but instead move him away from the houses, wildlife officials made the decision to trap him. In order to do this they first had to tranquilize him with a dart gun.

When they shot the bear with the tranquilizer, it startled him and he ended up running toward a lake. The tranquilizing dart didn't tale effect right away so the bear managed to swim at least 25 yards before becoming drowsy.

It was at this point that Adam Warwick, a biologist with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, decided the bear needed help and dived in after him.

"I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I jumped in. It was a spur of the moment decision. I had a lot of adrenaline pumping when I saw the bear in the water. I wanted to keep him from swimming into deeper water," he said.


The bear soon started to his ability to move its legs, and at this point he became distressed. Adam Warwick decided to try to create a splash to herd the bear back to shore. But the bear was very confused and as he reared up on his hind legs toward Warwick, he fell backwards and began to instantly sink under the water.

Adam knew at this that point he had to keep the bear from drowning. After a few seconds the bear popped his head up out of the water and thrashed around a bit, but could obviously no longer keep his head above water. Adam kept one arm underneath the bear and gripped the scruff of the bear's neck with the other to keep its head above water as he dragged the bear back to shore.


Amazingly he only suffered a cut foot from barnacles and just a single scratch from the bear. The bear was loaded into a tractor bucket and taken to a wildlife officer's truck and was then released in Osceola National Forest. Adam summed up his experience by saying, "It's a lot easier to drag a bear in four-foot water than move him on dry land."

Responses to "A Florida Biologist dives in and saves a drowning Black Bear "

  1. Anonymous says:

    That biologist is my hero!

  2. Anonymous says:

    What a man !! And Bear !!

  3. Unknown says:

    Bear hugger :)

  4. Unknown says:

    Bear hugger :)

  5. Anonymous says:

    Awesome

  6. Anonymous says:

    Wow! Thankyou!

  7. Anonymous says:

    thanks for rescue - the bear would have drowned without your help. :)

  8. Anonymous says:

    We need more people who will put their lives in harms way to rescue wild animals. We take for granted that these animals can survive anything when every now and again a little help is needed.

    Thank You Adam

  9. Anonymous says:

    Wonderful story!! This needs to be front page news!!

  10. Anonymous says:

    he deserves a humanitarian medal wonderful that there are still people around who care

  11. Anonymous says:

    Another Great HERO GOD BLESS HIM!!

  12. Anonymous says:

    Good story but author should proof the document before posting

  13. Anonymous says:

    Love this man!!

  14. Anonymous says:

    WOW WHAT AN AWESOME STORY !!!!!!!!! MAY GOD OPEN THE WINDOWS OF HEAVEN AND BLESS U BEYOND ANY MEASURE KNOW TO MAN ADAM WARWICK IN THE NAME OF JESUS AMEN !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! - angie_44m@yahoo.com

  15. SASS says:

    amazing piece of work!

  16. Anonymous says:

    LIFE ! Bless this Man . . VERY much !

  17. Anonymous says:

    He is just a wonderful guy. Period.

  18. Unknown says:

    God Bless this man for his heroic feat !!!!

  19. Unknown says:

    Love to hear stories like this, Kudo's to the Hero that saved the Black Bear, and Hope the Bear is doing Well.... Thanks for sharing....

  20. Anonymous says:

    BLESS THE MAN WHO SAVED THAT BEAR,WELL DONE,THERE IS SOME NICE PEOPLE OUT THERE AFTER ALL,

  21. Dibo says:

    is a total hero, help leaving fear behind and the Bear, nobility and so grateful that a abrazooo

  22. Dibo says:

    is a total hero, help leaving fear behind and the Bear, nobility and so grateful that a abrazooo

  23. Anonymous says:

    Another case of man getting Nature in deep kahoozie, thinking he can improve on it. Sure, the guy should be praised for saving the bear (it was a wonderful act of kindness), but if they hadn't screwed up the bear by shooting him with a tranquilizer, the bear would never have been placed in that predicament. Leave Mother Nature alone and she'll be just fine.

  24. If I had a uterus, I would bear your children....

  25. Anonymous says:

    Any man that will save a bear is the right man for me-what a great guy

  26. Christina says:

    You saved a life! God will bless you thousand times..Poor bear must have been scared..

  27. Catherine Keohane-Johnson says:

    God bless this man! A true hero!

  28. Unknown says:

    You are an example! Thank you!

  29. Anonymous says:

    Grrrrreeeeeaaatttt man!!!

  30. Unknown says:

    Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission can be idiots at times. There's a lake nearby, duh. Thanks to Mr. Warwick for saving the animal.

  31. Anonymous says:

    A tale that bears repeating!

  32. Anonymous says:

    thank you so much....hero!!!

  33. Anonymous says:

    GOD BLESS YOU FOREVER WENEED MORE MAN LIKE YOU THANK YOU PROUD OFF YOU

  34. Anonymous says:

    <~~~~~impressed lady!!

  35. Anonymous says:

    Please like this makes me so very happy.. Everytime I see things like this I just wished others would do the same too. There has been so many people that want to kill the blessing and wonderful animals. So I wanna make a shout out and say thank you for saving this bears life and you're a hero.

  36. Anonymous says:

    They shot him with a dart! The bear was scared! He was trying to get away from them. It is their responsibility to get the bear. There was cameras they couldn't let it drown. They would be considered murderers by peta.

  37. Anonymous says:

    IT IS THEIR FAULT THE BEAR WAS IN THE WATER DROWNING! AND THAT WASN'T A HUMAN! A RUG AT BEST! :)

  38. cvc says:

    A well hero! Thanks for save a life!

  39. Anonymous says:

    Somebody kiss that man for being willing to go in after the bear. I am thankful that they didn't shoot the bear like so many other places would.

  40. none says:

    Big thanks from a bear and animal lover

  41. Joan says:

    Is he single??? The biologist...not the bear....

  42. Roo Rescue WA says:

    What a wonderful man!! He lives and breathes his job, with passion. My hero!! <3 Visit us anytime you are Down Under in West Australia!! ^_^

  43. Unknown says:

    tarzan could'nt do that

  44. Anonymous says:

    So...this is great but now I'm thinking about the future when stupid florida allows another bear hunt and this poor guy gets murdered, after the wonderful biologist saved his life.

  45. Anonymous says:

    Thank goodness. What a wonderful man.

  46. Amazing rescue. Thank you sir for being so compassionate

  47. Anonymous says:

    That man has balls and compassion something the majority lacks. Even Whorf from Star Trek TNG would admire the guy. My hats off to him.

  48. Anonymous says:

    He's got Klingon in him somewhere

  49. Anonymous says:

    Hind sight is everything, hahaha. That was a Very Good deed to do. i'd ;ike to shake that man's hand.

  50. Anonymous says:

    Thank you for saving this beautiful bear and relocating him to a place of safety

  51. Michael, Georgia-in-East-Europe says:

    I am so glad that both survived, it was surely a great risk for both of them. It is a great story of human responsibility and love for the living nature.

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