Watch: Life For Bear Cubs Has Its Ups And Downs

NAPLES, FL — Two black bear cubs out to make their own fun recently gave a Naples family a surprise of a lifetime when they helped themselves to a backyard trampoline.

Jennifer Pacheco and daughter Paige were made aware of furry intruders by their trusty dog Sheldon. While the pooch was not happy with uninvited guests in his backyard – barking rather soundly to express his disapproval – the Pachecos were delighted with the unusual turn of events.

Jennifer immediately grabbed her cellphone and began recording the bears at play. The critters stuck around for about 30 minutes before beating a retreat into a wooded area behind the family’s home where mama bear presumably was looking on as her cubs played.

The Pachecos told their story to Fox news, noting that it was a “sight to be seen.” As for that video, Jennifer said she recorded it figuring no one “would believe it until they see it.”

Black bear encounters in Florida are not all that uncommon. Last year, a black bear passed out in a Lake Mary backyard after binge-eating a 20-pound bag of dog food. Another hungry bear broke into an Estero home and swiped Easter candy while making “slobbering noises and bear noises,” according to homeowner Caroline Tidwell.

See Also:

Binge-Eating Black Bear Passes Out in Yard

• Black Bear Invades Florida Home for Easter Candy
• Black Bear Hunt Decision Reached by State

While a trampoline, dog food and candy held the bears’ interest in those incidents, human and bear encounters have been on the rise in the Sunshine State and not all of them have ended well. Last summer, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission made the controversial decision to open a limited hunting season for black bears.

The state outlawed black bear hunts in 1994 when the population of bears in Florida dwindled from an estimated 11,000 at the turn of the 20th century to less than 500 in 1974. With the black bear population once again above 3,000 and encounters between people and bears becoming more frequent and violent, however, the commission began reconsidering its rules.

In 2012, the commission took black bears off the state’s threatened species list and put a management plan in place. Even so, wildlife officials have been flooded with calls related to black bears in recent years and there have been several serious attacks in the recent years.

Bear complaint calls to wildlife officials have risen dramatically in recent years. In 1990, the commission fielded 99 complaint calls. In 2014, that number rose to 6,312, down slightly from the 6,667 fielded in 2013, the agency noted.

Photo courtesy of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission