Fort Myers neighborhood buzzing about black bear sighting near a Dunkin' in Gateway

The bear sighting buzz was pretty loud in a Fort Myers neighborhood late last week.

Much of that buzz started with a post on Friday (July 12) in the Facebook group called Gateway Community. Gateway is sub-division in east Fort Myers with multiple gated communities.

Kyla Thornton, a top contributor in the group, posted this at 11:03 p.m.:

"Hi! Just wanted to let everyone know that my mom and I were just driving home right now at 11 o’clock and by the roundabout by saucy meatball there is a huge black bear that was crossing the street just wanted everyone to beware!!"

Not surprisingly, the post led to a long thread of comments ranging from "This is so very sad that animals are losing their habitat at an alarming rate. It won’t be long before they will all be extinct & finally disappear unless a large refuge area is established for wildlife", to "They are cute when wandering around but they can become very aggressive if approached. Please never approach a bear, it could cost you your life."

Another resident posted she had spotted a bear at around 9 p.m. that same evening in the Sky Walk Shopping Plaza located just outside Gateway and along Daniels Parkway. She was able to get the 35-second video of the bear that appears at the top of this story. She gave us permission to show the video. The bear was roaming near the drive-thru at the Dunkin' located in the plaza.

"Saucy Meatball and Dunks. The poor guy or gal is Hungry. At least they know where to go," another commenter wrote.

How to report a Florida Black bear sighting

According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), Black bears naturally occur in Florida. The public can help FWC improve its knowledge of black bear distribution in Florida and revise FWC's range map.

Go here to find out more.