Sierra Blogging Post Archives

How much does biologist Adam Warwick love bears? Enough to save a 375-pound black bear from drowning in the Gulf of Mexico.

Warwick jumped in the Gulf to save a gigantic black bear when he noticed the bear showing "signs of distress." The bear, who had wandered into a residential neighborhood near Tallahassee, had been shot with a tranquilizer dart right before it rushed into the Gulf. Once it had gotten out to sea a bit, the sedation started to take hold and the bear became disoriented.



From the article in the Tallahassee Times...

"It was just the spur of the moment," said Warwick. "I'd never be able to live with myself if he drowned."

Warwick kept one arm under the bear. The other gripped the bear's neck to keep its head above water. The bear's claws scraped the tops of Warwick's feet below the water's surface. Oyster shells pierced the bottoms of his feet.

And, he said, he swallowed a lot of saltwater.

"I'm a good swimmer. I used to watch a lot of Baywatch," he said jokingly.

Whether that has anything to do with watching Baywatch or not, I don't know, but he must be a very good swimmer. The bear was twice his size... but Warwick obviously has a rather big heart.