Black Bear Spotted at Fort Myers Shopping Center Triggers Safety Concerns

A wild black bear walked through a restaurant lot near Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers, Florida. The sight stopped shoppers in their tracks. The animal picked its way past cars in the Texas Roadhouse lot by Six Mile Cypress Parkway.

"It came out, and I realized it was a bear. I was like, 'that's a bear,'" said Bo Scott to WINK News. Scott spotted it after his late shift.

Over 20,000 households sit within 3 miles of the shopping area. No one had seen a bear here since 2009.

Florida Gulf Coast University's Christina Anaya points to weather as a possible cause. "During a drought, bears may have to travel further to be able to find food and good habitat, and the drought can have an effect on their natural food sources," she told WINK News.

The bear startled Rachel Scott as she picked up her son. "That would be the number one place I would least expect to see it," she said to Cuba en Miami.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) asks people to lock up trash bins — the smell draws wild animals close to homes, and stresses that these creatures play key roles in nature's balance.