ORLANDO, Fla. – A video of a black bear was spotted in the express lanes on I-4 in Orlando after a woman captured it on her dashcam during her drive, according to our sister station WKMG.
The video has been watched thousands of times online and caught the attention of one man who reached out to WKMG after he had quite the encounter with the animal.
Claude McFarlan said he was on his way to work Tuesday morning when saw the bear near John Young Parkway. At first, he didn’t know what it was.
“I was in the left-hand lane, going the speed limit,” McFarlan said. “I see a big black thing like jump over the concrete median. I was like, ‘Wow, there’s some guy jumping the median wearing a black hoodie,’ and then I realized the median is about 10 or 12 feet high, so it didn’t really make sense.”
McFarlan said that by the time he realized it was a bear, the animal was already coming straight towards him.
“I saw the bear coming at me. I couldn’t go to my right-hand lane because a lady was right there next to me. So, I slammed on my brakes, and I tried to turn left, and the bear followed me,” McFarlan said. “He hit my bumper and kind of bounced up, fell back, and then he got up immediately and jumped over the median on the other side and then at that point jumped again onto the middle of the median and just started sprinting down the middle of the expressway lanes.”
McFarlan, who was driving a Porsche 911 at the time, tells News 6 he thinks the low height of the car may have helped ease the impact.
“When I slammed on the brakes, I think my nose went down enough where it wasn’t a direct impact to the bear,” McFarlan said. “I hope the bear is OK.”
A spokesperson with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission said that FWC’s Bear Management staff are trying to track down the animal. Our News 6 team spotted them driving in an area nearby Tuesday, but so far there is no sign of the bear.
McFarlan, who lives in the Longwood area, said he would expect to see a bear in his neighborhood, but he never thought he would spot one on the highway. It led to quite the conversation with his insurance company.
“‘Are you serious? Are you joking right now?’ I think they probably thought maybe I hit a pylon or another car and I didn’t want to tell them,” McFarlan said. “I had to tell them a couple times that it was really a bear.”
McFarlan said his family and friends also didn’t believe it at first.
“I called my wife immediately and she thought I was joking,” McFarlan said. “Everybody I tell I literally have to tell them two or three times and I’m like, ‘No, I’m serious. This is real,’ and then I show them your video and they’re like, ‘Oh, that did happen.’”
McFarlan shared photos of his Porsche with News 6 that show damage to the front bumper. He said the car is in the shop now and he is waiting to see if there’s more damage beyond what you can see from an initial assessment.
“It’s just crazy. I was shocked to see how agile and nimble he was. I mean, the grace of him running down this concrete pylon that’s, you know, 12 inches wide,” said McFarlan. “I just hope the bear is OK. Cars can be replaced.”