Man taking a nap by his pool is startled awake by a bear that takes a drink of water before it sniffs and paws his foot
- Matthew Bete was napping by his pool when a bear wandered in through a gate
- While he slept, the bear made a beeline for the pool and took a long drink from it
- The bear then approached Bete, who was still sleeping, and tapped his foot
- Black bears have been expanding their territory throughout Massachusetts
A curious bear gave a Massachusetts man a surprise wake up call from his poolside nap.
Matthew Bete, of Greenfield, Massachusetts, was sleeping in a lounge chair by his pool Saturday, when a bear wandered in through an open gate.
The stealthy bear made a beeline for the swimming pool, taking a leisurely drink of water, while Bete slept peacefully.
Once hydrated, the bear turned around and spotted Bete.
Matthew Bete was caught on video sleeping in a lounge chair by his pool when a bear wandered in through an open gate and drank from his pool
The bear then startled Bete awake by touching his foot (left). Bete’s movements scared off the bear, which Bete then tries to take a picture of (right)
The bear then padded over to Bete, cautiously sniffing the sleeping man’s foot, before reaching out a paw and gently patting it.
The motion woke up Bete with a start and his sudden movement scared the bear off.
The whole incident – including his scramble to take a picture of the fleeing bear – was caught on Bete’s home security camera.
Bete’s wife, Dawn Bete, posted the video on Facebook, writing: ‘Matt was a little startled yesterday while taking a rest by the pool.’
In a comment on the video, Dawn wrote that her husband had ‘texted me a picture of the bear running through the front yard and said the bear nudged his foot while he was sleeping by pool.
‘Of course I thought he was kidding! He told me to look at the Ring video. Sure enough…….’
She added: ‘Matt was just so startled, picked up his phone with no luck of a good picture. He wasn’t sure how he should react but knew he couldn’t get up that fast but at least he had another chair and table between them if needed. Luckily it went running out soon after the encounter.’
Massachusetts says that black bears have been expanding their territory throughout the state in recent years.
The state’s website encourages people who encounter bears where they don’t belong to ‘yell’ and ‘make lots of noise’ because a ‘bear’s first response to something unusual is to leave.’