Surprised Family Captures Swimming Bear On Video In Armstrong Co.
KITTANNING (KDKA) -- A family in Armstrong County had a close encounter with a bear over the weekend.
They were out on their boat on the Allegheny River north of Kittanning, near Adrain, when they thought they saw a log in the water.
Soon they realized it was no log. It was a bear.
"He's probably exhausted," said Amy Merryman as she shot video the bear on her iPad. "He's afraid of us."
"I looked back to see where Jared was," said Jim Merryman who was piloting their boat. Jared Miller was on an inner tube behind the boat. "I thought maybe he doesn't know it's a bear and then everybody was [yelling], 'It's a bear! It's a bear!'"
Miller said it was a memorable experience: "I never seen one swimming across a river before."
He said, however, that the bear had no interest in him and was just trying to get to the other side.
The family watched the bear leap up on to some rocks and out of the water.
Jim Merryman believes the bear had a tag on its ear.
"We were in awe," said Amy Merryman. "I mean, you don't see that. You might occasionally see one in the wild, but crossing the river was amazing!"
An officer from the Pennsylvania Game Commission told KDKA last month that this is the time of year when yearlings are getting booted out of their den and are headed out to find their own territory.
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