Marion Co. deputy's close encounter with a bear

MARION COUNTY, Fla. (WOFL FOX 35) - Video of a Marion County deputy's encounter with a black bear is quickly gaining traction on social media.

Deputy John Remington says he came across the bear after responding to a call early Saturday morning in a southern part of the county.

"Actually, I saw him when he was further down the road and I figured I could get a picture of him so I put the car in park and got out to take a picture and he kept walking so I just flipped it video," Remington explained.

While bears are pretty common in the area, what happens next is out of the norm. The bear walks right toward the deputy and ends up hovering a few feet away from him.

"He got closer and I decided I should probably get back in the car," Remington said.

He says he wasn't scared, chalking up the bear's behavior to curiosity or hunger.

"He was probably just looking for donuts and you know, what better place to look than a cop car," he joked.

The deputy left with the cell phone video and Sunday morning his department posted it online. Around 12 hours after it went up on Facebook, the video had been viewed more than 50,000 times.

"It's something that everybody goes, 'Did you see that video on the Marion Sheriff's Office Facebook page?' And it keeps them coming back for more,'" said Marion County Sheriff's Office spokesperson Lauren Lettelier.

She says the viral posts can actually help close cases. That's because more likes and shares equals more tipsters on social media.

"Those people that we gain from videos like that can help us solve crime through our Facebook page," Lettelier said.

So you can expect more videos from the Sheriff's Office down the road. Lettelier says will be tough to top the bear video, but it'll happen.