Pictured: The moment a wildlife officer risks his life to save drowning bear

The commonsense approach in the company of a bear with a sore head, you might think, is extreme caution.

Adam Warwick appears to have been a little short on the faculty when he dived into the sea to save one from drowning.

The 26-stone black bear had bolted into the water in fright after being shot with a tranquilliser dart when it was found roaming a Florida beachfront neighbourhood.

However, as the paralysing drug took effect, the panicked creature thrashed and flailed in the waves, struggling for survival.

Wildlife officer Mr Warwick, 29, who works for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, wasted no time in stripping off to help.

'I wasn't sure what I was going to do when I jumped in,' he said.

'It was a spur of the moment decision, I had a lot of adrenaline pumping.

'I was swimming towards the bear, trying to prevent him from swimming into deeper water.

'He was losing function in his arms and legs, and was obviously in distress. I knew I had to keep him from drowning.

'The clearly confused bear looked at me as if he was either going to go by, through or over me . . . and at times he even looked as if he was just going to climb on top of me to keep from drowning,' he said.

As the animal struggled to keep its head above water, Mr Warwick slipped one arm under the bear to cradle its body and clamped the other on to the scruff of its neck, dragging it ashore.

Incredibly all that the wildlife hero suffered was a few scratches from the bewildered bear.

The animal later recovered and was released into a state national forest.

Back on dry land, local resident Thad Brett had watched the drama unfold and manoeuvred his mechanical digger onto the beach ready to meet the pair.

'I knew how hard it would be to get that bear out,' said Mr Brett. 'I could see he was about waist-deep in the water.'

The bear recovered and has been relocated to Florida’s Osceola National Forest.'

'We’re all pulling for the bear to get adjusted in his new home,' said Mr Warwick.

source & more amazing rescue photos.

Cat & Bear Make A Wonderful Odd Couple!

As far as lifelong friendships go, Muschi thinks her large and loveable friend Maeuschen is the cat's pyjamas.
The feline, which struck up the unlikely friendship with the 40-year-old Asian bear eight years ago, now can't bear to be apart from her friend.

In fact, the pair are so close that zookeepers at Berlin Zoo had to reunite them after Muschi, or 'pussy' in German, pined for Maeuschen - 'little mouse' - after they were separated.

The pair were split up last October when the bear was locked in a cage while her living space was enlarged.
The distraught cat soon caught the attention of zoo keepers after she remained sitting outside the bear's cage pining for her friend.
This week, keepers took the unusual step of allowing the feline into the cage with her shaggy-haired pal.'They greeted each other and had a cuddle and now they're happy,' said Heiner Kloes, a member of the zoo's management board.

'The cat has a real fan club, mostly among our older, regular visitors.'
But where Muschi, a normal black domestic cat, came from remains a mystery.
'She appeared from nowhere in 2000 and we decided to leave them together because they got on so well,' Mr Kloes said.

'They sunbathed together and shared meals of raw meat, dead mice, fruit and bread.'

The enlarged enclosure will reopen in the spring.

source & more photos