On Tuesday morning, lead singer of the metal band Varanger, Tyler Futrell, went kayaking on the St. Johns River just north of Orlando, Florida, like he does every day, but then, he witnessed an encounter most can only imagine: a black bear fight off against not one, but two gators. However, he didn't know what he saw until about after he started recording.
In the video he shared on social media, you first see a large animal swimming across the water. Futrell says, "I'm not really sure what this is. I think it's a pig." Then, an alligator pops up and swims toward it. "Oh, man. Alligator coming to say hi," Futrell says, anticipating what happens next. But then, the large animal strikes back. "Oh, shit," he says as the animal continues its way across.
Futrell comments, "I can't believe I got that on video" but then interrupts himself, "Go for round two! Go for round two!" as he sees another gator zero in on the animal. "That's a big gator," he says and adds, "What are you friend?" about the large animal. In the 20 seconds that pass, the animal evades another attack and Futrell then asks himself, "Is that a bear?" As it fights off the gators three or four times, he says: "It's a freakin' bear!"
Following the bear vs gators video
Since sharing the video, the original post has gotten more than 220,000 views and hundreds of comments, but it has also been picked up by countless media outlets. He told reporters at Fox 35 that he hopes the video helps boost his band's profile as well as redefine the term "Florida man" into something positive.
Thanks to Florida's transparency laws, every weird incident documented in the Sunshine State comes to light, so the moniker "Florida Man" has become synonymous with crime and crazy antics. "There is no place like Florida," he said. "You hear people from out of state, 'It's so flat. It's so hot. It's this. It's that.' ... where else are you going to see a bear fighting alligators?"
