Huge bear spotted in Lockhart, resident promotes awareness

A bear wandered across the street from Orson Weste’s home in Lockhart on Tuesday, giving him a close-up encounter he didn’t expect.“I was like, ‘Wait a minute. I ain’t never seen one up close, so let me take a video of this,’” Weste said.The video shows a large bear rummaging through a trash can. It appears to find a plastic shopping bag and carry it away in its mouth.“He was right there, and I feel like he looked at me and just walked away,” Weste said.Weste said he quickly decided to get inside. “I ain’t playin’. I don’t play with them, and they don’t play with me,” he said.He has lived beside the woods for four years and says people should remember that wildlife was there before homes were built.“They was here before we were, you know what I’m saying? We built on their area,” he said.To help prevent bears from getting into his trash, Weste has secured a cover around his trash can with a bungee cord.The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission advises people to give bears sp