--- description: When you are a 300-pound black bear, you can pretty much do and take what you want without asking first. title: A Black Bear Decided to Go Swimming in a New Jersey Pool image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Newsfeed](/tag/time-section-newsfeed/) ## Newsfeed Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Black Bear Decided to Go Swimming in a New Jersey Pool by [Kelli Bender / People](/author/people/) ## Kelli Bender / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 29, 2016 8:01 PM CUT by [Kelli Bender / People](/author/people/) ## Kelli Bender / People Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Aug 29, 2016 8:01 PM CUT When you are a 300-pound black bear, you can pretty much do and take what you want without asking first. According to [NBC New York](http://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/NJ-Black-Bear-Beats-the-Heat-in-Backyard-Pool-391455181.html "undefined"), a New Jersey bear did just that, popping into the pool of a Rockaway Township family on Friday to cool off. The animal didn’t bother to let the humans know he was going for a swim, but it didn’t take long for the family to spot him. From inside the safety of their home, the Dowlings watched on as the massive bear paddled about their pool. “He popped our float! I think he’s breaking our pool,” homeowner Stacey Dowling can be heard saying in a video of the incident. Stacy then suggests that her husband go outside and attempt to scare away the bear. To which he responds: “I’m not going out there! You crazy?” The pool crasher did eventually get out of water on his own to head back into the woods. No pools, animals or people were harmed during the bear’s dip. This is just one of several bear sightings in the area over the past few weeks. Local officials, who have warned residents to be aware of their furry neighbors, are reaching out to the state for help. **Quiz**: [_Are You Ready for Back to School?_](http://time.com/4457305/back-to-school-quiz/ "undefined") _This_ [_article_](http://site.people.com/pets/new-jersey-bear-cools-off-with-surprise-visit-to-familys-pool/ "undefined") _originally appeared on_ [_People.com_](http://www.people.com "undefined") ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4471476/black-bear-swimming-new-jersey-pool/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4471476/black-bear-swimming-new-jersey-pool/"},"headline":"This Black Bear Decided to Go Swimming in a New Jersey Pool","datePublished":"2016-08-29T20:01:17.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T07:35:59.915Z","description":"Summertime and the swimming's easy","url":"https://time.com/4471476/black-bear-swimming-new-jersey-pool/","keywords":["Newsfeed","animals"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Kelli Bender / People"}],"articleSection":"","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-newsfeed/","name":"Newsfeed"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4471476/black-bear-swimming-new-jersey-pool/","name":"This Black Bear Decided to Go Swimming in a New Jersey Pool"}}]}] ```