A black bear cub took a break from the rigors of fall foraging Thursday to wet his heels in a family's backyard pool.
"When I came outside on our deck I heard the fence creaking," Erica Lushefski, of Luzerne County, Pennsylvania told The Huffington Post on Monday.
"I peeked around the corner and saw the bear, so I went downstairs to check our [surveillance] cameras," Lushefski said.
According to the mom of three, she was "shocked" to discover the bear had not only been in her backyard, but had also taken a lengthy dip in her swimming pool.
"I screamed," Lushefski said. "The kids were like, 'Why you screaming?' and I said, 'There's a bear in our pool!"
Lushefski and her three kids -- 10-year-old Maria, 7-year-old Mary and 4-year-old Nina -– watched in awe as the bear spent about 10 minutes playing in and around their swimming pool.
"The kids said they couldn't wait to tell everybody there was a bear swimming in the pool," she said.
However, the fun was somewhat short-lived for Nina, who did not take much joy in watching the bear pop the children's inflatable pool ball.
"Nina was pretty upset about that," laughed Lushefski.
Lushefski said the bear, along with his mother and a sibling, had been hanging around their neighborhood for the last few months.
"The cubs are old enough [to be on their own] now, so the mom shooed them away," she said. "So he's on his own trying to figure things out and decided to go for a swim."
Lushefski said her pool is still up, but the bear cub has not been back. Winter is approaching fast, so he's likely too busy fattening up for winter hibernation.
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