A startled homeowner woke up to find a huge bear asleep on his front doorstep.
Chuck Robbins, whose porch the massive mammal chose to rest his head on, claims it was the biggest bear he's ever seen.
Mr Robbins lives in the Florida town of Heathrow, where bear sightings are not at all uncommon.
He had popped out earlier that very night because someone had spotted a bear in his neighbourhood and he hoped to capture it on film, reports Fox 35 Orlando.
He didn't get lucky so came home and went to bed.
Then just a few hours later he got a message that could have alarmed a more skittish person.
His neighbourhood had texted him to let him know there was a "big bear" in his front garden.
He looked out the window and the bear was lying down on his front porch.
Chuck said: "It was amazing. I just walked out, and it was like right there in front of me and so close."
When asked how he felt when he first saw the bear, the joker quipped that he hoped the bear was comfortable.
He estimated the bear at around 375 pounds (170kg).
The only type of bear found in Florida is the Florida Black Bear. Adult male bears usually weigh between 250 to 350 lbs but the largest one found in Florida weighed a monstrous 760 lbs (345kg).
Adult female black bears are smaller, usually weighing between 130 and 180 lbs.
For many years the Florida Black Bear was considered endangered but thanks to conservation efforts their numbers are growing.
Dangerous encounters with the beasts are rare but according to the Florida Fish and WildlifeConservation Commission they can become aggressive when defending themselves, cubs, or food sources.
In October, two students were left covered in blood and frightened after a savage bear attacked them on a hunting trip.
Brady Lowry and Kendell Cummings, both wrestlers, were hunting antlers with their two other friends at Shoshone National Forest, Wyoming when the pair decided to split and head up to higher ground.
August Harrison and Orrin Jackson headed back to the car and left the pair to go hiking when Mr Lowry suddenly realised a grizzly bear was nearby.
“I saw bear crap all over, and I looked at Kenny and said, ‘There is a grizzly bear here.' And right after I said that the bear came out of the willows. It was thick.
"It came at me and charged me and tackled me off this cliff into this gulley and was going at me for a little bit", Mr Lowry told Utah news station KSLTV.
The bear broke Mr Lowry's arm after shaking him around as the student curled up into a ball to try and defend himself.
He said: “It shook me around and I didn’t know what to do. I curled up in a ball and it got me a few more times.”
