Longwood Ring doorbell captures black bear stealing Amazon package from porch

A Ring doorbell camera at a Longwood home captured a black bear approach the front porch, sniff an Amazon delivery, pick up the box and carry it a short distance before abandoning it on the walkway, footage the homeowner watched after getting a motion alert. The incident happened on Feb. 17, 2026, while the family was away camping.

WFTV quoted the homeowner, identified only as Wesley, saying, "My family and I were away camping when we got an alert on our phone." WFTV's coverage described the sequence on video: the bear "start[ed] to smell our Amazon package, turned away, turned back and took the package." The station also reported, "According to the customer, inside the package were some cell phone charging cords."

Video descriptions from WFTV and syndicated Yahoo text said, "The footage shows the bold bear casually picking up the package in its mouth and carrying it a short distance down the walkway before apparently deciding it wasn't quite what he was looking for and wandering off." The USA TODAY Network account said the family "turned on their at-home camera and caught a thief in the act, stealing an Amazon package right from their front door" and noted the package ended up left on the walkway by the front door.

Local coverage from FOX 35 Orlando added that the family "spoke with Good Day Orlando about their porch footage" and asked "why?" as neighbors and media circulated the clip on television and social platforms, including Instagram. Media accounts do not include a full name or street address for the homeowner, and none of the stories reported an immediate response from Longwood Police Department, Seminole County animal control or the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The incident sits against broader statewide reporting that the USA TODAY Network said shows a growing human-bear interface in Florida. USA TODAY Network reporting by Michelle Spitzer noted the state resumed a bear hunt in December 2025 after a 10-year hiatus, and that the 23-day hunt resulted in 52 bears killed, more than half of them from the Panhandle; the largest bear taken in the hunt was a 697-pound male in Collier County. That reporting also placed the Longwood neighborhood near state wildlife preserves and a national forest, where bears are reportedly a common sight.

The Ring footage adds a local, everyday detail to larger questions about wildlife management and community safety in Seminole County neighborhoods that border preserves. Reporters following this story will seek Wesley's permission to view the original clip and will contact Longwood Police, Seminole County animal control and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission for any reports filed and guidance for residents living close to wildlife preserves. The video remains a vivid reminder of how wildlife encounters are increasingly part of residential life near Central Florida parks.