The movie vicious bear (intoxicated bear), directed by Elizabeth Banks, tells how the main animal devours a package of cocaine and sets off on a path of destruction. It is the adaptation of an American urban myth, repeated insistently since the eighties. But what is most peculiar is that the premise is based on a documented fact and that is part of the legal history of the country.
In December 1985, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation announced that a black bear was found dead in the region’s woods. It would have seemed like inconsequential information, except for its details. As revealed by the institution, the huge plantigrade suffered an overdose by consuming a whole package of prohibited substances.
His body, dehydrated by the inclement weather, was found among containers of cocaine. What happened appeared as a three line review in United Press International (UPI). then came to The New York Times and became one of the most unique events of that year.
A similar circumstance ended up becoming an obsession among researchers and journalists. In particular, the big question of what was the origin of the drug shipment in the midst of which the remains of the animal that inspired the film were found. vicious bear. Weeks after the first information, UPI expanded the data on the subject.
According to Georgia state findings, it all started when a plane flown by a convicted drug dealer crashed in KnoxvilleTennessee. Andrew Thorntonwith a history of sale, consumption and trafficking of drugs, died on September 11, 1985. His body fell in the courtyard of a house in the district, carrying weapons and Gucci loafers, according to the local newspaper. The Knoxville News Sentinel.
A key matching the identification number of a plane that crashed in North Carolina was found among the deceased’s clothes. The incident turned out to be a mystery within another. With no indication of the pilot, the region’s police had real difficulties in clarifying how the air disaster had occurred. Until the discovery of the body.
As discovered by the prosecutor’s office, the pilot parachuted. But before dumped containers full of cocaine packets ashore. She also carried some in her arms. This last detail was what caused his death. The weight was excessive and the man ended up falling to the ground and dying.
The vicious bear, collateral damage
The rest of the shipment was dispersed by air throughout the county of fannin (Georgia), south of the border with Tennessee. From there, the details of how the vicious bear found the packages and consumed their contents are impossible to verify. Still, authorities tried to come up with a coherent version of what caused him to ingest a dose of cocaine high enough to kill him.
But they ran into the stumbling block that they did not have enough biological material to work with. Gary Gardnerof the Georgia Bureau of Investigationexplained to Associated Press that the body was almost completely decomposed. So the stomach contents could barely be checked. It was only found that he consumed at least between three and four grams of drugs.
The most inexplicable thing is that Kenneth Alonso, state forensic doctor at the time, found no explanations for something similar. Cocaine does not have the smell or taste that triggers an animal’s appetite. Much less, that encourages you to eat a deadly amount. He, too, could not conclude the reactions that the substance probably caused in the vicious bear. The enigma became the origin of a long series of rumors about a creature that destroyed houses and cars in its path. None of the rumors could be verified.
The absurd end of the vicious Bear
The conclusion of the story of the vicious bear, the only one known to die of a drug overdose, is almost as delirious as the rest of what happened. The few remaining remains were dissected by some Georgia taxidermy enthusiasts. Within five years, they passed from hand to hand and became a symbol of good luck among country singers. But it was the story around him – increasingly exaggerated and strange – that became a famous urban legend that is about to reach the cinema.
At present, the body of the bear was sold to a shopping mall. If he Kentucky Fun Mall in Lexington. He then named it after his pet, something that show off on their blog. At the same time, it is an inexhaustible source of publicity, including a collectible plush doll. Perhaps the most curious climax of the long sequence of nonsensical events that accompany the event of the vicious bear.
