Did the Cocaine Bear kill anyone?

Entertainment fans usually expect to be drawn to a theater for several types of films throughout the year; features about superheroes and supervillains, iconic horror slashers, and action adventures — we anticipate visiting theaters with popcorn and Twizzlers to be fascinated by these types of movies. So, when we initially heard about the upcoming action/thriller Cocaine Bear, there was a record-scratch stop involved.

Could Cocaine Bear really be a film about a drug-induced rage of an American Black Bear? That it could, and that it is: the movie hits theaters on Feb. 24, and it’ll take audiences on a journey through an exaggerated version of the wild and tumultuous true story of the bear who ingested cocaine in 1985. Well, sort of. Exaggerated almost feels like an understatement when looking at the difference between the true story and the insane yet somehow absolutely captivating film that will be Cocaine Bear.

The trailer promises a lot of things, but the one that stands out is complete and utter chaos: while any animal ingesting such a large amount of drugs would be otherworldly, the fact that it was a bear makes it seem like something out of a twisted fairytale — not something that could have actually happened. However, Cocaine Bear is inspired by actual events, albeit loosely.

One of the most significant stretches between truth and fantasy in the film also deals with frequently asked fan questions: did Cocaine Bear actually kill anyone? Was the bear who was just trying to feed his belly a cold-blooded killer?

The truth is a complicated one, but don’t worry — we’ve got you covered.

First things first: Did Cocaine Bear embark on a killing spree?

Sorry to disappoint, but Cocaine Bear didn’t actually kill anybody when he stumbled upon a duffle bag full of cocaine in 1985. While the trailer for the movie promises carnage and gore from a bear fueled by drugs, the real story is a little bit less theatrical. We know there’s irony there because his story is now being made into a blockbuster smash, but we digress.

When Cocaine Bear actually ingested some 75 lbs of cocaine, a massacre did happen, but it was going on within the bear itself. His death was rather brutal, but he didn’t go on a killing spree before falling victim to a drug overdose. No, he just…well, we’re not quite sure what he did, you see — the truth is somewhere out there but has never been completely cemented. It’s impossible to discover what happened to Cocaine Bear between the time he first happened upon the drugs and his demise. Still, creative liberties have led to many theories, stories, and now a film being made of its story.

While Cocaine Bear didn’t kill anyone himself, a life was lost during the whole debacle, and that was the life of Andrew Thornton II, who started as a narcotics officer in Kentucky before turning to the dark side and embracing the life of a drug smuggler. When Thornton and his bodyguard, Bill Leonard, realized that the feds were trailing them in a plane filled with drugs, they kicked cocaine out of it before parachuting to reunite with their stash and figure out where to go from there.

However, Thornton wouldn’t be able to make it to their plan’s next step, as he died due to parachute failure. Clearly, the project was flawed from the start, but judgment can get cloudy when drugs and money are involved. Cocaine Bear wasn’t responsible for Thornton’s death, but rather the drug itself and a skewed sense of confidence.

What kind of bear was Cocaine Bear?

Cocaine Bear was an American black bear weighing 175 lbs who lived within the hills of Tennessee. Described as medium-sized bears, they are omnivores who live in various places across the United States of America. There are a number of subspecies of the American black bear, including the Eastern black Bear, the Californian black bear, and the Newfoundland black bear.

American black bears are said to have hearing and eyesight comparable to humans, but their most heightened sense is that of smell, which is several times more sensitive than that of a dog. While they’re territorial animals, you rarely hear of them attacking humans. In fact, the number of people said to have been killed by an American black bear is very small.

Their life span in the wild is around 18 years, but some have gone on to live to be 39 or even 44 years old.

How often do American black bears kill people?

When you see a trailer for a film like Cocaine Bear, one of your first priorities might be to figure out how much of this story is true and how much could be true if something this outrageous were to happen again. Yes, it’s wild enough that it happened once, but you can’t totally rule out the idea that a black bear may once again stumble upon pounds of drugs. There’s also the idea that other animals may find themselves face-to-face with bags of cocaine, but that’s neither here nor there at the moment.

Back to the topic of conversation, we’re curious — how many people have American black bears been responsible for killing? We looked for answers, and what we discovered was incredibly informative.

According to Bear.org, American black bears have killed 61 people since 1900, which means you’re more likely to be killed by a lawnmower, an accident involving a bed, or even a cow. Yep, so the next time you’re driving down a back country road, and you interrupt a conversation or stop singing your favorite tune to point to a field and say “cow,” just know…they’re watching.

Lynn Rogers, Ph.D., notes that American black bears are actually quite timid and says that if you ever encounter one, enjoy the experience.

“Black bears are so timid today partly because they evolved alongside such powerful predators as saber-toothed cats, American lions, dire wolves, and short-faced bears, all of which became extinct only about 12,000 years ago. Black bears were the only one of these that could climb trees, so black bears survived by staying near trees and developing the attitude: run first and ask questions later. The timid ones passed on their genes to create the black bear of today. That timid attitude still serves black bears well now that people have spread across North America. Startled black bears run away, often to a tree. By contrast, a startled grizzlies may charge and occasionally attack, making grizzlies over 20 times more dangerous than black bears.”

Of course, if you’re within too close a distance, you could always try introducing yourself, in which Rogers explains the bear would likely run the other way.

We’re not sure we’d recommend trying that theory, but we’ve seen a black bear or two on vacation before, and they genuinely are fascinating to watch, and we’ve lived to tell the tale each time.

How did Cocaine Bear die?

It is simply impossible to find out what happened to Cocaine Bear in terms of the exact cause of death or what happened between the moment he first ingested the drugs and when he took his final breath. However, it appears that he died of an overdose. Yes, even a 175 lb bear was no match for bricks upon bricks of the drug.

As we said above, Cocaine Bear died via a pretty intense set of circumstances after ingesting several pounds of cocaine. The word several doesn’t even begin to cover it. Kentucky for Kentucky shared a quote from Dr. Kenneth Alonso, the medical examiner, about what was happening in Cocaine Bear’s body after the ingestion.

“Its stomach was literally packed to the brim with cocaine. There isn’t a mammal on the planet that could survive that. Cerebral hemorrhaging, respiratory failure, hyperthermia, renal failure, heart failure, stroke. You name it, that bear had it.”

In the grand scheme of things, it certainly sounds like the least pleasant way to die. However, despite all of the intense happenings going on in its body, Cocaine Bear had a physically intact exterior when he was found. This led to him being quite the commodity for years after the quite crazy story was told.

“The bear’s body remained in good cosmetic shape. Such good shape that he thought it would be a shame to just have it cremated. He contacted a hunting buddy who did taxidermy, had it stuffed and then gifted it to the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area, where it was displayed in the visitor center behind a plaque without mention of its party animal past.”

So, in case you’re wondering what became of Cocaine Bear, he resides in a museum in Lexington, KY, and it took some hard work to get him there. However, the Kentucky for Kentucky Fun Mall put in the hours to make it happen, and you can read more about that exciting story here.

Here’s to Cocaine Bear: the man…er bear, the myth, the legend.