The real story ends much more tragically (for the bear)

Rarely has a film attracted so much attention with its title alone: ​​Cocaine Bear starts in cinemas on Thursday and the name says it all. Bear finds cocaine. Bear eats cocaine. Bear falls into a (blood) frenzy. Bear shreds helpless people. Another appeal of Elizabeth Banks’ film: It is based on true events. But how much of what you see in the animal horror actually happened?

We answer those key questions about the true story of Cocaine Bear.

1. What is “true” to the plot of Cocaine Bear?

In 1985, somewhere in the southern United States, a pile of cocaine fell from the sky. The drug actually belongs to a few criminals. When a black bear sniffs out the drug, he becomes a raging fighting machine. Because the 200-plus pound bear eats a massive amount – and wants more. The completely coked-up animal goes on a killing spree from which neither tourist couples, nor teenagers, police officers or gangsters are safe.

2. Was there really a bear that took cocaine?

Yes, in 1985 there was indeed a fall of an American black bear found in the Chattahoochee National Forest near Blue Ridge, Georgia. of the US state of Georgia encountered large quantities of cocaine – and she did, too. According to National Geographic, “only” three to four grams of the white powder were detected in the bear’s bloodstream. According to the Associated Press, the animal is said to have eaten significantly more. The portrayal in the film was perhaps not exaggerated: Here the bear eats the cocaine by the kilo. You can read about the effects of the amount of cocaine determined by doctors on the animal in points 4, 5 and 6.

3. How did the bear get the cocaine?

Responsible for the cocaine bear case was a certain Andrew Carter Thornton II – a reportedly bored ex-paratrooper and ex-cop who worked in the Narcotics Squad, among other jobs. He combined both activities for a more exciting and dangerous profession. In 1981, Thornton was first sentenced to prison for drug trafficking. In September 1985, he smuggled $15 million worth of cocaine into the United States on a plane. He jumped off with almost 20 kilograms of cocaine. However, his parachute failed, taking his life. The roughly 40 packs of cocaine spread across Tennessee and Georgia, where they were eventually encountered by a black bear. Incidentally, he was nicknamed Pablo Esco by the US presseditnamed after the famous drug lord Pablo Escobar.

4. Did the cocaine bear really kill people?

In the film, the bear attacks anything that moves and wears 80s clothes. Whoever comes into view of the blood-smeared animal must fear for his limbs and for his life. It is not entirely clear whether the bear kills out of sheer lust for murder or only when the victims stand between him and a supply of cocaine. And it is irrelevant to the question of a true basis for the slaughter. Because investigations showed no signs of a massacre or even “threatening or destructive behavior” of the bear, according to the National Geographic article. In this case, the film exaggerates greatly. Cocain Bear screenwriter Jimmy Warden told Variety the film was his “perverted fantasy of what would actually happen if a bear took cocaine.” You can read in the next point whether the film is correct in its portrayal.

5. What really happens when bears or other animals use cocaine?

In the film, the mood of the coked-up bear alternates between anger, euphoria and total exhaustion. In part, it reflects the effects of cocaine on people’s moods. In reality, the effects can probably not be transferred 1 to 1 to animals, as National Geographic writes. Science is divided as to whether or how high animals can become at all. This simply cannot be verified. Unfortunately, cocaine consumption had fatal effects on the real cocaine bear.

6. How did the true case of the Cocaine Bear end?

Cocaine Bear spoilers follow: In the film, the cocaine bear is allowed to live on in peace with her two cubs and a large stash of cocaine. The true story ended tragically for the beast. The bear died of acute cocaine poisoning, an investigation has found. He had been dead for a month when he was found. The three to four grams of cocaine in the animal’s blood was just too much.

According to a myth (see above) the Cocaine Bear was subsequently stuffed. He is currently said to be in a mall in the US state of Kentucky. Whether the artifact is the real Cocaine Bear can no longer be verified with certainty.

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So almost everything that happens at Cocaine Bear is made up. But this film probably wouldn’t exist if at least the most important part wasn’t true: A bear took cocaine. And so the cult of the Cocaine Bear blossomed. The film has so far grossed over $80 million worldwide and received some good reviews. From Thursday, the animal horror will also be in cinemas in Germany.

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