In a video taken only a few years ago, we witness one of the cutest and most curious things—a juvenile bear who seems to be hearing a voice from above! As the clip starts, we see a small black bear wander into the backyard of a man who happens to be ready with his phone’s video camera. As he’s filming, we see a small black bear wander into the yard, clearly not in a rush. Although it’s hard to tell, it looks like the black bear in the video is pretty young. Black bears generally grow between 130 and 660 lbs, and this individual is clearly on the smaller end of the spectrum, telling us it’s likely a young one. Once the bear enters the clearing, the man filming (who is safely tucked away on a raised porch) begins talking to it. Whistling and gently talking, he tries to let the bear know that he’s nearby, hoping to avoid spooking it. At first, the bear really doesn’t notice the man making noise! Since bears are usually so timid, they generally run away at the first sound of a human. This bear, however, finally noticed the whistling and calling and looked up! Once he saw the man up on the porch calling to him, he decided he wanted a closer look. Walking over to a nearby tree, the bear starts to climb… and climb and climb! Incredibly, the small black bear scales the tree nearly 50 feet in the air, hoping to see the man who is talking to him. Like a little monkey, the little bear climbs the tree like a total expert. The man watching is clearly worried for the bear’s safety, but this bear must be a pro with how easily it climbs up the tree. By the end of its climb, the bear is taller than the man’s raised home. We generally know that bears can climb trees, but it isn’t often we see just how good they are at it! In fact, their claws are specially designed to allow them to grip the bark of trees and pull them up. Since black bears are lighter than grizzly bears, they are especially adept at climbing to insane heights in the trees. Finally, nearly five minutes later, the bear descended from the tree and sits for a second (maybe in shock!). Wandering off into the woods, the clip ends as soon as it began. With a final “see ya,” the man tells the bear goodbye. If he didn’t have the video, nobody would believe what he just witnessed!

Up Next

Are Black Bears Aggressive?The Largest Black Bear in HistoryRude Black Bear Enters Home Without Permission, Then Closes It in Apology