For my next trick…
Last time I checked, circuses weren’t allowed to have live animals acts anymore. Yet here’s this bear, seemingly yearning to be a part of the circus as it puts on a tightrope walking show. I imagine that the people who took this video probably had to do a double take to make sure they weren’t dreaming.
Though movies and cartoons have portrayed bears as oafish, in reality, they’re actually very agile for their size. Out in the wild, bruins can run at high speeds, climb trees, change directions in the blink of an eye, and according to this video, balance on things they probably shouldn’t be able to balance on.
This clip, which was taken by a woman near Lake Tahoe in California, is almost hard to believe. The wild bear put on a tightrope walking clinic on this railing, and it never once appeared to be struggling with balance. It’s really an absurd showcasing of athleticism if you think about how hard it would be to walk on that railing on two feet, let alone four paws.
And the news broadcast makes a great point – what the hell is on the other side of the railing? Obviously it’s there to keep people from falling over, so there must be some sort of drop off? Or maybe even a waterfall? It’s there as a safeguard, yet this bear was using it as a prop in it’s impromptu circus act.
The graceful and well-balanced bear eventually jumped down off the rail and ran back into the woods. Some might say that this was just an accidental tightrope (or tightrail) walk caught on camera, but I beg to differ. With all the confidence that bear was exuding as it walked across the railing, it has done that more than once before. Training at night maybe? Who’s to say?
My theory could be proven true if another video, like this one below, of the same bear doing the exact same, harrowing stunt went viral. Here’s to hoping that happens, but for now, just enjoy the footage of the talented bear that already exists:
