The little bear cub that could.
You’ve got no choice but to grow up fast as a baby black bear. This babbling brook in the hills of Great Smoky Mountains National Park might as well have been a full blown river for this bear cub. The small thing, which is only a foot or two long, was faced with the daunting task of crossing a narrow path of raging (relative to its size) water.
And it handled the fast-moving water like a champ.
They say that sometimes you gain the best experience just by throwing yourself right into the action. This little bear cub is certainly a good example of that. It came across a creek filled with water and needed to get to the other side. It was a classic, “Can’t go over it, can’t go around it, gotta go through it” scenario.
So that’s what the tiny bear cub did. It mustered up all of the courage in its little body and began scoping out a way to cross the water. For an adult bear, this little creek could easily be stepped over in one or two big strides. For a baby bear like this one, it was the test of a lifetime.
As you’ll see in the clip below, the cub jumped as far as it could in an attempt to reach the other side, but the leap wasn’t enough to reach the large rock on the other side. However, the smart little thing grasped onto the moss that covered the rock and showed off some impressive strength pulling itself up and making it successfully to the other side.
Take a look:
@elaine_blevins the cutest baby bear. #gatlinburgtennessee #babybear #smokymountainstennessee ♬ original sound – Elaine Blevins
Nothing like a bear-cub-crossing-a-stream to get you inspired to tackle the new year.
It’s honestly one of the cooler outdoor videos that I’ve come across in recent memory, and shoutout to TikTok user Elaine Blevins for capturing it all on film. Those that came across the video online admired the baby bear in the comment section below the post, saying things like:
“The way we just witnessed a milestone for this fella.”
“Not me ready to risk my life to help it cross.”
“The babiest baby bear ever.”
“My toxic trait would have been, ‘Hang on baby bear, I’m coming to help.'”
“Oh he looks so little. I hope his mama is there.”
Well… you actually might not want to wish for that. One of the most dangerous places you can be in the world is in between a mother bear and her cub. Most violent bear attacks happen when humans accidentally (or idiotically) get too close to a mama bear that will stop at nothing to keep her cubs safe.
The creator of the video did confirm that the mother was in sight, so hopefully they were able to get to a safe place – or they were filming this from a secure place already. You don’t want to mess with a mama bear…
