This is the hilarious moment a Russian bear is filmed ‘dancing’ up and down as it scratches its back on a tree in a scene straight from ‘The Jungle Book’.
The dancing bear was recorded at the Visim Nature Reserve in central Russia’s Sverdlovsk Oblast region and the footage has since been widely shared on social media.
In the clip, the bear can be seen standing on its hind legs as it rubs its back on the tree.
The bear appears to dance, dropping down and shaking its body before moving back up the tree as it scratches its back in a fashion incredibly similar to that of ‘Baloo’ in the Disney classic ‘The Jungle Book’.
The bear eventually drops down to take a seat at the base of the tree before walking away past the camera.
Employees from the reserve explained that the white fur seen on the bear’s chest is the remains of the animal’s winter fur or undercoat, which it uses the tree to help shed.
The reserve’s director, Mikhail Fedorov, said that bears are often recorded by the cameras set up in the area, and the footage helps them keep records on bear numbers in the reserve.
![Credit: Newsflash/@visimzap](https://ananova.news/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Newsflash-BearDance-01-1024x576.jpg)
He added: “They periodically record not only animals, but also people who mistakenly or intentionally enter the reserve’s territory.”
Local media report a bear named Ferapont found internet fame with a similar ‘dancing’ display in the reserve but the most recent clip is unlikely to be the same animal.
Employees from the reserve are trying to identify the bear using the video and photographs of the specimens they have on record.
Bear “danced” in the reserve Bear “danced” in the reserve
To find out more about the author, editor or agency that supplied this story – please click below.
Story By: Sergiu Nazaru, Sub Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Newsflash
The Ananova page is created by and dedicated to professional, independent freelance journalists. It is a place for us to showcase our work. When our news is sold to our media partners, we will include the link here.