Brooke Bartleson is a bear guide and a wilderness photo guide in Alaska. Perhaps her best marketing material is some footage she captured of a little brown bear cub “waving” as it tries to stay steady on its hind legs.
As the little bear tries to keep its balance, it wobbles back and forth and uses its arm to steady itself. In the process, it looks like it’s giving onlookers a wave. It’s the cutest wave ever, even if it’s not a real wave. (Because how would a bear know what a wave is anyway?)
Watch it here:
Bartleson says it’s “forever one of the cutest moments.” She explains that bear cubs are pretty unstable for awhile as they learn how to be bears.
According to the National Park Service (NPS), brown bear cubs are born “tiny and hairless.” They can weigh half a pound or less at birth.
Cubs stay with their moms for about two years. During this time, the mom teaches her cubs survival skills, like how to forage for food. Human babies typically learn how to wave around nine months, but waving is not on the list of critical survival skills for a bear.
The internet loves a good little bear wave, though. Who wouldn’t?