Isaac Spotts caught an amazing interaction on film as he was photographing two brown bear cubs in Alaska. In the video, which already has over 35,000 likes, the young grizzlies play with each other—at times gently, almost sweetly, and at times aggressively. The grizzly cubs are practicing for life as big bears, after all. You wouldn’t expect it to be all sweet and not serious.
At the start of the video, the bears appear to be sizing each other up. They mouth at each other without making contact, and then they have a grizzly version of a thumb war, seeing which one of them can keep its paw on top of the other’s paw in the more advantageous position.
If we anthropomorphize this behavior, it looks sweet, like the bears are trying to hold hands. The video appears slowed down, adding to the drama of the moment and allowing viewers to savor the rare sight of two grizzlies interacting with each other while they think they’re alone.
Then, one bear makes a move, standing up on its back paws and starting a baby brawl. The bears push and shove each other, but not with full force. It’s all in good fun for now. One day, though, all this practice will pay off, and these bears will be ready to defend themselves.
Watch two young grizzlies’ play time here: