This video of the mother bear and its small cub in Yellowstone National Park is a true representation of a “learning lesson” process.
The footage begins with the two bears being run off by a herd of bison. Tourists visiting Yellowstone this summer should take note: if a grizzly bear runs away from a bison, that means you probably shouldn’t walk right up to the horned animal and try to take selfies with it.
After the mother and its cub retreat away, they come to a body of water around the 3 minute mark in the clip. This is where the lesson begins for the young bear.
The mother bear makes it all the way to the other side of the water, then turns back to see that its child hasn’t moved an inch. The cub looks to be intimated by the water, and as most mothers would do when their kid is not cooperating, the bigger bear goes back to where it had just came from to set the record straight.
At the 6:45 mark, the stakes are upped a bit, with the next body of water they are trying to cross featuring a pretty strong current.
The footage picks up with the two bears already fighting the strong pull of the river, and the baby bear panicking and roaring for help. The mother had already made her way over to keep her cub afloat, and she quickly gets herself and her offspring to the safety of the shore.
Finally, the 9 minute mark of the video shows the mother bear and cub coming to their third and final crossing, with this one being a calmer branch of the Soda Butte River.
Take a look at the unbelievable footage of the mother bear and the resilient cub below: