Stephanie Latimer was kayaking the Rio Grande at the base of the Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park in Texas when she spotted two unusual rock climbers. There, climbing a sheer cliff, was a momma bear and her cub, doing their best imitation of bighorn sheep. Latimer began videotaping and rooting on the furry climbers:
Bears, a momma and the cub above, climb a sheer canyon wall in Texas’ Big Bend National Park. Photo is a screen grab
Just spotting the endangered Mexican black bears was a rarity—only 12 adults are said to be living in the park—but seeing them display a climbing ability akin to mountain goats and bighorn sheep makes it all the more rare.
“OK, momma made it—good,” Latimer says on the video once the momma bear reached a shelf presumably leading into the wild. “Come on, you can do it, little guy.”
Clearly the cub was lacking experience, needing a little extra time.
“Come on, you can do it, little guy,” Latimer says.
Eventually, the cub proved her correct and finally reached the same shelf as its mother.
“Good job, little guy! Good job, you did it! Oh yeah!” Latimer says. “Who said bears can’t climb?”
Well, we knew they could climb trees, but sheer cliffs? Who knew?
Bears climb wall of Santa Elena Canyon in Big Bend National Park, Texas. Generic photo from Wikimedia Commons
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