On September 19, 2020, a miraculous occurrence happened in Douglas County, Colorado. On their way to hibernation, three bears decided to make a pool party pitstop at the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area just south of Denver. Thankfully, for all of us, the bears' antics were caught on camera!
The footage shows the wild animals enjoying their time, splashing around in the water, and dunking each other in an oddly human manner. Get ready; you're not going to want to miss these bear-y spectacular pictures.
Scoping Out The Area
According to the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area Facebook page, their facility is flocking with wildlife. All taking advantage of their water facilities. On the conservation page, a post says, "It is not just the bears enjoying our 26 water resources. It's the birds, squirrels, raccoons, porcupines, hawks, falcons, eagles, even mice using our tanks for water."
The Wilderness area is an 8,200-acre wildlife conservation property located in Colorado. And they were gracious enough to share their camera's footage of a bear pool party!
Papa Bear Gives The All Clear
After scoping out the surrounding area, it looks like Papa bear believed the area to be secure enough to hop into the pool of water. He's lounging about without a care in the world, casually hanging one of his huge paws over the side of the tub.
Of course, it weirdly looks like he's staring straight into the camera. Either that or his bear is letting his cubs know that they're safe to join in the fun!
CANNONBBBAALLL!
If papa bear was looking for a relaxing day with his family, then he's in for a treat! This next bear looks all too ready to make a splash, literally. Look at that form; if he's not getting ready to do the most epic cannonball known to human and animal kind, then we're not sure what's going on.
Either way, papa bear better move out of the way! Or at least swim over to the other side of the tub, so he doesn't get splashed.
The Look Of Regret
Cannonball or not, the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area camera captured the second bear making its way into the pool one way or another. And it looks as though he's trying to apologize to papa bear for splashing him. Excuse us while we go find a tissue because that's one of the cutest things.
Just look at both of their postures! The one on the left is reaching for the bigger bear's paw, almost as if he's promising not to jump into the pool again.
Incoming: Bear #3
It's not a pool party unless there are three bears, right? Well, this third guy looks bear-y confused as to what they're all doing in the tub of water. Weren't they supposed to be walking towards their hibernation spot?
Anyhow, the other two bears are bound to get the third cub into the water sooner or later. And you're not going to want to miss out on the pictures when that happens!
Hanging On To The Bear-i-er For Safety
The third and final bear made it into the pool! He looks a bit iffy about the whole swimming thing still, as seen by his barrier from the other two bears. Either he has huge trust issues with others dunking him, or he doesn't feel confident in his swimming abilities.
Personally, we believe it's the former, and he doesn't trust his cubs not to go full-on WrestleMania while they're supposedly having a relaxing pool day.
The Tides Have Turned
As it turns out, the third bear was just buying his time! He obviously has no issue swimming and looks like he's about to be the one to dunk the second bear, much to the second bear's dismay.
Well, let's see how far the third bear gets in his evil mastermind plan because papa bear doesn't look overly amused. He's most likely thinking the next time he wants a relaxing day; he'll leave the cubs at home.
Ding-Ding-Ding, FIGHT!
As it turns out, WrestleMania: Bear Edition happened anyway! Here we have the two smaller bears going up against papa bear. Honestly, two against one makes sense in this particular scenario, considering how big papa is compared to the other two.
Even so, the look on Papa bear's face is one of pure joy. He looks like he's loving every minute he's having with his two cubs. This was the perfect way to spend the afternoon!
Papa Bear Letting His Cub Win A Round
A few rounds in and the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area camera shows the third cub who started it all in the loser's cage. It's okay, little guy, you'll win one of these matches when you get older. Well, maybe, considering his brother is beating his dad right now.
Oh, who are we kidding? Papa bear is being a good dad and letting his cub win one of the rounds. We wish all pool parties looked this fun.
Father And Son Chat
It looks like this father and son duo are having the age-old "be a good sport" chat. The little cub looks a bit beaten up over not being in the final wrestling match. But Papa bear knows what to do.
He sent the wrestling winner to the other side of the pool, sitting this cub down for a serious chat. Papa bear is probably telling him that it's okay to lose sometimes and that it builds character.
Bringing It In For A Bear-y Large Hug
This father and son duo is the cutest thing ever. After their little winner and loser chat, the cub looks like he's going in for a bear-y big hug to thank his dad — nothing like a nice pool hug to settle a little dispute among brothers.
Of course, the brothers should probably be hugging it out, but maybe that's going to come later. For now, we're going to appreciate the relationship these two wild animals have.
Papa Bear's Had Enough Of The Water
After their chat, the camera caught Papa bear getting out of the water to dry off before the rest of their journey. Of course, just because he got out of the water doesn't mean his cub followed suit!
Actually, it's exactly the opposite. The young cub is seen splashing around the pool like a little kid on the Fourth of July. At least Papa is letting him have his fun before he's asleep all winter long.
Dad's Gone So That Means A Surprise Attack
Well, his splashing playtime fun didn't last long, as it would seem! Nope, his brother was lying in wait for his dad to get out of the pool. Once that happened, it was his time to strike. And strike hard he did!
This cub is literally flying out of the middle section and over the barrier to flop down on top of his brother. Apparently, that age-old saying, "boys will be boys," applies to wild bears as well.
Shaking It Off And Plotting Revenge
The surprise attack was most likely all in good fun, though. Just the older brother picking on his younger brother, showing him who's boss, and telling him that he'll always win when they play WrestleMania.
Here's to hoping these two cubs come back to the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area water facilities next year for a rematch! We'd be interested in seeing how much they grew and if the younger cub can beat his brother.
This Cub Isn't Going down Without A Fight
Maybe we don't have to wait until next season's camera stills, though. It looks like the younger cub wasn't going to give up without a fight, no matter what Papa bear said about losing with grace and dignity.
Nope, this cub is coming out swinging, ready to deck his brother in what seems like the side of the head! From the look on the other cub's face, he sees the paw and knows exactly what's about to happen.
The Revenge Take Down
In an epic change of events, the young cub was able to swing and turn his brother and in the pool, getting the upper hand in their little game. It looks like both brothers like to fight a bit unfairly, taking their enemy by surprise and taking them down in the next instant.
The brown bear kind of deserved this, though, after leaping over the pool just to topple down on top of his brother. Either way, it's all in good fun!
Time To Hug It Out
Well, it looks like the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area camera captured the black cub taking a page out of Papa bears notebook, wanting to hug it out with his brother after the last sneak attack.
While the brown cub looks like he's ready to make amends and call a truce with his content streamlined ears, his left paw is telling another story. A story that might end with him dunking his brother one last time before calling it quits.
Papa Bear's Had Enough
Obviously, Papa bear had the same idea as the brown cub because HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area's camera captured him back in the water and splitting the two young ones up in no time!
It doesn't look like playtime is quite over in the minds of the two cubs. There seems to be a bit of plotting, considering the black cub now has the high ground. He's just waiting for the right opportunity to pounce (again).
Maybe One More Body Slam
As predicted, the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area camera caught the black cub in action, going in for one last body slam before Papa bear makes them get out of the pool for good.
We have to hand it to the young bear; he had a lot of guts to do that with his father standing right there, especially when his brother is obviously tensing up underneath his paws. Well, why not have one last second of fun before hibernation?
Time To Go!
After a full day of splashing around in the pool, the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area camera spotted Papa bear finally getting the two cubs out of the water. Considering he's still in the pool, though, it looks like he wanted a few seconds of relaxation before getting out himself!
Much to one of the cub's dismay, as it may seem with that little head poking over the side of the tub. Here's to a bear-y happy and healthy hibernation!
