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A mother bear was spotted coaxing her three young cubs across a Canadian highway to safety on Tuesday.
In the video, taken by a motorist from inside his car in Whistler, British Columbia, the mother ambles up and down the highway's cement barrier as her babies try to reach her from below.
The cubs can be heard crying for help as they desperately try to claw up the barrier. "Come on mama bear, you've got it," cameraman James Hamilton is heard saying as he encourages the group along.
The footage cuts away and returns to show two of the three cubs have safely made it over the barrier. "Come on little bear. Last one," Hamilton says. "Go on, you got it. Come on buddy!"
The little cub tries its best to reach its mother but appears unable to make the leap up the wall and continues plodding along the road, leaving the viewer wondering if the bear ever made it to safety.
Many were quick to ask what happened to the remaining cub. "This makes me sad. Did that baby bear unite with its mother in the end?" one woman asked. "Next time show the whole video because everyone here [was] left in suspense," another added.
Speaking to Storyful, Hamilton said that the last remaining small cub was not able to make it over the barrier, so the family climbed back over and crossed the highway at a different point before disappearing into the woods.
"I was amazed seeing that. I'm never that lucky," he told 51 Degrees North Magazine. "That was the best encounter I've had."
Hamilton said he stopped his car and stayed in his vehicle to give some space for the family, holding up traffic in the process. "I didn't want mama bear to get spooked and run off," he said.
Eventually, all four bears were reunited. "They all jumped back over onto the highway and crossed into the woods," the Whistler resident said.
Bears emerge from their dens in spring and encounters such as these are more common as many attempt to cross busy roads or wander into towns.
Scenes like this are a familiar sight in Canada where humans often live alongside bears.
However, this is not so much the case in Florida where one homeowner says a bear regularly visits her backyard pool.
Karen Bockrath told the Miami Herald she frequently hosts a local bear who enjoys taking dips in her Naples, Florida pool. Because the bear stops by so often, she decided to take pictures of the animal and share them on social media.
The saga began when Bockrath first discovered a giant hole in her porch screen. Soon, she learned its cause when she found the massive bear, which appears to be a Florida black bear, lounging in her pool. The bear has stopped by for so many visits since that she jokingly refers to it as her "pet."
"Guess I'm having a pool party! Who knew!" Bockrath said in one post, alongside a photo of the bear neck-deep in the water.
