Bears are inherently curious animals. They like to examine things and figure out what makes them tick and, more importantly, if they can get something good to eat from it. In truth, it's probably rather hard to surprise a bear with something they have never seen before. However, whoever set up this trail camera managed to find something that freaks out this black bear, its reflection. Yes, someone has hung a large bathroom mirror on a tree in the forest and set up a camera to film it. A little later, a giant bear comes wandering through, sniffing around, looking for food. And the bear encounters the mirror.
Instead, the bear turns to see the mirror and immediately freaks out, thinking another bear has managed to walk up to him. The animal directly attacks its reflection in the mirror and even goes around to the backside looking for the other bear. Eventually, it rips the whole mirror off the tree and stomps on it for good measure.
https://youtu.be/Z8APy71DKag
We know we shouldn't laugh because that bear probably had a real fight-or-flight moment when he saw that reflection, but there are so many jokes to be made here about seeing your reflection in a mirror. We guess he couldn't bear it. I'll show myself the door now, thanks. At least the bear wasn't hurt in the incident. He just got a little scare. The part where he rips the mirror down and stomps on it will never not be funny, though.
It looks like there were a few other cameras on the scene. We wish they'd uploaded the different angles of this "bear encounters mirror, then murders it" moment. This is one of those things you'd never really think about until someone sets it up. Most animals have probably never seen their reflection before. Maybe if they were drinking in a still pond, but even then, they probably can't comprehend what it is they are looking at. It makes for a fascinating video to see their reaction, that's for sure.
For more outdoor content from Travis Smola, follow him on Twitter and Instagram. Check out his Geocaching and Outdoors with Travis YouTube channels for original videos.
