A polar bear cub is totally terrified as a young seal pops through the ice, right in front of him, in one of the loveliest videos the animal kingdom has ever produced. It happened by happenstance – the moment was captured on video – and the Internet can’t get enough of it.
A BBC filming crew was present as the event unfolded. The producers were filming for a series called Snow Bears. The crew was following a polar bear mother and her two little pups on their epic trek from the Svalbard islands to the North Pole when they came upon an unexpectedly funny event.
As soon as they arrived at the unending glacier, the hungry mother began chasing seals, the major food source for polar bears, in the hopes that her two cubs would learn to hunt as well. However, the mother bear’s hopes are dashed when one of the cubs fails miserably on her first session.
Inspired by her courageous mother, the cub is more determined than ever to capture her own food, but she collapses in terror as a young seal breaks through the ice right in front of her. Clearly, the tiny one was taken aback.
The BBC finally chose to post the sweet scenario online, and it has now received over 15 million views. They characterized the scene as “a polar bear waits eagerly for a seal, but her cub is taken aback when it emerges suddenly.” Take a look at this: