Video: Black Bears Scale Cliff

When push comes to shove, I probably write more about bears for this blog than about any other game animal. The species as a whole just seems to have a penchant for finding its way into an entertaining breed of trouble. I've written about bears climbing ropes, bears stealing dumpsters and bears stopping by the bar for a drink. Today, we have bears climbing a rock face.

A video that's making its round on the web shows two bears, identified as Mexican black bears by the video's owner, scaling a cliff at the base of the Santa Elena Canyon, in Texas' Big Bend National Park. Mexican black bears, as you might imagine, are a subspecies of the greater black bear family. They're quite endangered—but a handful has been known to call Big Bend National Park home.

In this case, the video shows an adult bear and a cub gradually making their way up the cliff. As to what they're after at the top, I can't imagine. After a bit of a struggle, even the cub's able to reach safer ground. The person behind the video camera has some fun with it, though. I'd encourage you to give it a look.

Check out the action for yourself in the video embedded below.