This is perfectly demonstrated below, where a man and a black bear have developed a strong, unique relationship.
The momma bear has come to visit Patrick Conley pretty often over the years and one day, she brought her newborn cubs to meet him!
Patrick is from Asheville, North Carolina where black bears are very common and known to be comfortable with humans.
The bear population in this part of the US is booming, and this is in part due to the bears adapting to living among humans.
You can see in the video, Simone the momma bear comes out of the woods to say hello.
This in itself is a regular occurrence for Patrick, nothing out of the ordinary. But with her this time, she brought her first litter of cubs to meet him.
He really couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw the adorable family of cubs plodding along behind the momma cub.
‘The cubs are the cutest things to ever have walked these woods, but then I’m kind of biased,’ he wrote on the caption for this video.
Simone was already a close friend to Patrick, so for him, meeting the cubs was the same as meeting a new family member.
And you can see how close and comfortable Simone feels with Patrick, as she walks, without hesitation, straight onto the porch with her cubs following just behind her.
The cubs are clearly not as comfortable as their momma, as they hesitate a little before jumping up on the porch.
But eventually, all three of them are on the porch to greet Patrick, and understandably, he is in awe.
A bear, which is typically known to be fearsome, is so friendly with Patrick, a human, and trusts him so much that he is meeting her vulnerable newborns. Amazing!
Both of the cubs run to the closest tree to climb and play, with Simone trailing closely behind. They are still getting used to this new world.
After some exploring, climbing and playing around, Simone signals its time to go, and the trio disappear into the forest.
Patrick pointed out that Simone looked well-fed and healthy.
See the full video of the encounter below:
What a beautiful encounter Patrick has been blessed with by nature.