A driver stopped her car in the middle of the road to allow an animal to cross safely, but was left gobsmacked when she saw what the adorable creature did next
Driving on country roads can sometimes mean stopping suddenly if an animal darts out onto the road ahead of you. In the UK, this is most likely to be deer, foxes, badgers, and rabbits, who tend to run quickly from one side of the road to the other – meaning you don’t have to stop for long.
But one woman in the US was left gobsmacked while on a recent country drive. She had to stop her car in the middle of the road to allow a mother bear and her cub to cross. The woman was initially amazed just to see the adorable bear cub with its mother, but what happened next left her speechless.
In a video shared on TikTok, the mother bear began to cross the road and expected her cub to follow, but that’s not quite what happened – as the young bear got distracted by something on the roadside.
A small red balloon appeared to be tied to a drain on the side of the road with a piece of string, and the bear cub stopped crossing the road to play with it. It was filmed standing on two legs and using its front paws to bat the balloon, just like a human child would do.
Eventually, the cub’s playful antics meant that the balloon came free from the string, and the cub watched in awe as the red toy floated away into the sky.
Meanwhile, the cub’s mother had to turn around and walk back across the road again to pick up her child, as she’d noticed it wasn’t following along behind her. Traffic began to build up on both sides of the road, with motorists waiting patiently for the animals to get to safety.
Commenters on the woman’s video were amazed by the events in the clip. Many said the bear cub was “adorable,” while others were gobsmacked at how much the young mammal acted exactly like a human child would do when faced with a fun distraction.
One person said: “I’ve never once seen anyone get mad that traffic stopped to watch bears. It’s universal. You see a bear, everyone is waiting, and time stands still. But this is top-tier bears watching.”
Another joked: “My woman instincts would have me out of the car, cuddling him, getting the balloon out for him, and making sure he has a good hold on it before I leave a kiss on his forehead and get back in my car with tears in my eyes,” despite the fact bears can be dangerous to humans.
A third wrote: “Oh, I know his heart broke when it floated away.”
Others questioned why the balloon was tied to the drain grate in the first place. People claimed that it could be a nod to the popular horror film It, in which red balloons are used to signify that Pennywise the clown is nearby.
Although the most recent film version of Stephen King’s book came out in 2019, some people still tie red balloons to drains as a prank to honour the iconic horror villain.
Some people also guessed it could have been a helium balloon with a weight attached to the end that someone threw from their car window. The weight fell into the drain, trapping the balloon in place.
No matter how the balloon got there, it’s safe to say it gave drivers something to talk about – and probably made them late to their destinations!
