Rick Martinez and Brian Gordon are getting used to visits from wild bears to their impressive home in the foothills of Monrovia, California. Rick’s Instagram account is full of vids of various bears playing in the backyard, more often than not casually vandalising the place in the most adorable ways (we’re not talking major damage here, just inflatable pool toys and chlorinator becoming collateral damage).
And dips in the house’s swimming pool are especially popular among the local ursine population.
But Brian and Rick’s the latest vid is his pièce de résistance. Even Rick himself calls it a “cuteness overload” as the smallest cubs they’ve ever seen follow a momma bear into the backyard and she tries – but fails – to entice he offspring into the pool.
And that’s not all – a whole load of other clips show the three bears giving the place a thorough exploration and even doing a spot of climbing.
Rick and Brian recognize the momma bear as a regular visitor called Maddie, but this is the first time they’ve seen the cubs.
While the videos are undoubtedly cute, it worth remembering that these are wild bears and not as tame as they may look. Rick and Brian appear to keep a safe distance at all times or at the very least make sure there’s a barrier of some sort between them and the bears.
Some people might be concerned about bear habituation, especially with bear encounters are on the rise, but the guys aren’t actually interacting with the bears beyond just recording them. After all, would you like to try to tell a bear to get out of your pool?
Here’s a couple of their previous videos:
- How to use bear spray: our easy-to-follow guide to storing, carrying, and using this vital hiking safety tool
