Watch this, mom. I’m totally gonna do a backflip… 


 

Nailed it.

This clip of mama bear and cub cooling off during the California heatwave was shared on the San Gorgonio Wilderness Outfitters Facebook page last week. Not as content as its mother to just laze around, the cub takes its uncoordinated limbs for a test run on the edge of the trough – and then plunges headlong into the bushes. Much falling follows.

Baby bears like this one will stay with their mothers for around 17 months, learning everything from where to go, what to eat and how not to face-plant the foliage. By springtime, they start sampling some of what mom eats, but will still be suckling until hibernation in the fall.

As for mama bear, there's no helicopter parenting here. And that's because learning to balance, climb and act cool while you’re chilling by the pool are crucial skills for any bear-in-training. By leaving her clumsy progeny to figure out its surroundings, she's teaching it important coping skills. 

Of course, on occasion, it's the adult bears who get a little carried away in the water:

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