It’s no secret that bears like to fish.
A group of 17 brown bears was recently captured on a livestream video at Katmai National Park. The bears can be seen snatching salmon with their paws and jaws, which is the typical way that most bears catch fish.
But then there’s this special brown bear from Russia who hits the water with a rod and reel like a person.
The bear has lived in captivity for its entire life and his name is Archie. He was rescued by Veronica Dichka after the Safari Park where Archie previously resided announced they were going out of business two years ago.
Footage of Archie and Veronica fishing together a lake in southern Siberia has gone viral on social media, and elevated Archie to being somewhat of an internet celebrity in the bear world.
The bear doesn’t actually operate the rod and reel, but does wait patiently on the boat while Veronica does the fishing.
The two don’t just fish together though, as Veronica told the Daily Mail that she spends almost all her time with Archie.
“He sees me as a member of his family, we share food, he sleeps in my arms when afraid, and hides behind me. We rescued him from the safari park but can’t release him into the wild as he has lived in captivity his whole life.
Archie spends every day with us and is madly in love with water. He loves it very much when I take him to new places, so this shooting was a pleasure for him!”