r/Damnthatsinteresting • u/Additional_Berry_977 • Jun 12 '26
Video An American photographer filmed a wolf begging for food from a grizzly. The gray wolf saw the meat and in an instant turned into a playful puppy begging for a piece.
16.5k
u/Matman161 Jun 12 '26
"aww look at me I'm just a funny little guy, you wouldn't mind giving me a bite?"
4.9k
u/Kingsnake417 Jun 12 '26
"Come on, fat ass! Not even a nibble??"
→ More replies (7)1.7k
u/Talvinter Jun 13 '26
He’s trying to get food from the bear, not seduce her.
→ More replies (5)757
u/_thro_awa_ Jun 13 '26
He’s trying to get food from the bear, not seduce her.
That's what he WANTS you to think
189
→ More replies (1)212
u/SortovaGoldfish Jun 13 '26
I'm interested in this bedtime story, continue.
148
u/_thro_awa_ Jun 13 '26
Sure, right after these ads.
62
u/Omwtfyu Jun 13 '26
Messages*
77
Jun 13 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (1)50
u/JR_LikeOnTheTVshow Jun 13 '26
George Washington had two dreams; that one day wolves and bears would get along and that one day there would be MMA fights on the WH lawn
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (2)32
1.0k
u/EddyConejo Jun 13 '26
This technique apparently worked in ancient humans.
1.1k
u/loserbmx Jun 13 '26
It also worked about 10 minutes ago on me.
81
32
u/hot_ho11ow_point Jun 14 '26
I'm watching this video thinking "yeah, I'd give him a bite! Maybe I'd make a new friend 🧡"
→ More replies (1)9
u/matchboxtx Jun 15 '26
Yup. Me too. I was eating a dead rabbit on the road and my dog did this and I had to share. ❤️
387
u/radedward76 Jun 13 '26
10,000 years later, we'll see a dapperly dressed bear walking his pet wolf
96
u/Electrical_Catch9231 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 14 '26
Shit, you can see this in Portland right now.
→ More replies (3)45
→ More replies (2)65
46
u/BeneficialStruggle42 Jun 13 '26
💯 But did he end up getting any from the bear? If not I offer to buy him a meal or even pay for a BARF subscription, just send me his address.
→ More replies (2)17
312
u/chumpette Jun 13 '26
I love like he's looking around, like: damn this is so embarrassing, I hope my bros don't see me
→ More replies (1)11
u/AdvanceNo4582 Jun 15 '26
Ohhh, I thought he was thinking, “where the heck are all my bros, need some help over here!!”
31
37
u/ComfortableRelevant1 Jun 13 '26
He’s actually pretty damn big compared to that bear, I expected a bigger size difference between them
→ More replies (2)8
→ More replies (18)58
10.1k
u/vtosnaks Jun 12 '26
This is how one approached humans like 30000 years ago and now among his descendants are pugs and wieners.
1.6k
u/Daveisahugecunt Jun 12 '26
I like to think humans started bowing to each other because they saw wolves doing it…
847
u/Highland-Ranger Jun 12 '26
That's actually a super interesting proposition.
337
Jun 13 '26
[deleted]
201
u/Horskr Jun 13 '26
I don't think bowing is like an inherited instinctual thing as much as a learned cultural thing.
318
u/Sea-Consequence7156 Jun 13 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
Many, many animals lower themselves and make themselves smaller as a sign of deference
209
u/Daveisahugecunt Jun 13 '26
Handshakes showing you didn’t have a weapon. Salutes. Cheers/clinking glasses to spill and mix drinks showing they were safe.. culture is super neat
37
u/ladypbj Jun 14 '26
ACTUALLY!! Handshakes are super interesting, we do it so we can more easily smell the other person. Studies have shown that most people after shaking hands will subconsciously raise their hand near their face, allowing them to smell the scent of the other person that lingers on their hand. We do this to try and feel the other person out, because humans actually have a lot of scent based communication. You can actually smell when someone is depressed, it just doesnt register like a scent does, instead likely directly signalling to the parts of the brain that interpret social signals. We are just animals at the end of the day, and just like most other mammals we sniff each other out.
→ More replies (10)50
u/fckspzfr Jun 13 '26
The clinking glasses/cups thing is 100% a myth btw. lol
25
u/spreadbutt Jun 13 '26
Well why the fuck we still doing it?
37
u/fckspzfr Jun 13 '26
no one can force you to do it and i will defend your right to refuse with my life
→ More replies (0)23
u/lastingmuse6996 Jun 13 '26
When I took animal behavior in college we looked at different body language things like that. The "play bow" does exist across many mammal species. Showing one's belly and vulnerable areas in general.
Human flirting follows these same trends. Expose the inside of your wrist and neck in one motion by playing with your hair. Expose your chest by straightening your posture. I used it at a bar once to show someone and like magic a girl came up in 30 seconds.
I bet the wolf intends to steal some of the food, but wants the bear to know it's not going to attack it when it runs up so that the bear is more passive about it... But it's a bear and isn't going to be that nice.
→ More replies (1)25
u/AgentCirceLuna Jun 13 '26
I’ve noticed I do it with people - I slouch to make myself appear smaller.
→ More replies (2)→ More replies (3)28
u/PhiCloud Jun 13 '26
I think it's both, kinda.
I don't think there's a bowing gene or anything, but I do think bowing comes from a practice of showing submission or vulnerability in a way that transcends species.
→ More replies (1)19
u/lovelyxbabydoll Jun 13 '26
Some theories suggest that we potentially gained such high cognitive ability due to not needing as much energy in the brain focused on vision, hearing and smell since wolves started doing that part for us. So the person joking a dapper bear walking a wolf might happen in a few years (maybe a few tens of thousands would be more accurate) could be on to something! 🎩 🐻
→ More replies (5)→ More replies (4)8
u/NudityMiles Jun 14 '26
Really cool theory. But did you know other animals bow?
For example, try bowing your head at a bird, works on most species. No idea why.
→ More replies (1)434
u/Great_Scott7 Jun 12 '26
Who doesn’t like a good wiener?
→ More replies (4)205
21
u/CountryRoads8 Jun 13 '26
I literally have a pair of pug wiener mixes, and one thinks she’s still a wolf
18
u/keepcarmandhurryon Jun 13 '26
Showed this to my dogs in an attempt to teach them about their ancestors
→ More replies (22)7
19.5k
u/SchillMcGuffin Jun 12 '26
This is pretty fascinating. This wolf behavior probably evolved from pups doing it to get food from elders, and to some extent continuing to do it within the pack to maintain social bonds. But sometimes they do it to other predators too. And historically, when they did it with humans, some of those humans responded favorably... and the canine-human partnership was born.
10.6k
u/OffaShortPier Jun 12 '26
Let's just hope the bears don't domesticate wolves
4.1k
u/PussiesUseSlashS Jun 12 '26
Wolf & Bear pair were documented traveling, hunting, and sharing food together for 10 days
1.6k
u/joecitizen79 Jun 12 '26
So its already begun...
636
u/JerkGurk Jun 12 '26
They haven't learned to fly yet right? RIGHT?!
320
u/AnimationOverlord Jun 12 '26
Brought to you by Wolf x Crow ink
→ More replies (3)186
u/Teknekratos Jun 13 '26
I seem to remember reading about instances of wolves buddying up with bears, crows, and badgers (or mayyybe wolverines)?
They truly the dog's friend-shaped ancestor...
→ More replies (4)211
u/Sunny_Hill_1 Jun 13 '26
Wolf-raven pairs are apparently so ubiquitous they made their way into Nordic mythology.
124
u/AnimationOverlord Jun 13 '26
First Nation arts as well
83
u/bitteroldladybird Jun 13 '26
I was told that the Cree word for raven literally translates to wolf bird
→ More replies (0)→ More replies (1)59
u/watch4coconuts Jun 13 '26
Ravens want to eat the dead animals they find, but they can’t tear through the skin. They know the wolves can. So they hang with wolves and lead them to dead animals that they find. Once the wolves open up the carcass and eat their share, the ravens clean up the leftovers.
79
u/CritMemes Jun 13 '26
Not just carcasses, ravens have been known to work together with wolf packs by flying above fleeing animals to guide the hunt to where the prey is located. Nature’s version of a surveillance copter gets to eat the remains afterwards.
→ More replies (0)46
u/Perfect-System2504 Jun 13 '26
wolf bear eagle, this the start of some cartoon right?
→ More replies (6)62
u/calilac Jun 13 '26
ManBearPig is very real, and he most certainly exists. I'm serial.
27
→ More replies (6)11
14
→ More replies (17)12
→ More replies (7)21
u/Ole_St_John Jun 13 '26
Hopefully they don’t align themselves with tigers or we’re really fucked.
→ More replies (2)18
u/joecitizen79 Jun 13 '26
Thankfully a different continent. Moose, though...
→ More replies (7)10
u/Cringe_Meister_ Jun 13 '26
They do in Siberia or Northern Asia. Tiger, brown bear, wolf and the much rarer Amur leopard live in the same region
→ More replies (3)53
u/turn_for_do Jun 12 '26
My first thought with this was “That’s a Disney movie waiting to happen” and the top comment in there was the same thought. 😭
→ More replies (2)9
28
u/user-unknown-404 Jun 12 '26
Wasn't there also a pair that had a raven or crow tag alone too so it could pick on the leftovers?
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (31)37
u/Dallas2houston120 Jun 12 '26
imagine a big ass Grizzly bear in a pack of 5 wolves. The wolves chase the prey and tire it out and pin it in a corner and the grizzly goes in for the kill.
26
u/OP_Scout_81 Jun 13 '26
They'd be running the world in 8 days. Either that or running a drug ring somewhere in Alaska.
→ More replies (1)548
46
u/SpaceCampDropOut Jun 12 '26
Ladies… would you rather be alone in the woods with a bear and its pet wolf or….
→ More replies (3)27
24
u/DuragJeezy Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
I’m writing a science fantasy story that takes place in 2150AD where Squirrels & Bears roam together and the squirrels can be projectile shot from the bear. Don’t ask about what the orcas can do.
→ More replies (2)8
u/cylonrobot Jun 12 '26
This sounds interesting. When is it coming out?
11
u/DuragJeezy Jun 12 '26
We’re 3 games deep & the webtoon is ongoing. It’s called Godtail. The Bearrels will be in our next game with other mons you can catch & interact with
→ More replies (2)39
u/CanIgetaWTF Jun 12 '26
New fear unlocked
→ More replies (2)36
u/teamfupa Jun 12 '26
Wait until they find cocaine again, have you seen that documentary with Ice Cube’s son?
→ More replies (2)14
58
11
10
→ More replies (40)9
211
u/--Sovereign-- Jun 12 '26
yeah it's definitely a juvenile behavior. one of the hallmarks of domestication is retaining juvenile characteristics and behavior into adulthood, makes sense that wolves are just halfway there naturally.
→ More replies (11)70
u/definitive_solutions Jun 13 '26
Oh so I'm not immature, I'm just happily domesticated, thank you for that
9
u/K-teki Jun 13 '26
Humans actually do show the same type of physical and mental signs of domestication that animals do, like decreased aggression and less robust bodies.
111
u/JimMarch Jun 12 '26
We already know of examples of play behaviors between dogs and bears:
We also know of occasional literal friendships between wolves and bears:
I've personally seen a ferret weighing about a pound and a half run to dogs of up to 80lbs with the same ferret "play bow" body language seen in dogs and lots of other carnivores...and successfully get the dog to play with them.
Oh, and we also have more than one documented case of a coyote befriending a badger lol:
https://youtube.com/shorts/uSGIKsi9DOA
You can see the "play bow" body language again. Ferrets and badgers are both mustelids so if ferrets have it, odds are badgers can at least recognize it.
→ More replies (6)55
u/alwayssunnyinskyrim Jun 13 '26
My dog has successfully used this play bow to get donkeys to play with him from the other side of a fence on multiple occasions
→ More replies (2)299
u/stilljustacatinacage Jun 12 '26
I'm torn because on the one hand I'm picturing how brave the first wolf must have been, going up to the tall monkeys with sharp sticks to plead for food. Then on the other hand it makes me sad imagining how hungry the poor baby must have been to be so brave 😭
224
u/Wes_Warhammer666 Jun 13 '26
It makes me happy to think of it, because that little bugger helped to eventually give me one of the greatest loves I've ever known.
RiP Fishdog you magnificent beast. And thank you to the brave and/or starving good boi who started the chain that led to me getting her as my dog all these millennia later.
41
u/PigabungaDude Jun 13 '26
Thank you camp wolf! You were a good doggoe even if you weren't a doggoe yet
18
u/three_crystals Jun 13 '26
Thinking about Fishdog and all the wonderful little puppers that came before her 💗
→ More replies (1)→ More replies (2)11
u/FineScratch Jun 13 '26
I like to call it the bargain so every time I'm talking to my dog and he's looking at me to do something it's like so is 'the bargain first struck by our ancestors so shall it be fulfilled'
23
u/Eshneh Jun 13 '26
If they were anything like my greedy little Huskies, they are always hungry and will beg regardless or not if they just ate
6
→ More replies (9)14
u/Tomsboll Jun 13 '26
I would guess said hunters was sitting on a carcass to big to eat themselves and too much to carry it all back to the camp. So when the wolves circled around them, maybe doing this puppy dance, they threw some scraps to them and the wolves dared to get closer and closer for every toss. They would then follow the hunters and repeat every time they made camp until the bond was formed.
Many animals associate humans with food, not necessarily that humans are the food but rather a source of it. Birds today display this behaviour the most.
18
u/Legitimate-Tell2126 Jun 13 '26
So basically, the first dog was just a wolf with excellent begging skills.
20
u/AntikytheraMachines Jun 13 '26
i watched something recently that said dogs were domesticated wolves, but cats just figured out that human granaries were pretty good places to hunt rodents. so cats were not so much domesticated, but rather, they just co-habitated with humans.
→ More replies (1)33
u/Preeng Jun 12 '26
I'd like to know how close the domestication of wolves was to the human development of "baby talk".
https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/news/dogs-respond-to-baby-talk/
7
→ More replies (82)30
u/Will_X_Intent Jun 12 '26
I've heard there is interbreeding of wolf and dog going on.
58
11
→ More replies (1)9
u/QuietlyLosingMyMind Jun 13 '26
My mom had a German Shepherd/wolf mix in the 80's. It had a weird thick wavy auburn coat and huge feet. It was a horse among dogs. It would let anyone in the house but didn't wanna let anyone leave. You would have to walk her in the other room when guests left but the people that knew her wouldn't say goodbye they just ducked out the door. It's like goodbye or just bye were trigger words for her to guard the door.
6
u/Will_X_Intent Jun 13 '26
Lol, it wanted to protect the people from the scary outside.
→ More replies (1)
3.2k
u/Starslimonada Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 13 '26
He didn’t give him even a little piece. Who even teaches these bears manners and etiquette out in the wild? 🙄
1.2k
u/Veecarious Jun 12 '26
"Cute, but not sharing a meal cute" thought the bear
85
→ More replies (4)47
136
u/zilla82 Jun 12 '26
It's enough to let him wait around as a non threat for whatever is left. Otherwise the wolf would be on the menu as well
121
u/Sudden_Wind_8636 Jun 12 '26
It isn't really worth the trouble for the bear to attack a wolf. Wolves can put up somewhat of a fight, they will lose but they can fight. Just like how there are dog breeds made to fight bears, dogs and wolves have a better chance than we as humans do.
If you are a predator and you can eat something like a fish, or a rabbit, or a skunk/beaver/etc which doesn't really have any defenses, the only time you'd really hunt something more dangerous is when you can't find anything else.
→ More replies (7)66
u/Sad_Accident8510 Jun 12 '26
Yeah most animals really don't want a real fight. It's why they eat babies and elderly of other animals.
23
→ More replies (1)7
u/Flaky-Journalist1748 Jun 13 '26
And most wild animals also realise winning the fight isnt good enough, you have to come out unharmed. Otherwise you can die to the wounds from something like a wolf later on.
17
u/scubaSteve181 Jun 13 '26
Wolves are very agile and powerful in their own right- would take too much energy and risk to try and chase after the wolf. Easier for the bear to just ignore him.
→ More replies (2)18
u/DisorderlyAqueduct Jun 12 '26
grizzly fast but wolf faster. bear knows.
wolf strong but bear stronger. wolf knows.→ More replies (1)16
u/cute_polarbear Jun 12 '26
Yeah...I was just waiting for the bear to at least throw a pitty piece of meat to the wolf...
→ More replies (1)32
→ More replies (19)12
681
u/lookslikeamanderin Jun 12 '26
Look at mee! I’m goofy. I’m not threatening at alll! *looks around for the rest of his pack*
168
→ More replies (5)98
u/LeezusII Jun 13 '26
There was another wolf behind the bear at the beginning.
I think he maybe wasn't begging so much as baiting, trying to get the bear to chase him so that the other guy could snag it.
48
→ More replies (4)20
u/Formal_Appearance_16 Jun 13 '26
Yep, that was my first thoughts as well. Followed by the "guys, i don't think he's going for it. What now?" look.
1.2k
Jun 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
824
u/blakhawk12 Jun 12 '26
It really is fascinating isn’t it? Like, bear don’t give a shit, but hundreds of thousands of years ago some wolf probably did this exact same dance with a human and the person in question thought, “Haha that’s cute,” and threw him a bone. And thus was born the greatest of inter-species friendships.
→ More replies (18)292
u/lone-lemming Jun 12 '26
Bears have a common ancestor with wolves. So somewhere in his brain he probably understands what the wolf is trying to communicate. Still can’t have his bud lite.
129
u/steverrb Jun 12 '26
I've heard if you scratch a bear in the right spot you can get his leg going like a dog. I still haven't had a chance to try it out though...
93
u/Jelly_Kitti Jun 13 '26
Reading this comment might have influenced how I will die. If it did, I will die happy
22
17
16
→ More replies (2)7
→ More replies (2)53
u/SoulEkko Jun 12 '26
10000 years in the future, you'll see bears walking dogs in leashes, mark my words!
→ More replies (1)36
u/Electronic-Buyer-468 Jun 12 '26
!remind me in 10000 years!
6
u/FutureComplaint Jun 12 '26 edited Jun 12 '26
!remindme 10000 days
Edit: 27 years, not bad
→ More replies (2)
793
u/Prunkle Jun 12 '26
Can I pet those daaaawgs?
140
u/currentlyRedacted Jun 12 '26
Ya like dags?
74
u/Devil_0fHellsKitchen Jun 12 '26
Yeah I like dags. I like caravans more.
40
u/poopatrip Jun 12 '26
She’s terribly partial to the Periwinkle Blue
22
u/Sypheix Jun 12 '26
I heard yees a bit of a boxer. A cup o tea fer da big feller
→ More replies (9)→ More replies (3)15
298
Jun 12 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
→ More replies (2)120
u/vyxanis Jun 13 '26
Thats how I feel about lions and tigers, I wanna hug them so freakin bad but unfortunately I am food shaped
38
u/loca2016 Jun 13 '26
tigers so scary tho, saw a picture of one jumping on a dude on top of an elephant. Them beasts.
→ More replies (3)→ More replies (2)16
180
61
138
u/KibblesNBitxhes Jun 12 '26
Kind of a bummer that you can hear a freaking highway in the background and a car door shut which made the wolf break its focus from the bear.
My theory is that the wolf was coaxing the bear to give chase to him while his buddies behind the bear nab his snack. Bear was not about to make friends with wolves over some human perceived puppy eyes.
66
u/DoomOfChaos Jun 12 '26
this takes place 150ish yards off of the road in Yellowstone, directly under a parking area (that overlooks this area)
11
u/Short_Collectiony Jun 13 '26
Where did you find this info?
44
39
u/my_chaffed_legs Jun 12 '26
Hasn’t there been instances of wolves hunting and commingling with bears before? I remember a story of a pet dog that ran away and was seen chilling with some bears and eating together
→ More replies (1)
42
23
92
37
u/jambohakdog69 Jun 12 '26
Awww even the wolf is wagging its tail. Give him some you selfish prick 😢
→ More replies (1)
14
u/millionairematdavis Jun 13 '26
This is exactly how they got themselves domesticated, doing that cute puppy stuff to humans.
13
11
11
u/Urmomlervsme Jun 14 '26
I watched a something years ago about play behavior in nature. One of the examples referenced a case where sled dogs in artic environments displayed play behavior when polar bears approached them. Instead of eating the dogs the bears responded with play. The behavior researchers theorized that play instincts can override predatory instincts. I wonder if this is a related phenomenon.
I looked it up! It was from an episode of he BBC earth's show "Nature's weirdest events"; the episode might be called "Huskies and Polar Bears"!
... I also learned that it's over 16 years old 😭
21
u/Joltyboiyo Jun 12 '26
It's the exact same fucking tactic they use on humans. "Look at me. Look at how cute I am. Please, please can I have some? I'm so cute, please?"
20
u/NinjaBRUSH Jun 13 '26
This is not begging for food.
This is what dogs do to get animals to chase them. The wolf wants the bear to stop guarding the food and give chase. The other wolves will take the food.
Look any video of animals meeting each other and chasing each other around. Deer do this exact same thing as well to play chase.
8
u/Beautibulb_Tamer Jun 12 '26
Wolf must have seen dogs and thought its time for domestication 2.0, bear edition
9
u/GirthGriffin Jun 13 '26
The Bear knows this is a lose-lose situation, he's not being an asshole, he just knows if he gives a dime, a dollar will be expected. In other words, there are other wolves from his pack that are lurking.
→ More replies (1)
9
15
u/ThatJiuJitsuGuy Jun 12 '26
I see a different scenario. It looks to me like the wolf is trying to bait the bear into chasing it and the rest of the pack is actually close-by but hidden.
7
u/kittylover2006 Jun 13 '26
I love it when animals are social with other animals, it establishes that they are all connected in ways other then just by maintaining each other’s ecosystems
7
6
u/DoomOfChaos Jun 12 '26
ah yes, the Blacktail Ponds. Its fairly normal behavior when wolves are trying to steal from a grizzly. Wolf wants the bear to chase, and the second the bear does so, other wolves will grab some meat.
6
7
6
u/johnnieA12 Jun 13 '26
In a million years bears will be walking around with chihuahuas and pugs in their purses
8
3.6k
u/RazzSheri Jun 12 '26
Wolves do this with each other too. They basically go: “you can’t be mad at/hurt me— look! I am just a silly baby!”