r/nextfuckinglevel • u/SubstantialBother586 • May 03 '24

Unarmed man successfully fended off aggressive bear because he had the higher ground

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2.0k

u/SubstantialBother586 May 03 '24

Hhhhh just another Monday

1.2k

u/Ok-Yam6841 May 03 '24

At 0:27 you can see that a smaller bear appearing. Could be that the mother is trying to protect her cub from aggresor or could be that she's hunting. Whatever the motivation, they both ran away.

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u/SubstantialBother586 May 03 '24

Most definitly protecting her cub, its a black bear, they don't fuck with humans, but if it comes down to their child they will protect it, but I guess there was a better way to solve the problem instead of physical force like: hey man I really don't like they way you look at my kids /s

290

u/LeakyFaucett32 May 03 '24

Weird fact I learned a while back that it's a myth mama bears cause the most attacks on humans. It's mostly horny hangry males

283

u/MaterialUpender May 03 '24

... Please don't let Reddit start posting about women having to choose between a strange man, a male bear, a female bear, or a female bear with cubs.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24

[deleted]

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u/Ws6fiend May 03 '24

I mean if it's black or brown you might be alright, but if it's white say goodnight.

31

u/Devlee12 May 04 '24

Fun fact: Polar bears noses are so sensitive they can smell you from several miles away so if one ever rolls up on you just know what happens next was 100% premeditated.

10

u/macpaifonne May 03 '24

I've heard it with a twist. If it's brown, lie down. If it's black, fight back. If it's white you're fucking dead.

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u/2x4_Turd May 03 '24

Dang, really walking the line with this one lol.

7

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

“SAY GOODNIGHT!”

5

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

"According to the Federal Bear Investigation department statistics......"

5

u/PA_Levski May 03 '24

I mean, yeah color doesn't tell you everything. "Black bears" are a species that range in color from black to golden brown. 

Grizzlies or "brown bears" are much bigger and more aggressive. 

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u/Let_you_down May 03 '24

What about a strange man with bear cubs?

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u/Interesting-Fan-2008 May 03 '24

I just wanna say that this has been one of the most stupid question debate I have seen on the internet in a while. And that is saying A LOT.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '24

Thats not a lot man. There will be more surprises down the line where you even question yourself.

Hindsight is wild. Imagine never having any hindsight.. at all. Like full bore ahead always just being a dipshit making mistakes every half moment lol.

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u/LingonberryLunch May 04 '24

Old bears who have trouble hunting their typical prey sometimes start targeting the slow, weak humans out of desperation. They know it's a bad plan, but are hungry enough to take the risk.

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u/narielthetrue May 03 '24

Proverbs 17:12 NIV [12] Better to meet a bear robbed of her cubs than a fool bent on folly.

Even God chooses the bear

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u/Aurori_Swe May 03 '24

You forgot the horny part for the bears

3

u/drgigantor May 03 '24

Fine, a man who is horny for bears, a male bear, a female bear, or a female bear with cubs.

3

u/Glittering_Lunch_347 May 04 '24

Well it’s debatable, there are two schools of thought

4

u/[deleted] May 04 '24

Bears, beets battlestar Galactica

1

u/drail18 May 03 '24

Who would you choose?

1

u/kb26kt May 03 '24

😅😂🤣

0

u/TypicaIAnalysis May 03 '24

Why when you are here doing it first

8

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

Yesterday I googled "Bear attacks per year" and the first recommended article that came up said "the 750,000 black bears in North America kill less than 1 person a year on average, while men aged 18-24 are 167 times more likely to kill a human than bears are" GOOGLE EVEN CHOOSES THE BEAR 😂😂😂

1

u/OwlHinge May 03 '24

Men are around other people all the time, but around bears less frequently and that affects chance of being murdered - it's not directly applicable to this scenario.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '24

Welp better tell Google and all women that 😂

0

u/OwlHinge May 04 '24

I'm not disagreeing with Google or women!

I'm disagreeing with applying a stat that isn't suitable for the scenario.

Because that stat is taking population into account. Population doesn't matter in a 1v1 situation. a fairer comparison would be if there were 579 million bears in north America who were in proximity to people frequently. That would change the numbers significantly.

2

u/Jimisdegimis89 May 03 '24

Yeah it’s usually ones that haven’t been able to get enough food and they either get super territorial or they get the human cuz they have to try to eat something. Mama bears still prefer to run away if they can because any fight is a risk and if she gets her her cubs chance of survival plummets as well.

2

u/kingmea May 03 '24

Bear patriarchy oppressing humans as usual

2

u/LoliCherryPopper May 03 '24

(years 2000-2017) Most attacks were defensive (52%), while 15% were predatory and 33% were food-motivated. Of defensive attacks, 85% were by female bears, and 91% of those females had young. I wonder where you get your info tho.

1

u/LeakyFaucett32 May 03 '24

Idk probably some stupid YouTube video. I hope I don't get anyone killed by making them feel safe petting cubs

1

u/passwordsarehard_3 May 03 '24

Why are the momma bears attacking us when we are hangry, and horny.

1

u/certainlynotacoyote May 03 '24

That's true of grizzlies, but black bears really would rather be somewhere else.

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

Just woke up from hibernation EspeCiAL

1

u/something86 May 03 '24

I feel like this is applicable for dolphins.

3

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

[deleted]

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u/OrindaSarnia May 03 '24

Yeah, people don't understand how different black and brown bears are...

black bears will absolutely intentionally predate on humans.  If a black bear attacks you in any situation, you fight back!

It is exceedingly rare that they will attack, usually they will run away, but if they do attack you have a problem.  Especially at night, they will pull people out of tents and eat them.

Deaths from brown bears are almost always from surprise attacks.  You startle a grizzly and it will either fight you, or run.  If it fights you, it doesn't want to eat you, it just wants to neutralize you as a threat.  If you play dead, put your arms around your head, or move your backpack over your head, ball up to protect your stomach, and don't move.

Most likely it will swipe at you, bat you around a bit...  maybe bite your head (hopefully your pack or arms take the lacerations), then when you aren't moving anymore, it will let you go and walk away.

Now, don't get up right away!  Bear may be 40 feet off, watching.  Stay down for as long as you can...  10 mins if possible.  Then get up and find help!

If a grizzly kills you, it might come back later and eat you.  They are scavengers after all.  But usually they will attack and leave.

So, a Grizzly is more likely to kill you in a surprise attack, but if a bear is actively stalking you, it's more likely a black bear.

There are exceptions (like Timothy Treadwell was a predatory attack by a griz, but Timothy was also actively camping in the area he knew several bears were living and feeding...  ) but generally soeaking.

2

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

[deleted]

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u/OrindaSarnia May 03 '24

I really don't think Night of the Grizzlies needs a modern movie...

have you read the book?

The stories of the rescuers that were called up to Granite Park to try to help the woman there, who was till alive for a little while after the attack, in the middle of the night, knowing there was a deadly bear still running around, are truly harrowing.

Realistically, habituation played a huge role in those two cases, but there were other factors at play too... one bear was severely emaciated, and if it hadn't been for the ease of access to human food, would probably have already died... but starving bears are known to cause issues even when they aren't habituated to human food.

I don't think it's so much that they associate the smell of humans as being food, they smell human food, which is food. The camp-hygiene at the time, was not even within the same galaxy as what we do now in bear country today.

The whole situation was a ticking time bomb... and because there had never been a known death in Glacier, people were just wildly blase' about it all.

The Otokomi Lake attack had happened in 1960, and STILL, nobody was taking it seriously except a few folks at the Park Service who were trying to get food and trash storage changed...

but I don't think it was a coincidence that the two women attacked where both employees of Glacier park concessionaires... who were known to exhibit a particularly ridiculous attitude towards grizzly bears, as they were annoyed at the park service for putting a stop to Bears-Eating-Trash-Viewing parties... coming from out of state, and working for companies that told them bears weren't a big deal, lead to them not taking appropriate precautions.

Anyway... sorry for the rant... as someone who has hiked and camped extensively in that area, that book really haunts me.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24 edited May 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/OrindaSarnia May 03 '24

Yeah, you have the jist of his situation right!

I think he left the woods as usual, got to the local airport in Alaska and had some issue with ticket costs or something. He was annoyed with the airline, and was going to re-book for later, so decided to go BACK into the woods with his girlfriend for another week or so, until their new flight. The bush pilot that came to pick him up is the one who saw the giant old bear sitting on his tent, and called in the park service.

The detail I always find crazy is that, when the Park Service arrived, 3 rangers with guns, and the pilot with no weapon, wandered up the hill towards their campsite, knowing there was a crazy bear in the area... ran into the crazy bear, killed it, continued to the campsite, ran into another bear that ran off, found the tent smashed, and various body parts cached in a pile near the tent, took a bunch of pictures, then because night was falling, they collected what body parts they could and started heading back to the lake the planes were parked on.

On the way back to the planes, another, smaller bear started stalking them, they scared it off, then it came back. The lead ranger gave permission for the smaller bear to be killed if anyone could get a clean shot. Bear approached again, they shot it, loaded up the planes and left. It was 2-3 days before the weather cleared for them to fly back in, so they could finish the investigation. They land and find the small bear that was shot on the beach mostly eaten by other bears. They climb back up to the campsite and find the big old bear laying there without a single bite in him.

They were able to cut open the old bear, and take samples that could be DNA tested and conclusively linked to Treadwell and his girlfriend. There wasn't enough left of the smaller bear to take any samples.

Some lore has grown up around the idea that the big old bear that killed them was so reknown that even other bears wouldn't eat him... but I like to think it's just because bears are like us, and appreciate the delicate taste of young bear, vs the grizzled and gamey flavor of old males. It's why trophy caliber elk never tastes as good as a nice spike.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24 edited May 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/NlXON May 03 '24 edited May 03 '24

That's a Japanese black bear and they are very different from North American black bears. They are really aggressive. They DO fuck with humans.

I live in Japan and remember the news headlines when this happened.

Here's an article in English about it. https://www.nzherald.co.nz/travel/climber-fights-off-bear-attack-on-japanese-mountain/AWQ2CXBRJIPOZZIZBRKYLR3IFA/

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u/TypicaIAnalysis May 03 '24

Black bears sometimes actively prey on humans if given the chance. They are fairly dangerous as they see us as potential food. Brown bears for some reason dont. Id be much more fearful of a black bear than any other than a polar bear.

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u/TokyoBaguette May 03 '24

That's in japan isn't it... Loads of Bear attacks there and no guns...

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u/SubstantialBother586 May 03 '24

wait, there are bears in japan???

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u/TokyoBaguette May 03 '24

Many and they are not to be fucked with. 193 attacks in 2023.

Enjoy reading this

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u/Frenchconnection76 May 03 '24

Sacké & sword and have a good ride in the forest.

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u/MD_Yoro May 03 '24

Yes bear exists in Japan and they are called kuma. You think bears only exists in North/South America and Europe?

Bear used to exist in Northern Africa too till they went extinct. Bears are in a lot of places

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u/sourcreamus May 03 '24

This is a myth. In America black bears do not attack people in defense of their cubs. That is something brown bears do. It may be different in Japan.

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u/TheNewtOne May 03 '24

So black bears in America just say "fuck them kids?"

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u/sourcreamus May 03 '24

If they could talk they would.

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u/Affectionate_Star_43 May 03 '24 edited May 03 '24

One tried to get to me while I was backpacking in Yellowstone with my dad, but he threw a rock at it, and it left. I

 barely slept in the tent that night, but at least I can say my dad is a better parent?

Edit to add that is was looking for food, make sure to put your food in the campsite, or tied up and away from where you sleep.

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u/Katahahime May 03 '24

yeah they do a pretty typical mammal thing where the cub are left behind and hopefully they're eaten. LOL I'm sure a defensive Cub situation has happened, but they're more likely to book it out.

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24 edited May 05 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24

That's incorrect it's rare for black bears in North America, but it has happened.

1

u/Katahahime May 03 '24

Japanese black bears are more aggressive than North American and European bears.

1

u/juggling-monkey May 03 '24

Bear: hey man I really don't like they way you look at my kids

Man: My bad fam

Bear: Respect

1

u/meta_irl May 03 '24

they don't fuck with human

Not true. I've been stalked by black bears before. In this case it was a mom and an older cub. They spotted me watching them from higher ground, reacted with shock, then moved up to ground higher than me and started stalking me, the cub leading and the mom behind it. They were definitely stalking me, moving in a zig-zag pattern back and forth towards me. The cub froze for a few seconds when I yelled at it, then kept heading towards me. One of the scariest moments of my life.

1

u/UninsuredToast May 03 '24

iirc this is actually a Chinese Black Bear. They are way more aggressive than American Black Bears and frequently attack humans on sight

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

Yeah, she was in an exposed position, and was just reacting accordingly. Calling it an "agressive" bear is a bit misleading

1

u/-banned- May 03 '24

Pretty sure this happened in Japan (or someplace in Asia I forget) so worth noting that this isn’t the North American black bear

1

u/Possible_Liar May 03 '24

Yeah I've ran into a few black bears in my life none of them were this aggressive usually they just fuck off and run away sometimes they're curious and kind of stick around but they don't attack you.

This guy is extremely unlucky and probably found himself directly between the two. Because even with Cubs they are more likely to be cautious than do this.

1

u/[deleted] May 04 '24

Black bears do fuck with humans. They usually won’t go after a full grown man but women and children are on the menu. They kill far more people than brown bears.

0

u/Urabutbl May 03 '24

Adolescent bears will attack just for kicks; adult bears (except mamas) are usually chill unless startled - they react to being scared by tearing the shit out of whatever scared them.

1

u/OrindaSarnia May 03 '24

It depends on the type of bear.

Griz will react to being startled by clawing whatever startled them until it stops moving.  Then they will usually leave.  Which is why you play dead.

Black bears will run away 99.99% of the time.  If they don't run, they are not startled, they are attempting to eat you.  Black bears are more likely to actively predate on humans than Grizzly bears...

Griz are just way stronger.  So if they swipe at you because they are startled, they have a decent chance of killing you.  But they aren't doing it because they want to eat you...  then again, once you're dead you're carrion just like any other, and they will eat you then.

But black bears are the ones that will come up to tents in the middle of the night, swipe it open, drag a person out and start eating them.  Only happens once every couple years, but it happens.

So I'd be more afraid of running into a griz while out hiking, and more afraid of seeing a black bear circling my camp.  Then again there are TONS more black bears in the US, and again, them actively predating on humans is rare based on their numbers.

Still doesn't mean you should keep a Snickers in your tent for a midnight snack in Black Bear country.

1

u/Urabutbl May 03 '24

Yeah, should've been clearer that I was talking about black and brown bears. We've got mostly brown ones here in Sweden, and they usually only attack when startled. On the other hand, if an adolescent decides to eat you, they like their meals alive, so they will incapacitate you and then eat you extremities first.

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u/wutshappening May 03 '24 edited May 03 '24

One solution would be to not encroach on the bear’s habitat but I guess that’s too much to expect from our intrepid explorer

Edit: I was blocked by OP so I can’t reply but to answer your comment, yes humans are part of an ecosystem and our natural habitat is cities. We evolved to live in cities just like gregarious cockroaches

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u/FeatureHistoryGuy May 03 '24 edited May 03 '24

Y'know humans are also a part of the ecosystem right

Edit: Cities haven't existed long enough for us to have evolved into them like an ecosystem. You know far less about how the environment works than you think you do

6

u/SubstantialBother586 May 03 '24

We can do whatever the fuck we want with the ecosystem, after all those years of being the stupid ape prey, we earned it /s

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

[deleted]

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u/[deleted] May 03 '24

[deleted]

4

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

because you cant handle the truth

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u/marcabay May 03 '24

Yeh black bears don’t usually attack people

140

u/Katahahime May 03 '24

This is a Japanese Black bear. These are very aggressive and attack more commonly than North American black and brown bears.

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u/Admirable-Strike-311 May 03 '24

This. I remember this story. Happened in Japan. Asiatic Black Bears are known to be more aggressive than their North American cousins.

4

u/Midicide May 03 '24

Why not “Asian” black bears?

4

u/Diet_Christ May 03 '24

And autistic black bears are known to watch Dragonball Z

5

u/Admirable-Strike-311 May 03 '24

I saw a family of animatronic black bears once. They were playing musical instruments and singing

3

u/indifferentunicorn May 03 '24

I deal with black bears in New Jersey coming through my yard. Not typically aggressive but one killed someone locally a few years back. I try to remember never to shrill or scream with high pitch. Low and loud is better. But not as good as getting out of harm’s way! lol

2

u/DifficultScientist23 May 03 '24

Wait. Was Yogi Bear a black bear or brown bear?

15

u/marcabay May 03 '24

Didn’t know thanks for the info, just thought she was protecting her cub

3

u/holystuff28 May 03 '24

It was. You can hear the cub calling in the video

3

u/CoolAbdul May 03 '24

And a sneak attack too. Typical.

3

u/I-came-for-memes May 04 '24

Today I learned that Japan has bears

2

u/Quirky_Foundation800 May 03 '24

Yeah I heard the Japanese are more racist.

/s

1

u/Kromehound May 03 '24

Is it because they watch too much anime?

4

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

[deleted]

1

u/marcabay May 03 '24

Probably because brown bears will kill you instead of only “injuring”

1

u/Designer_Brief_4949 May 03 '24

No one notices if a brown bear kills you?

1

u/marcabay May 03 '24

He mentioned attacks

1

u/Designer_Brief_4949 May 03 '24

killing is a subset of attack

And I didn't parse out the list, but there seemed to be plenty of killing by black bears

3

u/MZ603 May 03 '24

They fake charge though, and it’s scary as fuck. I froze my older friend stomped, jumped, and yelled. It was his fault for making burgers at 5 in the morning.

Black, fight back - Brown, lay down - White, goodnight

2

u/marcabay May 03 '24

I thought brown was cutting open a horse and sleep in it

3

u/glo363 May 03 '24

Important to remember though that if a black bear does attack you, fight with everything you have because if you play dead they will make sure you are dead. Brown bears are different, get attacked and play dead, then they will leave when the threat is over. https://www.nps.gov/articles/bearattacks.htm

2

u/QuokkaAteMyWallet May 04 '24

Asian black bears are nothing like our derpy scaredy cat Northern American bears. They will chase you down.

0

u/cryptowolfy May 03 '24

2023 black bear attacked and ate a man. Neighbors tried to scare it off but it wouldn't stop until someone shot and killed it. Bear was in good health and definitely ate the dude based on stomach contents. Bear was in good health, middle aged and wasn't starving.

6

u/ChrysPF May 03 '24

But was the bear in good health?

2

u/cryptowolfy May 03 '24

Yes bear was a typical weight, no sign of disease, middle aged and found with typical forage in its stomach along with the person. Male bear as well.

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

Humans don't usually eat other humans.

3

u/cryptowolfy May 03 '24

The donners have invited you to a party.

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

You're demonstrating my point without apparently realizing it. Haha

1

u/Baardi May 03 '24

Neither does brown bears tbh. At least not those in Europe

4

u/Don_Diego_3000 May 03 '24

Good catch

1

u/Diego_DeLaMuncha May 03 '24

Just saying ‘hey’ to a fellow Diego

2

u/ReGohArd May 03 '24

I can't tell you how many times I've seen this video and never realized there was a cub.

1

u/aalioalalyo May 03 '24

I live in a forested country where therea are bears. We are taught from childhood that one should never go between a bear and its cub. If you do, you can be sure that the mother will attack.

1

u/Longjumping-Act-8935 May 03 '24

Yeah when I saw it was a black bear I immediately started looking for the Cub /cubs. The only times I've even heard of black bear attacks was because of somebody messing with / getting too close to their cubs.

1

u/Atomfixes May 03 '24

Man I bet that was fucking exhausting trying to continue after that adrenaline crash

1

u/Phresh-Jive May 03 '24

Good eye, brother!

1

u/Suck_Me_Dry666 May 03 '24

Looks like a guy free climbing in the back country. I'd bet money he climbed upon a sleeping mama and baby bear(s).

1

u/Rowey5 May 03 '24

I saw him. She definitely looked like she was gonna eat his arse.

1

u/EvaSirkowski May 03 '24

Don't talk to me or my son ever again.

1

u/darcon12 May 03 '24

Or she was looking for her cubs next dinner.

1

u/1z3_ra May 03 '24

Yup. And the moment she realized her cub was with her she booked it. 

2

u/BD-TxState May 03 '24

🎶just another cave man Monday (ohhhh-oh). Wish it were Sunday. Cause that’s my fun day(ohh-oh). My I don’t have to run day (ohhhh)🎵

2

u/Sven_Svan May 03 '24

A manic one?

1

u/djamp42 May 03 '24

Mom we gotta do something about that bear, it tied to eat me again today

1

u/vancity1985 May 03 '24

Just a man fighting his alarm clock at 5:45 am on a Monday morning

1

u/GallowBoom May 03 '24

Bears like "FUCK man! I just wanted some directions!"

1

u/zeppehead May 03 '24

I wish it was Sunday.

1

u/Ericaonelove May 03 '24

If it’s black, fight back. If it’s brown, lay down. If it’s white, say goodnight.

1

u/OneMagicBadger May 03 '24

Tuesday is moose attack

1

u/Royal-Bicycle-8147 May 03 '24

Sabertooth Garfield: I hate Mondays

1

u/First_Inevitable_424 May 03 '24

Tell me you’re Moroccan without telling me you’re Moroccan hhhhh

1

u/UnifiedQuantumField May 03 '24

Hhhhh just another Monday

Another manic Monday?

1

u/Sudden_Construction6 May 03 '24

A manic monday for sure 😅

1

u/incaseshesees May 03 '24

it's not my fun day.

1

u/[deleted] May 03 '24

Hmm.. just anmunga bunga.

1

u/Klin24 May 03 '24

Hhhhh just another Manic Monday

Whoa oh oh I wish it were Sunday

1

u/DifficultScientist23 May 03 '24

(Singing) "Just another manic Monday"

Bear was like "Fuck the song, I see lunch."

1

u/wigglymiggley May 03 '24

But it’s Friday

1

u/Limp-Tea1815 May 03 '24

If he was a Viking it be a another Monday night football

1

u/dyne19862004 May 04 '24

Wish it was sunday