Somewhere in New Mexico, a bear made a very unusual climbing choice. Instead of heading for a nearby tree, it somehow ended up perched on top of a wooden utility pole in the middle of an open field. The bizarre sight left passing drivers doing a double-take and quickly caught the Internet’s attention.
The footage, shared on X by @ScottEnlow, shows the bear sitting on the crossarm of a power pole high above the ground, almost as if it belongs there. The video was filmed from a moving vehicle under a partly cloudy sky.
Instead of panicking or trying to climb down, the bear calmly looks around and takes in the view. It seems completely relaxed, even though it is perched dozens of feet in the air next to live power lines.
The video doesn’t show how the bear got up there or what happened afterward. That only made the clip more entertaining for people online, who couldn’t stop wondering how a bear managed to end up in such an unlikely spot.
But the story behind the video has a heartbreaking ending. The footage was taken during a real incident in Raton, New Mexico, where the bear remained on the energized utility pole for several minutes. Before rescue crews could reach it, the bear was electrocuted, as per MENAFN.
Internet Reacts to New Mexico Bear on Power Pole
Online, reactions ranged from disbelief to dad-joke energy, with commenters more fixated on the bear’s climbing resume than the danger it was actually in. One person imagined the phone call: “I would’ve thought someone was joking if I got a call like this. Forget the 911 call for a second… How did the bear manage to get up there?” Another kept it short and punny: “A pole-r-bear you say.”
A few viewers just needed to confirm what their eyes were telling them. “I am quite certain I didn’t see it wrong; that was indeed a bear climbing a utility pole,” one wrote. Someone else pictured the world’s most unbothered emergency dispatcher: “911 operator: Alright buddy what you gonna say next, he is hanging on a single pole *cuts the phone.”
And one commenter simply tipped their hat to the animal’s unexpected talents: “Amazing how such a huge creature could climb up something like that. Bears are something else.”
New Mexico is no stranger to bears wandering into unexpected places. Wildlife officials often respond to reports of bears entering neighborhoods, backyards, and other populated areas. This time, however, the bear climbed into one of the most unusual places imaginable.
