Baby Bear Shows Gentle Purrs While Cuddled – A Heartwarming Moment

Utah reporter Shara Park shared a moment with a baby bear that will make you rethink your fear of the animals.

Though they're beloved in folklore and in "Teddy" form, bears can be intimidating creatures. Fiercely protective and intelligent — not to mention extremely strong — they're an animal force to be reckoned with.

But, like any animal, their babies can actually be very loving and sweet. At least, that's what Park discovered when some cubs from Yellowstone Bear World visited her on set. She held the little cub in her arms and it got so comfortable, it started actually purring.

Park was both surprised and delighted by the little bear cub's noises. The happy cub nuzzled into her neck and purred happily. She asked the bear's handler what exactly the sound meant. It turns out, bears purr just like cats when they're especially relaxed or happy.

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In fact, they make all sorts of sweet sounds other than their well-known grunts and roars in order to communicate.

So while it's still probably not smart to walk right up to a wild bear and try to get it to hug you tightly around the neck, at least you now know that bears can communicate and in surprisingly heart-melting ways.