Video: Black Bear Sow and Cub Ascend Rock Wall at Santa Elena Canyon

A kayaker making her way through the Santa Elena Canyon on the Texas portion of the Rio Grande last March encountered something she didn’t expect to see: an endangered Mexican black bear sow and her cub scaling the canyon walls.

Stephanie Latimer filmed the two bears moving across the rock face like Spider-Man and posted the video on YouTube. While black bears are known to be excellent climbers and the sow has the strength and coordination to make it up and over without a struggle, the cub takes its time and stretches to reach a few footholds.