“Different bears, different dates, same tree.”
Bears Keep Visiting This One Tree in the Forest — And It’s Adorably Obvious Why
Mary Beth Pongrac has several trail cameras set up across the forests of British Columbia’s Sunshine Coast, and she loves reviewing the footage of local wildlife — especially the bears.
One day, while watching clips from a particular camera, Pongrac noticed something curious: all the bears were stopping at the exact same tree.
“The very beary best bear rub tree ever,” Pongrac joked on Facebook. “So much so, you just want to bite it. Different bears, different dates, same tree.”
Clip after clip showed different bears rubbing, scratching, and even biting this one very special tree. It quickly became clear that this wasn’t a coincidence — the tree was a forest favorite.
“I don’t know for sure,” Pongrac told The Dodo, “but when you look at the shape of the tree — that horizontal part above the base, at just the perfect height for a back scratch, and the vertical part that’s great for rubbing — it kind of makes sense.”
As it turns out, there’s science behind the bears’ obsession. Research shows that bears are quite picky when it comes to their scratching posts. They prefer large, branch-free trees — particularly coniferous ones like pines or cedars.
“The tree in the video is a western red cedar,” Pongrac explained. “It’s coniferous, and as you can see, there aren’t any branches in the area where the bears like to rub.”
Whether it’s about territory marking, parasite removal, or just a good old-fashioned back scratch, one thing’s for sure: these bears love that tree. And thanks to Pongrac’s cameras, we get a front-row seat to all the adorable action.