Bear Scratches Epic Itch In Front Of Perfectly Placed Trail Cam

A remote wildlife camera installed in the forests of northern Washington state has captured footage of a black bear in a rather compromising situation with a tree. For several glorious moments, the apparently itchy bear shimmies and shakes against the tree trunk with a level of enthusiasm typically only seen on a dance club floor.

The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW) released the amusing video on its Facebook page earlier this week, suggesting others could take a lesson from the bear's back-scratching style:

click to play video

"Good scratching trees may be used repeatedly for several years, and are easily identified by the large amounts of long black or brown fur caught in the bark and sap. Rough-barked trees often serve as rubbing posts," writes Link.

Beyond just itch relief, biologists suspect that bears also rub their backs against trees to mark it with their scent, communicating to outsiders that their territory has been claimed.