00:00In the freezing cold Russia, they're trying to swim through a half-frozen lake, but it
00:05doesn't go as they had originally planned, you know that feeling when you're at the
00:08edge of your seat watching a nature documentary?
00:11At the end of the movie you look up and see that hours have passed.
00:15That's exactly how we felt when we heard this story of this mama bear and her cubs.
00:20But before we start, smash the like button and make sure to subscribe if you haven't,
00:24and hit that notification bell so that you won't miss any new stories.
00:28The story begins with an ice-cold lake in northwest Russia, where temperatures often drop to
00:3420 degrees below zero.
00:36The lake, called Vigo Zero, isn't a popular place, and it's rare to see people there.
00:41The lake is too big and too cold for people and animals to swim in safely.
00:46It's practically impossible to get from one side to the other alive.
00:50It's definitely not a good place for two young bear cubs to get stuck, it's unclear
00:55as to why.
00:55But the mother bear took her cubs to the side of the water, looking for food?
01:00A place to sleep?
01:01For whatever reason, the mother decided to dive into the water.
01:05This started an adventure which put not only her own life but that of her cubs too in danger.
01:10Not too long after, it became clear that jumping in the water was a huge mistake.
01:15The two cubs had a terrible time trying to steer clear of the current and the ice-cold water.
01:20With much difficulty, they tried to hang on to their mother's back.
01:24By the time they got to the middle of the lake, it became apparent that the cubs just couldn't
01:29hang on any longer.
01:30They let go of their mother right in the middle of the lake, at which point they got farther
01:35and farther away from her.
01:37That's when panic set in.
01:38Mother bears are normally very protective.
01:41While her cubs got farther and farther away, she makes the heartbreaking decision to leave
01:46them behind and to keep swimming on her own.
01:48The water was too overpowering for the mother.
01:51With everything she had left, the mother tried to get to a dry spot.
01:54The two young cubs were still hopelessly trying to swim through the freezing water.
01:59Their chance of ever getting out was slim to none.
02:03Young cubs already have difficulty staying warm and are much less experienced swimmers.
02:08The clock was ticking for the cubs.
02:10They became more panicked while the ice-cold water slowly started to freeze their paws.
02:15Just try to imagine how scared you would have been.
02:18The cubs looked around helplessly.
02:20Where was their mother?
02:21Another.
02:22Was there even any land they could safely swim to?
02:25Just when they had begun to lose all hope, something showed up on the horizon.
02:29A fishing boot with two fishermen that saw the bears.
02:33At first, they couldn't see what was going on until they realized there was no mother
02:38bear in sight.
02:39The fishermen realized they needed to spring into action quickly.
02:43When the boat approached, they realized that time was of the essence.
02:46The cubs were having difficulty just keeping their heads above water.
02:50The fishermen needed to do something quickly.
02:53They decided to save the cubs from the ice-cold water.
02:56The mother of the cubs, exhausted on the side of the water, watches as the boat drives
03:00towards her cubs.
03:01The fishermen first watched to make sure the mother won't come close.
03:05A bear this size could easily overpower the two men.
03:08They could only help the cubs if they were sure she would stay far away.
03:12The men had to think of a solution to get the cubs out of the water.
03:15Even though they were small, they're still wild animals.
03:19Once they got close enough to the cubs, anything could happen.
03:22The fishermen had to work wisely.
03:24One of the men happened to have a camera on him.
03:26They wanted to record the unbelievably adventure.
03:29So while the other got materials together, he started recording.
03:33A great idea because the story it shows is unbelievable.
03:37It quickly became clear that the bears couldn't get out onto the boat on their own.
03:41The long journey through the cold water had cost them all their energy and however hard
03:45they tried, they just couldn't get on board.
03:48Thankfully, the fishermen sprang into action.
03:51Using their fishing materials, they were able to get the cubs on the boat.
03:54It was a difficult mission getting the cubs on board.
03:57Not a task for a coincidental passerby, but for an experienced fisherman it was achievable.
04:03This didn't mean that the fishers were safe.
04:05The bear could still attack if the man tried to lift the bear onto the boat.
04:10They had to be careful.
04:11The plan seemed to be working at first, but the fishermen didn't dare pick the bears
04:15up, fearing they may bite.
04:17So they let the bears bite onto the boat so they could get up themselves.
04:21But no matter how many times he tried, the little bear couldn't make it onto the boat.
04:25In the end, there was only one thing to do.
04:28The fisherman decided to pick the cub up with his own hands.
04:31The fisherman wasn't only at risk of getting bit by the bear.
04:35If he leaned too far forward, he could fall in the water.
04:38Falling in the water with two panicking bear cubs would surely mean the end of his life.
04:43What happened next is incredible.
04:45Without saying a word to each other, the man and the cub knew exactly how to help the other
04:50out.
04:50It seemed as if the fishermen and bears understood exactly what the other needed.
04:55The men only had to reach their arms out to help.
04:58They were just about to start the dangerous plan when they suddenly got an idea.
05:02In hindsight, it sounds easy.
05:04But in that moment, with adrenaline pumping through your veins, it's much harder to
05:09come up with a solid plan.
05:11One of the men grabbed a fishing net just big enough to scoop the bear up out of the
05:15water.
05:16Normally, they're only used to get big fish on board.
05:19But would it be able to hold a young cub?
05:21The men were afraid that their net wouldn't be able to hold something this heavy.
05:26They didn't see any better options.
05:27A broken net was more than worth it if it was a question of life and death.
05:32Once the bear was in the net, it wasn't safe quite yet.
05:35The fishermen had to be sure that they didn't injure the cub while bringing him on board.
05:40On top of it all, they still had to make sure the cub didn't attack them.
05:43There was quite a bit of doubt for the fishermen.
05:46A bear on a boat is madness, but two bears on a boat?
05:50Once the men got going, they realized just how heavy a bear cub is.
05:54With all their might, they attempted to get the cub into the boat.
05:58They should be thankful that the cubs were still young.
06:01Did you know that the average full-grown bear weighs around 590 kilos?
06:06No fishermen could handle that, and the fishing nets definitely couldn't either.
06:10Thankfully, the fishers were used to hard work and bad weather conditions.
06:14That didn't make getting the bears into the boat any less of a huge operation.
06:19They had to really fight for it, mentally and physically, to get the bears on board.
06:23After a long and hard fight, they finally get the smaller bear on the boat.
06:28It cost them lots of time, but they were one step closer to reaching their goal.
06:32The first save wasn't reason enough to celebrate.
06:35They still had one more cub to save from the water, and they were running out of time.
06:39The cub had already sunk under the water a few times, and it was using up all its energy
06:44just trying to stay afloat.
06:46On top of that, the boat had drifted, and they had to steer back to the other cub to save
06:51it.
06:51This time, the men were more confident.
06:53One bear was already on the boat, so a second one shouldn't be a problem.
06:58They knew that it would still be difficult, but they were ready.
07:01Thank God the second one seemed to be a bit easier.
07:03They used the same technique to get the cub on board as they did for its brother.
07:08And this time, it went a lot more smoothly.
07:10It cost the fishermen almost all their energy, but they finally got both cubs in the boat.
07:15Exhausted, they looked at the result of their actions.
07:18The bears were breathing hard, focusing their eyes on the fishers.
07:22In the meantime, they started to wonder, what are we going to do with the cubs?
07:26After celebrating their success, the two took a moment to think about the next step, getting
07:31the bears back on land.
07:33The cubs were still exhausted and were shivering in a corner of the boat.
07:37But how long would it take for them to get their energy back and cause problems?
07:41It was time for the fishermen to make a choice.
07:44They felt a close bond with the cubs, and thought it might be a good idea to adopt them.
07:49But was that wise?
07:50They knew that the mother of the cubs was close by, waiting on her cubs.
07:54Even with the strong connection they felt to the cubs, they knew it was better to bring
07:59them back to their mother.
08:00There was just one more question.
08:02In the heat of the moment, they had lost sight of the mother.
08:05They weren't sure where she had gone.
08:07Where was she, exactly?
08:08They turned towards the land, looking for the spot where they had last seen the mother.
08:13After a long while, one of the men thought he saw a rock where the bear had set foot on
08:18land.
08:19They headed toward the coast.
08:20Once they had gotten the boat on land, they tried to carefully get the cubs out.
08:25The mother was nowhere to be seen.
08:27Out of nowhere they see a monstrous animal running toward the boat.
08:31It was the mother bear, looking for her cubs.
08:34The fishermen rushed back the boat.
08:35They had good intentions, but did the mother know that?
08:38With their backs to the bear, the men got back in the boat.
08:42While they were trying to start the motor, they heard the bear getting closer.
08:45Their hearts pounded as they drove off from the shore.
08:48That's when they turned around.
08:50There they were, the three bears.
08:52They looked out at the boat.
08:53The mother, on guard, with her two cubs beside her.
08:56For the fishermen, it became clear.
08:59This mother bear would never leave her cubs alone again.
09:02So we just can't stop from getting closer to it.
09:02Do facts have whether someone else is going through santa!
09:02Just get the information on the right hand.
09:02Tcvi waxes soon.
09:02This is a white ship.
