Ninja Bear

Remember the Ninja Cat? He exemplified the stealthy, sneak-up-on-you approach.

Ninja Bear is different. He is the master of stickfighting - using a small tree as a quarterstaff. Claude is a 6-year-old orphan Asiatic black bear, a resident of the Asa Zoo in Hiroshima. His ability to twirl sticks is jaw-dropping - so good that it looks fake, but there are other videos at Japanator (with a baseball bat) and here.

The bear was not trained in this performance. It could be dysfunctional behavior of a zoo animal, or simple playfulness. It is certainly entertaining to watch.

I recommend playing the video with your monitor muted, to silence the inane comments by zoo visitors.