If you thought you lost your chill during The Revenant, then may I introduce its equally horrifying sequel: this video selfie of a snowboarding girl getting chased by a bear. But plot twist? If the video is to be believed, then she is so distracted getting her groove on to Rihanna's "Work" that she doesn't even notice the monstrous beast gallumphing behind her. It starts out innocently enough, with Kelly Murphy, the ~star~ of the video, strapping on her snowboard and taking off, when suddenly you hear a slightly chilling ... roar. Seconds later, an enormous bear appears in the left corner of the frame, clearly angry that its midmorning snack is getting away.
As anxiety-inducing as this video is, the internet has been quick to try and debunk it. I personally can't say anything about whether it "looks" photoshopped, because I'm about as gullible as they come, but I will say that it's not impossible. A lot of commenters are up in arms saying that there aren't bears like that in Japan, where the video was supposedly taken — but surprise! There are bears in Japan. Asiatic black bears, in fact, that hibernate from October to April, making this primetime for them to make their (hungry) debuts back into the world. A website on Japanese tourism warns, "You are unlikely to see it unless you are in Japan for spring skiing." Which, if the video is to be believed, is exactly what Murphy was doing.
Here's a horrifying snippet of Murphy playing tag with the bear:
Buuuut, compare that bear to an Asiatic black bear.
I guess I'm not entirely sold on it, since the bear doesn't seem to have the distinctive muzzle of the white spot Asiatic black bears have on their chest. That, and this is a brand new account that only has two other videos on it, which is, y'know, an alarm bell for internet fake-ness. But then again, I have never snowboarded, particularly not in Japan, and especially not while channeling my inner Rihanna — so who am I to speculate? In any case, we can all agree that Murphy is one sick snowboarder. And that she and Leonardo DiCaprio will forever be bonded by a mutual fear of giant bears.
Images: YouTube; Getty Images
