A rare and entertaining sight has come out of Croatia’s Northern Velebit National Park.

Park rangers have shared footage of a brown bear engaging in some rather unusual movements – sparking comments that it looked like the animal was dancing the lambada.

The video, captured by hunting cameras set up in the park, shows Croatia’s largest wild animal rubbing its back against a tree before moving on to repeat the process with several others.

While amusing to watch, experts explain that the bear was not in fact dancing, but likely scratching an itch and marking its territory in the process.

The clip, posted yesterday, quickly won over followers on social media, with many joking about the bear’s moves resembling a dance routine.

The park confirmed, however, that the behaviour is entirely natural and nothing out of the ordinary for these animals.

Visitors to Northern Velebit can rest assured that encounters with bears on hiking trails are extremely rare. Park officials note that bears tend to avoid marked paths and keep their distance from people.

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