A Finnish teacher stumbled upon 3 bear cubs playing in a circle and they look like tiny humans

Editor's note: This article was originally published on February 17, 2020. It has since been updated.

Photography, sometimes, boils down to being in the right place at the right time. A physical education teacher from Sotkamo, Finland, was out exploring the Finnish taiga around the town of Martinselkonen a few years ago when he came across an unusual gathering amidst the trees. Valtteri Mulkahainen, who captures (on camera) wildlife and magical sights around his country in his free time, quickly found a spot to discreetly capture the once-in-a-lifetime shots he'd stumbled upon and the results are truly fascinating. Before his eyes were a mother bear and her 3 adorable cubs who, unaware of Mulkahainen's presence, put on quite a show.

Although spotting bears in Finland isn't a rare occurrence, this particular sighting on June 3, 2013, was one of a kind due to the little bear cubs who left the photographer wondering whether he was imagining things. Forming a circle in the gathering, the cubs stood on their hind legs playing with each other almost as if they were dancing. Speaking to Bored Panda, Mulkahainen revealed, "The cubs behaved like little children. They were playing, and even started a few friendly fights."

"I felt like I was on a playground in front of my house, where small children frolic around. That’s how much they reminded me of little children. At one point, the three of them got up on their hind legs and started pushing each other. It was like they were dancing in a circle. I photographed the cubs with the bear all evening and all night," he added. Mulkahainen was in a shelter about 164 feet away from the adorable action and had the perfect view of the bear cubs while they staged their dance-off. Look how adorable these tiny furballs are! One might even think they are tiny humans in bear suits.

As it turns out, Mulkahainen has quite the penchant for photographing bear cubs. His Instagram page is a treasure trove of adorable bear cub snaps. Here are some of our favorite ones:

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You can follow Valtteri Mulkahainen (@valtterimulkahainen) on Instagram for more wildlife content.