Viral Video Shows Bear in Downtown Denver—Wait, Does It?

A video showing a bear in downtown Denver went viral, but the original poster is now saying, just kidding, it wasn’t a bear after all. A Colorado man named Miles Ifie first posted the video in July with overlaid text that reads “bear spotted in downtown denver?!”

The video racked up a bunch of views. Outlets like Denver Now shared his post with a caption that read: “A bear was spotted in Downtown Denver!” (Note the absence of a question mark.) That video got over 3 million views on Facebook alone.

Except Miles is now saying it wasn’t a bear; it was a beaver. Ifie told Westword it was a joke, and he has since updated his Instagram caption to set the record straight.

“I knew it was a beaver when I posted,” Ifie said. “I did not think it was a bear.”

The edited caption reads:

“It’s a beaver!

The American beaver is the largest rodent in the United States, growing from two to three feet (0.6 to 0.9 meters) long, not including the tail. They have dark-brown waterproof fur and webbed feet.

Thanks google.”

See the “bear”/beaver in downtown Denver here:

Bear or beaver? Would you have questioned this had you seen it with the original caption?