WHILE this Asian black bear in southwest Russia won’t have seen Disney’s “The Jungle Book” or read Rudyard Kipling’s source material, it shows it has the dancing skills to match the story’s star Baloo.

    The breed dubbed the ursine species’ “most bizarre” by Kipling appears to throw shapes with an unsuspecting birch tree as its partner in footage taken with hidden cameras in a wildlife reserve.

    In reality, it’s more likely the majestic creature with the distinctive white marking on its chest is marking its territory and simply having a good old scratch of its hard to reach places, but the resemblance to Mowgli’s mate is uncanny.

    And while it’s believed Baloo’s character is based more on the sloth bear found in India, the preacher of “the Law of the Jungle’s diet of “only roots and nuts and honey” is more consistent with this very Asian black bear.

    The footage released Friday was shot back in November with a camera placed for research purposes at Land of the Leopard national park in Vladivostok.

    This black bear, a species also known as moon bears due to the crescent shape of its making or the more obvious white-chest bear, rubs its back up and down the birch without a care.

    Despite this adorable footage, the breed is said to be rather dangerous to humans and despite being herbivorous is prone to unprovoked attacks.

    Male black bears survey large territories that are said to be up to 80 square miles (46.6 square kilometers) and are renowned for protecting their turf voraciously.(SD-Agencies)