Laulik said that various wildlife often appears on his trail camera, but he had never seen a bear like this before.

"A sight like this was a first for me — this bear looked like it had escaped from a circus!" he said.

"It's normal for a bear to have cubs, but for it to be frolicking like that, and even stand up [on its hind legs] — now that's an extraordinary sight," he added.

According to Karmel Ritson, chief specialist in animal care at the Environmental Board, brown bears are doing well in Estonia, and spotting them in the wild is fairly common.

"Considering its size, Estonia has one of the highest densities of bears in the Nordic countries, if not all of Europe," she added.

The specialist noted that there are roughly a thousand bears in Estonia.

"Although the bear population here shows signs of stabilizing, their numbers and range have increased over the past 15 years, and the population's condition can be considered very viable," she said.

Simple bear safety tips

While urban sightings do happen, bear encounters in Estonia are more likely while hiking or foraging.

A few simple tips shared by the Estonian Hunters' Society (EJS) can help keep you safe if you run into a brown bear in the wild.

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