Not all viral moments are orchestrated for online attention. Sometimes, the internet stumbles upon them in the least curated places imaginable—say, a landfill on the outskirts of Ontario—where local wildlife happen to possess surprisingly relatable beverage preferences. As CTV News chronicles, one black bear in Fort Hope First Nation recently found itself at the center of internet fame after being recorded chugging a bottle of Brisk Iced Tea, sparking a curious mix of entertainment and head-scratching among viewers.

Brisk Choices in Unlikely Places

The video, captured by Shayna Kyla, reveals a black bear engaged in a determined back-and-forth with a plastic bottle, ultimately working out how to drink from it. The clip plays out with Kyla and a companion reacting in the background—the sort of mixture of admiration and mild panic you’d expect from someone watching an apex predator figure out packaging design. Kyla later remarked on social media that she “didn’t get to catch the part where he opened the bottle,” leaving the finer details of ursine dexterity shrouded in mystery. Did the bear unscrew the cap with clever paw work? Resort to the time-honored animal tradition of bashing it open? The video only reveals so much, but one can’t help imagining a bear quietly inventing landfill-life hacks most of us wouldn’t think possible.

Online reactions quickly turned the moment into a minor sensation. CTV News notes that before comments were disabled, the Facebook post had attracted more than 100 varied responses—some applauding the animal’s intelligence, others expressing outright astonishment. The feed even featured a quip or two, including the suggestion that if polar bears land lucrative Coke ad deals, “black bears can have Brisk or Pepsi.” Unlikely as it may be, picturing a bear negotiating beverage endorsements feels only a step removed from the spectacle itself.

Of Dump Bears and Drink Preferences

The bear’s choice of Brisk Iced Tea, as documented in the footage, prompts an oddly specific question: is there an unspoken drink ranking among landfill-dwelling bears? One visualizes, for a moment, an after-hours taste test in the shadow of civilization, with bears considering the subtle merits of soda, juice, or in this case, the brisk appeal of iced tea. Would this particular bear have passed over a can of cola in favor of something less carbonated, or was it simply a matter of availability? The mysteries multiply, but the image of a bear pausing for a cold one (surely room temperature, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt) is strangely easy to relate to on a sweltering day.

As highlighted by CTV, the setting—a landfill near Fort Hope—offers daily opportunities for humans and wildlife to cross paths. Yet, even in places where such encounters are almost routine, seeing animal problem-solving displayed so humanly still inspires a brief pause. The bear’s triumph in the beverage department might be funny, but it’s also a small reminder: adaptability is less the exception in nature than the rule.

There are, of course, some less amusing implications lingering under the surface. The outlet points out the bear ultimately left its empty bottle behind—a move that mirrors humanity’s own laissez-faire approach to waste and cleanup. The moment functions as lighthearted internet fodder, but also as a nudge: our habits have a wider audience, and sometimes, they learn from us in unexpected ways.

Shared Amusement and Subtle Caution

Not every behind-the-dumpster wildlife episode rises to viral status (thankfully, most don’t involve accidental wine tastings or competitive snack unwrapping). What’s exceptional about this bear’s iced tea interlude is how easily it bridges the huge gap between wilderness and everyday internet humor. As described in the original reporting, there was just the right blend of awe and amusement—online commenters juggling beverage puns and admiration for the bear’s ingenuity.

Earlier in the report, it’s noted that this video caught lightning in a bottle, clocking nearly 800,000 views and thousands of shares before the wave of pun-heavy commentary subsided. The spectacle feels satisfyingly timeless: an animal, a landfill, a brief detour into the rituals of modern snacking, captured by someone with a smartphone and a good sense for the bizarre.

So—what’s next for landfill beverage trends? Will another forest resident up the ante with lemonade or, in classic taste test fashion, a scathing review of the local bottled water? Refreshment hierarchy in the animal kingdom may remain a mystery, but it seems landfills are offering more than just leftovers these days. They’re serving viral content, one improvised iced tea break at a time.