In the 1967 Disney animated feature film The Jungle Book, a feral child named Mowgli was raised by a wolf-pack in the Indian jungle. Growing up, Mowgli had to go on a journey of self-discovery, where he met different animals and eventually, formed a wonderful connection with Bagheera the panther and Baloo the bear.
For 52 years, The Jungle Book has given us “ultimate relationship goals” and one of these is Mowgli and Baloo’s friendship. While some of us believe that it’s downright impossible for humans to be friends with actual bears, three-year-old Casey Hathaway—who went missing for two days—has proven that bears can be great companions, especially if you’re alone in the woods.
In a report posted by USA Today, Hathaway suddenly vanished last Tuesday. He was last seen playing with other children in his grandmother’s yard in a rural part of eastern North Carolina. Fortunately, after two days of searching in the woods, Hathaway was finally found by the rescuers. According to Craven County Sheriff Chip Hughes, the rescuers had to wade in waist-deep water just to get the toddler who, at that time, was soaking wet, cold and tangled in vines.
Wondering how he remained uninjured, Hughes said that a bear had kept Hathaway safe.
Breanna Hathaway, the kid’s aunt, mentioned in a now-private Facebook post that his nephew had been hanging out with a bear for two days. Although black bears are very common in the mountain and coastal regions of North Carolina, no one in the Hathaway family knows whether the bear was real or not.
Regardless, Hathaway’s aunt believed that his safety was a miracle, “God had sent him a friend to keep him safe.”
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