Meet Mikhail, the grinning grizzly who stretches for five minutes at a time

Meet Mikhail the amazing yoga bear - who wows punters everyday with his incredible stretching performances.
Mikhail was spotted performing the ancient Indian routine - in which participants carry out limbering up exercises - at Kaliningrad Zoo.
Sitting firmly on the ground, the huge grizzly bear thrusts out each of his legs one at a time - just like a 'boat pose' yoga move.


With a huge grin on his face, Mikhail even takes the time to raise his left paw and wave to his new found fans.
And as the Russian crowd encourages him with food and drink, he carries on the bizarre performance, even reaching out to grab his toes after each leg stretch.
The amazing moves lasted for almost five minutes as the bear lapped up the crowds adoration.

The normally slow and immobile animal is not renowned for its ability to perform the tranquil meditation methods.
But Mikhail has developed a reputation as an entertainer following his performances.
Bemused pensioner Vitaly Arkhipov, who caught the stunning moment as he visited the zoo with his wife, said: 'This bear is a great actor.

He added: 'For some refreshments from Zoo visitors he does many interesting things. He likes to make different poses and he often bows or waves at the crowds.
'But this yoga session was completely unreal - especially considering he has had no training and has never been part of a circus.

'He is obviously just a natural performer.'
Retired Vitaly, who has been a keen photographer since he was old enough to buy his own camera, travels around Russia with his wife in tow taking photos.
The former radio engineer, from St. Petersburg, added: 'I have photographed many things, but Mikhail was the most special.'
Despite Mikhail's cuddly appearance in these stunning pictures, the bear has previously found himself in hot water.
In 2009 he tried to escape from his enclosure after a pair of teens tried to steal his beef steaks from him.

The daft pair were eventually nabbed by park rangers with some of the bear's food in a bag.
But that wasn't before Mikhail tried to escape from his enclosure by smashing down a stone wall to retrieve his dinner.




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