Polish men have kept alive a long-standing internet tradition of posting beaver sightings to the internet for over a decade, oftentimes paired with the loud exclamation Kurwa Bóbr which translates to an expletive and the Polish word for beaver. But what used to be a niche YouTube oddity has since become a widely recognized meme online.

Here's how a series of wholesome beaver videos spilled onto iFunny and then TikTok to inspire one of Slavic Europe's most popular memes.

Where Does The Phrase 'Kurwa Bóbr' or 'Kuraw Bobrze' Originate?

The word "bóbr" means "beaver" in the Polish language, while the word "bobrze" refers to a particular beaver. One of the oldest videos of a Polish person following and recording a "Kurwa Bóbr" is an October 2012 post by YouTuber Krowi. Another early "Bóbr" video was posted by Youtuber Marcin Kalinowski in April 2014.

These videos are the earliest known instances of some recording a beaver while saying "Kurwa Bóbr!" and uploading it to the internet. However, the "Bober" meme was likely popularised by a particularly frantic YouTube video uploaded in April 2017 by Fred Pierwszy Wielki

How Did The 'Bober' Meme Spread?

Memes featuring the aforementioned video by YouTuber Fred Pierwszy Wielki grew popular on iFunny in 2018, as seen in remixes posted in 2018 by users AhyredGunn and Triaim.

By 2023, Bober memes had spread to TikTok, with videos like the ones posted by @based__belarusian gathering several hundred thousand plays. One upload, which features a wombat, gathered over 30 million views by using the audio of a Polish man accosting a beaver.

@based__belarusian bobr #fyppage #world #slavs #slavic #panslavism #беларусь #joke #meme #edit #geografy #airsoft #millitary #fyp #⚪🔴⚪ #białorus #🇺🇦 #україна🇺🇦 #war #poland🇵🇱 #🇵🇱 #polska #russia #czech #slovak #serbia #bulgaria🇧🇬 #croatia #slovenia #northmacedonia #montenegro ♬ оригинальный звук – ☨Proud.Belarusian☨

@kaan.euu bober #foryoupage #xyzbca #laugh #bober ♬ Originalton – kaan

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For the full history of Kurwa Bóbr, be sure to check out Know Your Meme's encyclopedia entry for more information.