Some call them creepy, but the Olympic mascots showed during a visit to TODAY on Monday that they're playful, energetic, and, um, very, very friendly.
"They may have to take out a restraining order on the polar bear with Natalie,'' Matt Lauer said, as the fuzzy symbols of the Sochi Games got a little close for comfort.
The three Olympic mascots — a hare, a leopard, and a bear — spread the love among the TODAY anchors while also showing off their dance moves and running amok on the set.
Luckily, they found their way to the set despite some earlier difficulties.
The mascots also managed to avoid any giant-head-not-fitting-through-the-car-door delays that they have recently endured. The bear was recently spotted spending two minutes trying to wedge its head into a car, only to switch gears to Plan B and go horizontally into the back seat in order to fit.
The bear, known as Bely Mishka and dubbed the "Nightmare Bear" around the Internet, was clearly the most outgoing of all the mascots on Monday. He initially made a grab for Natalie Morales before Willie Geist intervened. The bear then went to hug Willie around the waist, who quickly hopped away after things got a little handsy.
"Keep your paws over there, bear!" Al Roker said.
The bear didn't leave Al out, as he playfully removed Al's hat and rubbed his bald head before Al relented and gave him a hug.
"I think he's been hibernating a little too long,'' Al said during the third hour of TODAY. "He came out of the cave."
"He was looking for a honeypot,'' Natalie said. "I think they gave him a talking-to because then he calmed down a little bit."