The earliest known instance of the GIF can be traced back to Animation Factory, with archives of its page dating to August 17th, 2000. Subsequently, it surfaced on Bear-tracker.com, a platform dedicated to North American animals, their tracks, and related hiking tips and links. The polar bear gif (depicted above), known as FRANK, the Walking Polar Bear, is located at the bottom of the webpage. This gif has been on the site since at least 2002.