It’s a Djungel out there.
There’s a bear-y hot new item at Swedish home furnishing giant Ikea these days, one leaving customers smitten — but it’s not a couch, a bed, a dresser, or even a cool new $10 lamp.
Say hello, America, to Djungelskog the teddy bear.
Retailing for just $29.99, the three-and-a-half-foot tall bundle of joy has become an incredibly coveted item — with a nearly perfect 5-star rating online — for adults and children alike.
Djungelskog, already a staple overseas, became available in U.S. stores last year following a 2020 Change.org petition to bring the beloved fluffy boy stateside.
The huge and huggable viral sensation boasts 119.6 million hits on his very own TikTok hashtag, as fans line up to create Djungelskog content that can net a user millions of views on one simple dance video.
“I would give my life for this Skog,” a recent online review of the round and brown furry friend reads, while a fellow satisfied customer added, “This is the best thing IKEA sells.”
“My daughter and I have been waiting for him for years,” wrote another. “We got 2 of them, drove 50 miles to get them.”
The Post has reached out to Ikea for comment.
The cute companion has also amassed a cult following on normally more cynical Reddit, where users post the exciting moment they finally buy the bear — buckling him into their cars and all.
Others have posted clips celebrating their lengthy quest to give Skoggy, as fans call him, a home.
Some devotees of the increasingly ubiquitous Ursus, like TikToker @mjj.jr, revealed in a video comment that they paid nearly $90 to get theirs.
More say they’ve gladly invested $50 on the bear.
Another TikTok user felt the call of the wild inside the furniture store, claiming they “almost had to fight a child” for the last one in stock at a United Kingdom Ikea.
Due to such high demand, the bear’s devout fans on Reddit also have a “Monthly Skog Megathread” where users can try to purchase one secondhand off the page.
Djungelskog, Swedish for “jungle forest,” is the brainchild of designer Annie Huldén. In a dated interview, Huldén said, of her work in general, “I watch movies and look at books for inspiration.”
“Often particular characters come to me already at this early stage.”
A hallmark characteristic of Skoggy is his, as one Ikea reviewer, said “soft, round, and fluffy” nature — some online rave he makes a great dog bed — that Huldén uses as a hallmark of her work.
“I want my soft toys to be very soft and nice to hug, so I don’t want them filled very much.”
It is perhaps this limberness that’s inspired the trend of TikTokers making dance videos with Djungelskog as well.
Others, like Reddit user lopbunni wore matching outfits with her bear and took him out to the movies.
It’s unclear if Skoggy has to pay full price for admission.
He’s also appeared on recent Christmas cards and at holiday meals.
Fans make it clear that Djungelskog is beary good companion.
“So yeah, get one for yourself, your family, your friends, your partner. He’s perfect,” another reviewer raved on Ikea’s site.
[Notigroup Newsroom in collaboration with other media outlets, with information from the following sources]
