Bear Reaver
The content of this article is not part of official Warcraft lore, but has nevertheless become part of the World of Warcraft culture or community.
Bear Reavers were a phenomenon which occurred with the patch applied to the beta server on the 3rd of November 2006. The model used by the Fel Reaver which patrols Hellfire Peninsula (others seem unaffected) was accidentally replaced with a black bear. The hilarity which ensued until the next patch was epic in proportions. The screen still rumbled as it approached, and it still sounded like a giant train, as well as retaining the power to annihilate anyone in 1-2 swings, but... it just looked so cuddly! Bear puns ran rampant and Hellfire Peninsula's general channel verged on total collapse!
Poetry
Even before the change the Reaver was a menace to unwary players, but this has added a new level of terror to an already overwhelming foe. Formerly, the Fel Reaver, being a good five stories tall, was visible from a fair distance away and easily avoidable to anyone aware of the danger. Now, however, the first warning of its presence is the terrible rumbling of its footsteps and the tortured metallic scream which precedes it. Many heroes have fallen to this new menace, frozen in panic as they try to determine which way to flee. Truly, our greatest enemy is upon us.
Creation
During the 2021 BlizzConline World of Warcraft Cooking Workshop, level designer Sarah Boulian Verrall revealed that she and an unnamed male level designer had been learning about spawning creatures, not realizing that the changes they had played around with would go live into the PTR. The model change was an accident, and they somehow disabled the fel reaver proximity alert. The male designer then placed several Bear Reavers around the zone.