# Are polar bears friendly? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 15, 2006, 7:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586 "2006-07-15T07:11:17Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![Iguana\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@Iguana\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iguana_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 12:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/41 "2006-07-16T12:30:38Z")
[QUOTE=kinoons] I’ll provide [the link](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLBrJrV2Rfk&search=polar) , its a girl wearing a baby seal hat on her head. It is a safe for work link, and is pretty funny. [/QUOTE] No, that’s not the video, although you will find the video I’m referring to on YouTube - search for “polar bear attack” and it’s 3rd on the list that comes up. This video is of a bear that attacks a woman through the bars of its cage. She ends up mauled and with a broken leg. As I said, it’s not gory, but I don’t want to link to it just in case I fall foul of the rules here, although I’m probably being over-cautious. I’ve seen the video you link to though, and it IS pretty funny! ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 1:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/42 "2006-07-16T13:14:54Z")
[QUOTE=Cheez\_Whia] [Nitpick] **enipla** , you mean Division of Wildlife, don’t you?[/nitpick] [/quote] 😉 Yep, DOW. I was having a brain fart at the time and couldn’t recall. It was really quite surprising. They had two guys here in about 30 minutes very early on a Weekend morning. > [@KlondikeGeoff](#): > > All very interesting, enipla but if you think you have problems, look at this Heh. I’ve seen those pics. Bear seems like a prime cadidate for the circus 🙂 We get a bear or two breaking into houses about once a year. One got into a garage by destroying your basic 5 panel overhead garage door. He just dug right through it. Interesting critters. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 3:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/43 "2006-07-16T15:30:11Z")
Okay, the little girl in the seal hat was scared to death… nice adults. Instead of taking the frigging hat off the kid, let’s get video to submit to some TV show! :rolleyes: After seeing what an orangutan did to a two-inch thick clear window-like barrier at the San Diego Zoo a few years back, I wouldn’t trust that window-thing to stand up to a polar bear. I haven’t tried the attack vid yet… ---
**Author:** ![Chefguy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chefguy/32/138_2.png) [@Chefguy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chefguy)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 3:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/44 "2006-07-16T15:34:18Z")
There were two incidents of stupidity at the zoo here in Anchorage. In one, two teenagers climbed over the fence of the polar bear enclosure because they wanted to “swim with polar bears”. Binky, the resident bear at that time, mauled one of them pretty badly. The other escaped unharmed. The second incident was an Australian tourist who climbed in the enclosure to get a better picture. He barely escaped; Binky was able to pull of his sneaker, which remained one of his favorite toys up until he died. There were t-shirts here for awhile with a picture of a sneaker and “Send more tourists; the last one got away.” ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/45 "2006-07-16T20:07:59Z")
I’ve always loved polar bears and finally got a chance to see one up close last year at the Denver Zoo. There was a fully-grown male lying with his back against a large plexiglass window. I tiptoed up with my camera and tried to get an angle where I could see his face. As I did so, he adjusted his position, ruining the shot. So I moved to the other side of the window and tried again. Same thing happened. The third time, as a approached, he backhanded the window with his paw and shot me a glance that said, in any language “leave me the FUCK alone”. I decided to indulge him. ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/46 "2006-07-16T22:50:14Z")
[Here](http://www.strategypage.com/gallery/default.asp?target=bear_sub1.htm) are some pictures of a polar bear stalking and attacking a Seawolf class submarine… ---
**Author:** ![Moirai](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/96bed5/32.png) [@Moirai](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moirai)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2006, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/47 "2006-07-16T22:52:40Z")
Okay, I googled for that attack video, and all I can say is… Darwin Award. What the blue fuck do you think the cage, ditch and fence barriers are for?!? Stupid bitch. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/48 "2006-07-17T05:02:31Z")
I have heard that they teach people who intend to hike in bear country about bears. Black bears are smaller and more timid than Brown (Grizzly) bears. They recommend wearing small bells, and carrying a pepper spray to ward off bears. it is possible to tell what kind of bear is in the area by looking at the bear droppings. Because black bears eat so many berries they poop has lots of half eaten berries. Brown bear poop can be identified by the smell of pepper, and the little bells embedded in it. Thank you, I’ll be here all week, try the veal. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Hokkaido\_Brit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/d26b3c/32.png) [@Hokkaido\_Brit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hokkaido_Brit)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 5:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/49 "2006-07-17T05:12:45Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] Okay, the little girl in the seal hat was scared to death… nice adults. Instead of taking the frigging hat off the kid, let’s get video to submit to some TV show! :rolleyes: After seeing what an orangutan did to a two-inch thick clear window-like barrier at the San Diego Zoo a few years back, I wouldn’t trust that window-thing to stand up to a polar bear. [/QUOTE] That little girl was actually an adult Japanese “talento” (read “Talentless Bimbo Who Shrieks A Lot”) whom they had asked to go there and “make friends with” (read “tease” the polar bear. Poor bloody bear I say. It thought it was going to get a nice sealy snack, but all it got was a bonk on the nose from the window and lots of lights flashing at it. ---
**Author:** ![LemonPledge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ed8c4c/32.png) [@LemonPledge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LemonPledge)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/50 "2006-07-17T13:39:56Z")
I have a lot of friends who work in zoos and various exotic animal specialties. One of the anecdotes they tell me is that people who really know animals are especially wary of polar bears. Any bear can kill you, they say, but a polar bear doesn’t even bother trying to kill you or knock you out. They just catch you, pin you down, and start eating. ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/51 "2006-07-17T16:29:10Z")
[QUOTE=flodnak] On the [Svalbard archipelago,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard) anyone venturing outside the settlements is _required_ to carry a rifle to scare away polar bears. (Don’t shoot them, you’ll just make them mad.) The school and daycare in the Norwegian settlement of Longyearbyen is surrounded by a polar-bear-proof fence, although from what I understand the fence is at least as much to keep little kids from wandering out into the dark Arctic winters as it to keep bears from helping themselves to kiddie nuggets. The bears generally stay away from the towns. Still, they have eaten people. Not often, but it happens - all the cases I remember were tourists outside organized groups. [/QUOTE] My parents aren’t on Svalbard right now (flying in and out of Oslo) and mentioned that they will go on land only with heavily armed guides. They are also going on an Arctic cruise along Norway in August; do you travel along there much?? /Norway hijack Apparently if there is nothing else available, male polar bears will eat their young. :eek: ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/52 "2006-07-17T16:30:17Z")
[QUOTE=gigi] My parents aren’t on Svalbard right now [/QUOTE] “are”, of course; why would I make a point of mentioning where they aren’t?! :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Poysyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f4b2a3/32.png) [@Poysyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Poysyn)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/53 "2006-07-17T16:57:31Z")
[QUOTE=flodnak] On the [Svalbard archipelago,](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Svalbard) anyone venturing outside the settlements is _required_ to carry a rifle to scare away polar bears. (Don’t shoot them, you’ll just make them mad.) The school and daycare in the Norwegian settlement of Longyearbyen is surrounded by a polar-bear-proof fence, although from what I understand the fence is at least as much to keep little kids from wandering out into the dark Arctic winters as it to keep bears from helping themselves to kiddie nuggets. The bears generally stay away from the towns. Still, they have eaten people. Not often, but it happens - all the cases I remember were tourists outside organized groups. [/QUOTE] I can add that in Churchill there is no door-to-door trick or treating, there can’t be, polar bears frequently come into town at that time of year. ---
**Author:** ![jellyblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e480ec/32.png) [@jellyblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jellyblue)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 4:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/54 "2006-07-17T16:59:40Z")
[QUOTE=Case Sensitive] Birds flying around freely at the zoo are probably used to being fed chips and popcorn: dulls the old wariness and reflexes, I’d imagine. [/QUOTE] Mmm…cornfed pigeon! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/55 "2006-07-17T19:17:00Z")
[QUOTE=Little Nemo] Just out of curiousity is there any wild animal that’s likely to let a person walk up to it and pet it? [/QUOTE] You can’t “Walk” up to them, but there’s a lot of friendly sea creatures. Dolphins have been known to play with humans, and (bizarrely, it seems to me) a lot of rays enjoy being petted. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 8:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/56 "2006-07-17T20:36:37Z")
[QUOTE=EJsGirl] Okay, I googled for that attack video, and all I can say is… Darwin Award. What the blue fuck do you think the cage, ditch and fence barriers are for?!? Stupid bitch. [/QUOTE] They are put there by “The Man”, who believes “The People” are incapable of fending and deciding for themselves and instead impose upon “The People” a “Nanny State”. I fully support this woman’s right to decide for herself the inherent dangers involved and to take whatever risks she feels comfortable taking. I also support the bear’s right to make a meal of her, and also a meal from the other idiot who thought hitting a 500 pound bear with a leafy stick would really discourage it. ---
**Author:** ![Lissa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lissa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lissa)\ **Post date:** [July 17, 2006, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586/57 "2006-07-17T23:38:23Z")
[QUOTE=RickJay] Dolphins have been known to play with humans, and (bizarrely, it seems to me) a lot of rays enjoy being petted. [/QUOTE] Hey, I remember seeing something on a television documentary something about sharks and their reaction to tactile sensations. If you gently rub a shark’s nose, it seems to blow some sort of fuse in the shark’s brain. One of the researchers leaned out of the boat they were in and placed his hand on the snout of a shark which had come out of the water. The shark sort of fell back, jaws agape, seemingly paralyzed by this incredible new sensation. D’you think rays might the same ultra-sensitivity to touch? Anyone ever petted other sorts of fish? Do they seem to relish the sensation? > [@Little Nemo](#): > > Just out of curiousity is there any wild animal that’s likely to let a person walk up to it and pet it? Manatees will sometimes allow swimmers to pet them. A friend of mine had this experience in Florida. They were out boating and happened to see a manatee and her calf in the water. They slid into the water carefully because they wanted to get photos with a water-proof camera. After a little while, the cow saw that the people in the water posed no threat and came over to investigate. My friend said they cautiously petted her and her calf and neither seemed to mind. Rabbits sometimes become so frightened by a human’s approach that they just freeze and cower. I once stepped on one, so yeah, I’d imagine you could probably lean down and pet it if you liked. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/are-polar-bears-friendly/364586.md?page=2)