# Bear kept 3-year-old boy safe **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 28, 2019, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574 "2019-01-28T22:24:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shinna_Minna_Ma)\ **Post date:** [January 29, 2019, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/21 "2019-01-29T21:23:50Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Sounds more like a dingo. But the dingo would have eaten the baby. šŸ˜ƒ Maybe. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/22 "2019-01-30T16:26:32Z")
> [@Inigo\_Montoya](#): > > Holy moly! _Water bears_! > > I think itā€™s great the kid survived. And for all the adultsplaining going on and comments on unreliable 3 year olds, is it really so outlandish the kid ferreals stirred up a mama bearā€™s maternal instincts and got some snuggles? I would think that a black bear would ignore or kill a child. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/23 "2019-01-30T17:02:13Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I would think that a black bear would ignore or kill a child. Thatā€™s racist! ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 5:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/24 "2019-01-30T17:02:44Z")
:smack: ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/25 "2019-01-30T21:40:24Z")
Of course if anyone wanted to actually prove this, a careful cleaning of the childā€™s clothes and checking for bear DNA etc would be conclusive. But hey, the child is alive and has good memories of a very traumatic experience. The bear did save the child-by staying in one place the child was warmer and safer. It doesnā€™t really matter whether anyone else could see the bear. Go Bears! ---
**Author:** ![markn\_1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f9ae1b/32.png) [@markn\_1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/markn_1)\ **Post date:** [January 30, 2019, 9:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/26 "2019-01-30T21:46:09Z")
Maybe it was Ditka. ---
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 1:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/27 "2019-01-31T13:48:58Z")
> [@markn\_1](#): > > Maybe it was Ditka. Da Bears! ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/28 "2019-01-31T17:52:51Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > Or, just a big friendly gay guy. šŸ˜‰ Is this really necessary? Equating gays with child molesters even in a joking matter is somewhat offensive. ---
**Author:** ![Sailboat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sailboat/32/461_2.png) [@Sailboat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sailboat)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/29 "2019-01-31T17:59:02Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > The article cites two other instances, one in 1888 and the other in 1955, where 2-year-olds were kept warm/were fed by by bears. Itā€™s uncommon, because most young children are unbearable. ---
**Author:** ![Filbert](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/filbert/32/3433_2.png) [@Filbert](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Filbert)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/30 "2019-01-31T18:45:04Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > Sounds more like a dingo. > [@Shinna\_Minna\_Ma](#): > > But the dingo would have eaten the baby. šŸ˜ƒ Maybe. I know this is commonly considered a joke, but you guys do know kids have actually been killed -and adults seriously injured- by what are, after all, wild dogs? Including, according to all the evidence, the baby the ā€˜jokeā€™ originated with. Baby killed by wild dogs, parents arrested, story sensationalised by media, parents convicted of murdering their child in some bizarre ritual, basically on the grounds of being a bit weird and some very questionable forensics, mother then spends 3 years in prison being treated as a sick joke before being exonerated. I guess I just donā€™t see the where the funny comes in? Is it just the name dingo? šŸ˜• ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 6:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/31 "2019-01-31T18:54:15Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Is this really necessary? Equating gays with child molesters even in a joking matter is somewhat offensive. Where on earth do you even get child molester from? AFAICT you seem to be the only one making that connection. ---
**Author:** ![Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kolak_of_twilo/32/73_2.png) [@Kolak\_of\_Twilo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kolak_of_Twilo)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/32 "2019-01-31T18:57:08Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Is this really necessary? Equating gays with child molesters even in a joking matter is somewhat offensive. No idea how you got anything out of that post to suggest the poster was making a joke about child molestation. Bear = big friendly gay guy. Nope, not seeing anything there about child molesters. ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 6:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/33 "2019-01-31T18:57:19Z")
To be clear, ā€œbig friendly gay guyā€ was playing off a term for a type of ā€œbutchā€ gay guy, ā€œbearā€. While a fairly obvious joke to those who know the term, I still found it funny and didnā€™t even think there could be a molestation angle. ---
**Author:** ![Inigo\_Montoya](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inigo_montoya/32/124_2.png) [@Inigo\_Montoya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inigo_Montoya)\ **Post date:** [January 31, 2019, 7:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/34 "2019-01-31T19:03:19Z")
> [@Filbert](#): > > I guess I just donā€™t see the where the funny comes in? Is it just the name dingo? šŸ˜• The specific [reference](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ghCTZF61ey0). Iā€™ve tried before to explain why horribleness can be turned to comedy without disrespecting the subjects, but as it turns out you either get it and donā€™t need the explanation, or you donā€™t in which case no explanation will help. Itā€™s easier to try and work it out yourself or accept the alternative that anyone who laughs at horror is a cruel, insensitive monster. ---
**Author:** ![Si\_Amigo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/si_amigo/32/2877_2.png) [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/35 "2019-02-01T02:05:37Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > To be clear, ā€œbig friendly gay guyā€ was playing off a term for a type of ā€œbutchā€ gay guy, ā€œbearā€. While a fairly obvious joke to those who know the term, I still found it funny and didnā€™t even think there could be a molestation angle. Now Iā€™m even more confused! Butch gay guy bear? My mind is spinning trying to wrap around that one. Gay guy I get. Bear is a big hairy guy. But butch? What I envision is a loving transgender big hairy person. And the world keeps spinning. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/36 "2019-02-01T02:42:54Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#): > > Now Iā€™m even more confused! Butch gay guy bear? My mind is spinning trying to wrap around that one. Gay guy I get. Bear is a big hairy guy. But butch? What I envision is a loving transgender big hairy person. And the world keeps spinning. > **[Bear Culture is the Subject of a New University Study in the UK](https://metrosource.com/bear-culture-is-the-subject-of-a-new-university-study-in-the-uk/)** > > Bear culture is new subset of the gay community. Now there's a university funding a study looking into the relatively recent phenomenon. ---
**Author:** ![pool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pool/32/4152_2.png) [@pool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pool)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/37 "2019-02-01T03:16:09Z")
Ok where do otters and power bottoms factor into all this? [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8vqb9uC31Bk](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=8vqb9uC31Bk) [https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=\_eAVSqKZ5ng](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=_eAVSqKZ5ng) ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/38 "2019-02-01T19:50:49Z")
Lots of people were raised by wolves. I buy it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [February 1, 2019, 9:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/39 "2019-02-01T21:04:47Z")
> [@Gatopescado](#): > > Lots of people were raised by wolves. I buy it. I think of the non sequitur[comics with bears](http://www.simper.family/comics1.php?y=2018&m=3&d=23). The sign for their trap would read. ā€œDay Care.ā€ ---
**Author:** ![Littleman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ccd318/32.png) [@Littleman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Littleman)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2019, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574/40 "2019-02-02T15:26:56Z")
The kid was quoted in local news as saying " I had a friend who was a bear and was with me" Which to me sounds an awfully lot like what a 3 year old would make of the saying " bear with me" . Which could have been said by rescuers or weeks before by anyone. It would be especially easy to have a had a rescuer say this, and given a childā€™s sense of time Iā€™d see where it came from. However during the time he spent missing it rained and froze at night, and I doubt I would have survived without a fire. Let alone someone with such a low body mass. A child crying out at night ( assuming at some point he would ) could likely be heard for at least half a mile too That suggests to me the possibility of a kidnapper who changed their mind but based on the information thatā€™s a wild theory. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bear-kept-3-year-old-boy-safe/828574.md?page=3)