I know, it' looks awfully cute, and it should come as no surprise: Both dogs and bears are in the carmifordia branch of the order carnivora, and both species are highly intelligent, playful and will totally fucking kill you in the wild.
Steven Colbert is on a constant threat alert about bears. Somehow, though, the message just hasn't gotten through to people that Polar Bears are, in fact, bears. They are as large as a grizzly, agile swimmers, and -because of human encroachment- much more likely to come into contact with human settlements. This doesn't make them less likely to attack, but more so.
Just last year, my daughter and I were at the Doorly Zoo in Omaha. While there, we saw a juvenile male polar bear checking out the small children standing next to its tank. He would pounce around, dive into the water, then take a couple of test laps by the children. That's when it occurred to us that these little children, thinking that the polar bear was being inquisitive, probably appeared to be tasty, seal-sized bites of flesh to the polar bear.
This is the actual bear that was sooooo interested in the kiddos.
I finally have my confirmation. Behold the below awesomeness. It's a group of Japanese tourists at Seaworld. One of the young ladies has purchased a baby Harp Seal plush hat. Not thinking, she walks right up to get a closer view of the cute polar bear...awesomeness ensues...
She deserved it...it's the way she was dressed.
Image via Gifbin.com
For those of you wanting to feel sorry for this girl, two things to remember: First, she is approaching an 800 pound predator that's been in captivity most of its life. Second, she is approaching said predator, dressed up as its favorite food source, captivity be damned...Now, perhaps people will remember; they aren't cute...they're just white, aquatic versions of grizzlies, and I don't see a whole lot of people queuing up to pet those beasts.
Sigh.
I see you're not convinced, so go ahead and watch the video of puppies and bears playing.
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