The Only Man In The World Who Can Swim With A Polar Bear

reply to post by Unity_99


g,day. well done. i noted but never mentioned the look. it reminded me of my dog. same kind of look. in fact the dog down the beach let her go. bingo, the same degree of joy/happiness. dog runs a circle, arriving back with, i kid you not. a grin on her face

In related news: Man gets eaten by pet polar bear.


He had better keep that animal well-fed or he's going to end up lunch.

What a remarkably useless talent to have!

That's really cool he can get away with swimming and playing with an 800 pound meat eater like that so far......

I just hate when something happens and the animal gets blamed and destroyed, the animal is just doing what it normally does, eat meat. This guy is just putting himself on the menu.

I really enjoyed this and had my wife check it out as well. We have a small white Jack Russell Terrier but she can be vicious as a polar bear. And I always thought they were vicious. This brought a favorable light to what I originally thought.

That is why I like ATS, is things like this out of the blue. I would of never thought to go to this type of subject but I found the title so interesting I was intrigued so I went for it.

I've even said to somebody a week ago, my dog (kind a white like a polar bear) can be like a polar bear and now I see even a similarity. She goes after lizards like the Dukes of Hazard with banjos a wailin at a steer roping contest. She seems like a little killer but with a heart of gold around people. I see a similarity.

Way to go! Thanks for sharing!!!.

reply to post by SheeplFlavoredAgain


You don't think they aren't mindful of the power in strength you hold over them?
Never look at another animal as a pet... But a companion or friend.

Like friends, never take them for granted and show them the respect they deserve.

With this, is why Roy Horn demanded Montecore not be shot.

When it comes to big animals of power, always show respect and never break their trust in you.

Originally posted by mwood
Yeah, And Timothy treadwell lived with Grizzly bears for awhile too. (till he got himself and his girlfriend eaten)

This guy will end up the same way.....DEAD.

Bears are wild animals and sooner or later they will look to you as dinner.

The only reason Tim Treadwell and his GF ended up dead was because the idiot missed his flight and decided to go back into the forest whilst winter drew in.

The bears were hungry because the food was running out and along came a couple of tasty fillet steaks.

If he had not gone back out there at that time of year he would still be alive today so your comparison makes no sense.

This is a completely different scenario.

reply to post by Sovaka


I do regard many animals in my life as my friends. But they are still animals and their perceptions and understanding of various situations is very different from my own. They sometimes perceive a threat where none exists. If we miss the cues that they feel threatened, because our human thought processes assure us there is no threat, we then put ourselves at odds with their fight or flight instincts. We can misinterpret or miss entirely their reactions, often with disastrous results.

As a Russian experiment with foxes has demonstrated, true domestication takes many generations of careful breeding and conditioning to achieve stable, reliable results to produce a companion animal that is pleasant to live with and genuinely able to accept humans as part of their family. True domestication puts formerly wild species in better tune with us and make them better able to read us, and vice versa.

It is just luck and some skill that some people can get along so well and somewhat safely for a time with rescued wild animals, even ones rescued as babies. It is never wise to take the chances with them that this man is taking with the very enchanting polar bear. I don't want to be a wet blanket and ruin the charm of this topic. But the over familiar behavior is risky and sets a dangerous example for people drawn to the idea of owning an exotic pet. I'm sure the man knows that. He has made his choice and I wish them all happiness and long life.

Originally posted by mwood
Yeah, And Timothy treadwell lived with Grizzly bears for awhile too. (till he got himself and his girlfriend eaten)

This guy will end up the same way.....DEAD.

Bears are wild animals and sooner or later they will look to you as dinner.

But those bears were in the wild and not raised in a house as a cub. A bit of a difference though probably not by a lot.

Maybe the polar bear being female might have something to do with it as well. They tend to be "less" aggressive then males unless there is a cub involved. Bear could also think of the humans as her cubs.

Hopefully they keep it friendly till the end of their days.

reply to post by chaakin


I think it's actually way bigger then most female bears are.

I'm disappointed in all of you! I thought ATSers were smart!! No one picked up on his last name of DUMAS? How is it pronounced? LOL

I did enjoy the video. I also pray they both live out happy lives.

Originally posted by SheeplFlavoredAgain
I used to find these stories heartwarming, but after Charla Nash got maimed by a chimp who had been raised in captivity and even starred in commercials, I now just get a very uneasy feeling about people keeping powerful wild animals as "pets.". I think sticking one's head in a very large powerful toothy mouth is just begging to get the Darwin Award.

We don't know anything about the history of the chimp who attacked Charla Nash, you're stupidly generalising one event to all domesticated animals.

I have cats and they NEVER attack me, they have no reason to.

Originally posted by SheeplFlavoredAgain

Even with my mild mannered domesticated house cats and dog, I remind myself constantly that they have sharp teeth and claws I need to be mindful of. The one time I got careless and let my guard down administering routine grooming, I ended up in the hospital with a nasty bite wound.

Maybe you need to learn how to look after your pets better then... My cats have sharp teeth and claws, but they never attack me, and I don't have a 'guard' to let down. Neither does the guy in this video - clearly his polar bear loves him, and loves being with him. Why would the polar bear kill his best friend, who gives him free food every day, which he doesn't have to go out and hunt for?

Originally posted by SheeplFlavoredAgain

There is a shocking shortage of common sense in the world. It is a fine thing to save a majestic creature like this polar bear, but respect its nature.

Whoever said he wasn't? According to your logic, ALL cats and dogs should be constantly attacking their owners, because they are meat eaters. You just don't understand animals, that's all there is to it. This guy clearly has a fantastic bond with his polar bear, if he raised him from a cub, the polar bear sees him as his father. Why would a polar bear suddenly attack his own father, if he'd never hurt him, never done anything wrong to him?

ALL the cases of animals attacking humans in the past have been caused by SOMEBODY abusing that animal in the past. ALL cases of dogs savaging children have been caused by abusive treatment of those dogs by their owners, or previous owners, in the past. The same no doubt goes for that chimp attack. It's no good taking the word of the owner of the chimp, who obviously isn't going to say "I beat the crap out of my chimp when he was a baby, to teach him to respect me", etc. Wake up.

Originally posted by mwood
Yeah, And Timothy treadwell lived with Grizzly bears for awhile too. (till he got himself and his girlfriend eaten)

This guy will end up the same way.....DEAD.

Bears are wild animals and sooner or later they will look to you as dinner.

What a genius!

Talk about an epic fail.

In other words, because YOU have an irrational fear of animals, you can't believe what you see with your own eyes (that the polar bear obviously loves his owner), and thus you insist that it 'must' go wrong sometime in the future...

Timothy Treadwell didn't raise the bear that killed him from a cub, did he? In fact, the bear was a WILD bear. Do you know the difference between 'wild' and 'domesticated'?

Such an epic fail, unbelievable.

If what you're saying is true, then ALL owners of bears, big cats, etc. would be DEAD by now, and there are hundreds, if not thousands of them.

reply to post by packoftwenty


I'm not here to fight with anybody or engage in defending myself against unpleasant accusations. It is a charming video and a nice opportunity and a very rare one to see a polar bear interacting with a person. I was just pointing out my concerns. People do get bites from non abused animals from time to time and it is no lack of experience or even lack of due diligence on their part. I know of many such instances. But now is not the time for a debate. I do wish you could be less confrontational in disagreeing with me. I'm not your personal enemy, there is no need for this to turn into an attack when it could be a pleasant conversation and exchange of different opinions and points of view instead. I'm sure you have experiences and insights I lack. Can you perhaps impart this in a more pleasant manner? Lol...I do not bite.

I've always been passionate about animals since I was a small child. My parents rescued and rehabilitated countless stray cats and dogs over forty years, and a few small injured wild animals from the woods that used to be behind their house before turning them over to experts. With the experts, they stressed to us minimizing over familiarity with wild animals so the animal could retain its instincts and survive upon release. They said it was safer for the handlers, too. This is likely where what you perceive as my erroneous bias was formed. I do freely admit I have little direct experience of custodial care of a wild species, unless you count hermit crabs and box turtles. You may have more experience in this area than I do.

I do have a haven in my yard free of lawn chemicals and full of natural plantings and have attracted some wild friends. My family and I enjoy their company but we don't try to interact or befriend them as we would a stray domesticated animal, preferring to enjoy them wild and learn their natural habits. Alas, we have no polar bears.

Originally posted by mwood
Yeah, And Timothy treadwell lived with Grizzly bears for awhile too. (till he got himself and his girlfriend eaten)

This guy will end up the same way.....DEAD.

Bears are wild animals and sooner or later they will look to you as dinner.

He was killed by bears in the wild, not bears he raised and lived with. It was late in the season and all of the bears in the area were fighting for the few resources there were. Poor comparison...

Originally posted by packoftwenty

Originally posted by mwood
Yeah, And Timothy treadwell lived with Grizzly bears for awhile too. (till he got himself and his girlfriend eaten)

This guy will end up the same way.....DEAD.

Bears are wild animals and sooner or later they will look to you as dinner.

What a genius!

Talk about an epic fail.

In other words, because YOU have an irrational fear of animals, you can't believe what you see with your own eyes (that the polar bear obviously loves his owner), and thus you insist that it 'must' go wrong sometime in the future...

Timothy Treadwell didn't raise the bear that killed him from a cub, did he? In fact, the bear was a WILD bear. Do you know the difference between 'wild' and 'domesticated'?

Such an epic fail, unbelievable.

If what you're saying is true, then ALL owners of bears, big cats, etc. would be DEAD by now, and there are hundreds, if not thousands of them.

Hmmm, fear of a predator that can EAT you is a good thing I think. This polar bear just has not found out that people can be food too.

Domesticated, really? Hope you know that it takes many generations of selective breeding and conditioning to domesticate a WILD animal. Do you really think a few years of conditioning can erase thousands of years predatory instinct? Shortchange this bear on food a few times and watch what happens.

FYI go to youtube or liveleaks and search for animal attacks, you can see the food chain in action.

Sorry but the only epic fail here was yours.

reply to post by thetiler


Thank you for your feedback on the video. I am really glad it found its way to your heart. Star for you

reply to post by Grayarea


You are right, it is not easy to domesticate a wild animal. The fact that this 16 year old polar bear had not attacked its owner must tell you two things:

1) Evolution of the wild is finding a way to cope with human beings to show genetics is no longer a wild animal...but more interactions with humans both in wild and in cage may be contributing to domestication

2) The "mothering" bond between the owner and the polar has been really strong since it was a pup and ultimate trust has been established. As long as the owner spent +++ time with the cub since it was a baby shows that the polar bear has ACCEPTED mother/farthership at a young age and presumably the owner DID NOT PHYSICALLY ABUSE the cub all its life.

Best animal/human video I have seen in a long time...

Another great video regarding

Video: Humpback whale and pelicans swarm kayakers

www.abovetopsecret.com...

reply to post by Skywatcher2011


I understand what you are saying that they have a mutual respect for each other but like in any case of a group/pack there is only ever one Alpha, let's hope that the bear does not find out he's it.

It's the lack of respect that gets people killed all the time. Look at all the fools that go to Yellowstone (I love that place) and think they can pet the cute little bears or ride the bison lol

reply to post by Grayarea


I dunno, this could be a long shot, but is there a possibility that the polar bear is gay??? Just sayin