Polar Bears Kills Woman And Young Child in Wales (Anchorage: homes, living in)

[Arktikos]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

Wales is Wales, not Churchill. A polar bear wandering around Wales might not be such a common event to encourage establishing a coordinated warning system. It would be interesting to see necropsy information on the bear. It might have been old, injured, sick or starving and more inclined to attack someone. Polar bears are under increasing metabolic stress due to retreat of sea ice.

It's a bit surprising to me that Wales would see any polar bears at all.

A friend of mine traveled to Utquiagvik a few years back during late fall for a school volleyball tournament. He said that passengers on the inbound Alaska airlines flight were warned that a polar bear had been wandering around the airport runway recently. Beware!

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Well that system failed. Word of mouth might take a little too much time while a polar bear is wandering around the town.

You are assuming that whatever system was used in Wales failed. Nobody knows at the moment, since the emergency personnel could not fly-in for several days.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by RayinAK

You are assuming that whatever system was used in Wales failed. Nobody knows at the moment, since the emergency personnel could not fly-in for several days.

Maybe it didn't fail. If this report is correct, the system used in Wales seems to be when there is a bear problem for somebody to try to talk to the bear in the native language, which apparently the polar bears understand.




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eWhBIaAFkSM

[Those Who Squirm]

OK, I see. Wales, AK.

For a minute there, I surprised to learn that polar bears had reached the Irish Sea.

[Three Wolves In Snow]

I thought the same thing. ^^^ I clicked this so fast because I couldn't believe that the UK had polar bears.

By their last name, it appears they were native. Wonder if they believed the guy in the video posted above.

Horrible way to go.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Three Wolves In Snow

By their last name, it appears they were native. Wonder if they believed the guy in the video posted above.
.

Did you watch the video?

The "guy in the video" is talking about oral traditions passed down from his elders; this is always presented metaphorically. He makes a mild joke out of it and moves on. She would have understood what he meant.

Residents of Wales must be doing something right to keep the polar bears at bay though; there hasn't been a similar occurrence there for generations.

[RayinAK]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Did you watch the video?

The "guy in the video" is talking about oral traditions passed down from his elders; this is always presented metaphorically. He makes a mild joke out of it and moves on. She would have understood what he meant.

Residents of Wales must be doing something right to keep the polar bears at bay though; there hasn't been a similar occurrence there for generations.

Good points

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Did you watch the video?

The "guy in the video" is talking about oral traditions passed down from his elders; this is always presented metaphorically. He makes a mild joke out of it and moves on. She would have understood what he meant.

Residents of Wales must be doing something right to keep the polar bears at bay though; there hasn't been a similar occurrence there for generations.

Polar bears don't generally attack or get anywhere near humans, unless something causes a change in that behavior. Examples: they are starving or they have some disease. So it's more a matter of the bears doing something right, then the humans doing something right.

[Parnassia]

Originally Posted by Cloudy Dayz

Polar bears don't generally attack or get anywhere near humans, unless something causes a change in that behavior. Examples: they are starving or they have some disease. So it's more a matter of the bears doing something right, then the humans doing something right.

"Something right" is a matter of perspective. A polar bear is an opportunist whether it is healthy or not. Leave misplaced moral judgement out of it.

[Cloudy Dayz]

Originally Posted by Parnassia

"Something right" is a matter of perspective. A polar bear is an opportunist whether it is healthy or not. Leave misplaced moral judgement out of it.

I was not being judgemental. I was merely stating a fact.

Do Polar Bears Hunt or Eat Humans?

Now for the big question: do polar bears hunt humans? The answer is, not really. One study showed that there were only 73 attacks on humans between 1870-2014, only 20 of which were fatal. Attacks were most often the consequence of hungry male polar bears, or, in some cases, females protecting their cubs.

Unfortunately for lone humans in the Arctic, polar bears are indiscriminate predators. This means that, if they’re hungry, and the opportunity for a potential meal presents itself, they won’t pass it up. Still, attacks on humans are extremely rare. Researchers believe that one of the keys to keeping numbers low is to stress the importance of maintaining respect and caution when in a polar bear country.

Do Polar Bears Hunt Humans_ - AZ Animals