Amazing Pictorial Story

A couple of years ago, I was part of a behind-the-scenes tour at the San Francisco Zoo. When approaching the polar bear area, we were told to stay very alert and within a safe distance because polar bears don't bond and would attack if there was an opportunity to do so. I have no reason to believe that my seasoned zoo caretaker guide had erroneous information - she had been immersed in this world for her entire working career and knew the finer subtleties of zoo life.

Then I came upon this story. In nature, it seems polar bears approach other life forms very differently. The key pictures are listed here, but the two minute video presentation with commentary is also worth looking at. What you see are two huskies and a polar bear, who from the very beginning are not threatened by each other, and do form a bond. I hope you enjoy.

It looks like the husky might be growling, but in an extreme closeup (shown in the video) no teeth are showing.

The photographers were certain that the husky was about to lose his life.

Then they started to see the transformation...

This is the smaller husky, which is showing his throat to the polar bear...

It was clear at this point that they had a special bond and communication.

The polar bear returned to play with the huskies every night for the next week.