Carolina Wings Loc: Flew from North Carolina to Pennsylvania

WOW...what a great photo op...and great shots!!! :thumbup:

srodday Loc: Mass

Thanks. I might go again some August to capture wild flowers with the Bears.

tejaswrangler Loc: South Texas

srodday, these are very nice pictures of the Polar Bears. Thanks for sharing. :thumbup: Tejaswrangler :)

creativ simon Loc: Coulsdon, South London

Great set

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Very nice!

Quixdraw Loc: x

My uncle joined the Army Aircorps in '39 or '40, flew the entire European campaign, shot down twice, once got out on his own, once through the resistance. Served through Vietnam. In the '50's both we and the Soviets were flying transpolar reconnaissance missions, by agreement aircraft unarmed for early warning against surprise attack. The DEW line had not yet been completed The crews were afraid their aircraft would go down and that polar bears would be a problem. I know what he told me, and have no reason to disbelieve a person who was there. He was not one to tell "war stories". Portions of the crews were vets of the war, so not easily frightened, but the thought of being eaten bothered them. Polar Bears are apex predators -- they don't often eat people because through most of their range there are few people. There are plenty of recent films on the internet of people pursued, cornered by the bears. Have no problem with bears of any sort as long as they leave me alone and I have a heavy rifle. Even black bears attack people. Trusting bears is a little like the liberal mantra of not resisting criminals. Won't trust either -- will take responsibility for my own safety.

greymule Loc: Colorado

:thumbup: :thumbup:

Sharon from CDA Loc: Coeur d' Alene, Idaho

Great photos - how awesome to see them!

ebbote Loc: Hockley, Texas

Very good Srodday.

Bear2 Loc: Southeast,, MI

Nice captures, would love to see them.
Duane

Apaflo Loc: Anchorage, Alaska

I don't doubt the veracity of your uncle for a second. But the boy he talked to seems to have let the story grow over the years.

The "unarmed" aircraft didn't have atomic bombs aboard. And they all carried whatever small arms a crew wished to have, and fighter aircraft were armed to the hilt with cannon and machine guns. Trust that they broke every treaty on the books! The chances of surviving a crash were very low. Polar bears really were not a concern.

Polar bear contact with humans is a relatively common occurrence. I have personally been "pursued" several times, but never "cornered" by a Polar bear. I don't know of any Internet videos that show someone "cornered". The last time I can remember any human eaten by a Polar bear was at Point Lay Alaska, some 200 miles southwest of where I live, and that was two and half decades ago (1990).

The fact is that Polar bears do not normally eat humans. What they want is blubber, such as from seals and walrus. Brown bears will kill you to protect their territory and Polar bears will kill you to see what you are. Neither typically eats a human. A Black bear does want to eat you. That is not liberal mantra, it's the nature of the beasts.

AuntieM Loc: Eastern NC

Great shots. What a wonderful life experience.

Cappy Loc: Wildwood, NJ

[quote=. Have no problem with bears of any sort as long as they leave me alone and I have a heavy rifle. Even black bears attack people. Trusting bears is a little like the liberal mantra of not resisting criminals. Won't trust either -- will take responsibility for my own safety.[/quote]

I completely agree!

wapusk Loc: New Yorker in the midwest...

We were in Churchill a couple of years ago...an experience never to be forgotten. We saw all large males. The females and cubs were hanging back since they did not want to be food for the males...you were so fortunate to see a cub. Thank you for sharing your photos...brought back wonderful memories.

srodday Loc: Mass

Oh, good point. I didn't think about the mother and Cubs hanging back. That makes sense as males make the mother and Cubs nervous.

We also heard the pop guns going off in the town a few times as bears were near. I wasn't sure what it was the first time until a store owner told us to come inside...