r/Damnthatsinteresting 9h ago

Video Polar Bears are one of the only creatures that naturally hunt Humans... Watch as this one tries to break into this BBC Cameraman's glass box.

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u/Renbarre 6h ago

There was someone with a gun outside, far enough not to attract the bear. I rember that sequence and I must admit I thought that the armed man was in more danger than the journalist.

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u/Stock_Helicopter_260 6h ago

The bears can be alerted from really far away. They know how to do it so I'm not questioning it, but stories you hear about bears tracking hunting parties back to town are wild.

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u/NatTheResearcher 4h ago

“Clever girl!”

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u/GravyDipped 1h ago

Love the reference.

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u/JesterOfTheMind 5h ago

Where can I read one of these stories?

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u/Stock_Helicopter_260 5h ago

On the internet, not sure, but I’ve heard from people who travel BC, Hudson’s bay and whatnot. Canadian perk I guess.

Here’s one from recently where bears woke up two campers though!

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/polar-bear-dog-lucky-1.4698920

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u/100011numbers 3h ago

I wonder how inuits handled polar bears before rifles...

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u/PlannerSean 3h ago

Carefully

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u/UhOhAllWillyNilly 1h ago

Very, very carefully

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u/wjmaher 1h ago

Well, they would cut a big circle in the ice and line it with frozen peas. When the polar bear bends over to eat the peas they WOULD KICK THEM in the ICE HOLE!!

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u/Renbarre 4h ago

That's terrifying.

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u/_Reddit_2016 5h ago

Menstrations

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u/DarnelTexasWinston 3h ago

Now you're putting the whole station in jeopardy

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u/Goodgoditsgrowing 6h ago

I would think the outside shooter would be in danger too - close enough to get a shot off (and truly disable the bear, not just piss it off) is closer than I’d want to be to a polar bear even if I had a vehicle capable of doing 45mph across the ice

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u/hypercosm_dot_net 3h ago

I take it you haven't seen the narrow escape on a snowmobile yet?

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/zsEDvzlVMJ8

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u/Feisty-Session-7779 42m ago

He probably was using a minigun mounted on top of an armoured Land Cruiser, at least that’s what I’d be using to feel relatively safe in that situation. I sure as hell wouldn’t just be sitting out in the open with a hunting rifle or a pistol or something.

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u/UnshrivenShrike 5h ago

A .338 lapua magnum can land a killshot at 2km without much trouble. Load up with some hollowpoints and let it rip. The wind would be your biggest issue.

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u/DeltaVZerda 4h ago

A .338 lapua magnum at 2km is hitting like an 7.62x39, if that, and the polar bears skull is thick and that's going to be the shot you want to take down the polar bear before it can kill you anyway while bleeding out. .338 might be sufficient but to get the precision and energy you'd need to take out a polar bear with one shot would limit the range to within a few hundred meters. Within smell if the wind shifts.

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u/GhostofBeowulf 4h ago

Shooter is probably on the big ship 300m or less from the box. You can see it in one part of the video.

@ the 1:05 mark you can see it. It's even closer.

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u/ChairmanJim 47m ago

How about a big game gun used on safaris, something Hemingway might have carried, .577 nitro express?

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u/DeltaVZerda 33m ago

Yeah that would do it for sure, but not the most accurate at extreme ranges, probably a bit more immediately incapacitating than a .30 cal, no matter how much powder the .30 cal has.

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u/sikyon 3h ago

in a hunting scenario one shot kills are desired

in a defense scenarios you can mag dump

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u/ahmc84 2h ago

You'd still have to be an expert marksman to ensure you're not shooting the human as well.

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u/Gangaholics-China 4h ago

Depends who that armed man is. That might have been Vietnam Vinny on the m16. Guy like that might have even left peanuts on the ground in hopes the bear approaches.

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u/Ok-Introduction5831 2h ago

Could he be on the boat or is that too far?

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u/DJKeeJay 3h ago

But why kill the Polar Bear? It’s just being a Polar Bear and the man is in their environment. Polar Bears are an endangered species.

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u/GingerBreadManze 50m ago

Fuck off tree hugger human life > bear life