So much for that idyllic video of a polar bear and a dog sharing an unlikely cuddle by the water. The harsh reality of how the animals interact has come crashing down following an incident in Manitoba, Canada.
A polar bear had to be immobilised after it killed and ate a sled dog from the same pack.
"That was the only day we didn't feed the f--king bears, the only night we didn't put anything out," local resident and dog keeper Brian Ladoon told CBC News.
There were nine bears around the area where Ladoon keeps his dogs chained up. One of the bears reportedly ate one of his dogs.
The report was corroborated by a spokesperson for the Manitoba Sustainable Development. "Conservation officers had to immobilise a bear in that area last week and move it to the holding facility because it killed one of his dogs," the spokesperson told CBC News.
"A mother and cub were also removed because there were allegations the bears were being fed and the females' behaviour was becoming a concern," the spokesperson said. In Manitoba, it's forbidden to feed endangered species such as polar bears.
The video from last week (below) was filmed by local resident and part-time guide David de Muelles.
“Different bear, different dog. It has nothing to do with what I [recorded], I don’t appreciate it. It’s sickening," de Muelles told Global News, maintaining that the dog in his video is still alive
