In all of Canada, eight people have been killed by polar bears in the past 30 years. In the U.S. (Alaska) during the same time period, only one person was killed. In all of recorded history, only 19 people have been killed by polar bears in Russia.
In all cases where a human was killed by a polar bear, the bear was undernourished or provoked. Human bear-encounters are expected to increase as the sea ice melts and hungry bears are driven ashore.
Churchill, Manitoba is the Polar Bear Capital of the World. Since 1717, only two townspeople have ever been killed by polar bears.
- In 1968, local teenagers followed tracks through fresh snow, found a polar bear, and threw rocks at him. The bear attacked and killed one of them. The bear was shot.
- In1983, a local man scavenging in the recently burned ruins of the Churchill Hotel found meat in the freezer and stuffed his pockets full. A polar bear, attracted by the smell, killed the man. The bear was shot.
Long ago, wandering bears in Churchill were shot as food for sled dogs. And during World War II, servicemen at an air base east of Churchill killed bears and shipped the trophy home.
Today, most Churchill residents are fond of their famous polar bears.
In 1982, the town built a holding facility to house problem bears that come too close to town during the fall migration. The facility has reduced—but not eliminated—polar bear-human encounters.
- When a bear ambled into the Royal Canadian Legion hall, the club steward shouted, "You're not a member! Get out!" The bear did.
- While attending a school concert, one Churchill family lost some leftover chicken. A bear broke into their trailer, gobbled up the leftovers, and beat a retreat before the family returned.
- At the town's Harbour Board kitchen, a polar bear made off with a bag of garbage, completely ignoring the pork chops on the counter.
- A trapper shooed a bear from his porch—attracted by the smell of fish stew—by banging pie plates together.
- A tiny woman chased a bear from her porch with a whack on its rear from a broom. The bear fled, never to return.
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How to Avoid Polar Bear Attacks
