POLAR BEAR CATCHES BUS

A Polar Bear Catches a Bus

Guest blogger Jackie from Australia submitted “Polar Bear Catches Bus.” The story takes place in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

The Most Amazing Day of My Life

The day before had been the most amazing day of my life, or so I thought.  It was spent out on the Churchill tundra in a specially-designed Tundra Buggy, watching Polar Bears play, eat and sleep; all so close you could almost touch them.

The Polar Bear Jail

 A free morning before flying out left only one thing to do—a town tour. This little town is surprisingly quite fascinating, and the visit to the Bear Jail was one of the highlights. The Bear Jail is a jail for polar bears who come into town and make a nuisance of themselves. They are locked up until they can be transported away from the town.

Bear Catches A Bus

The biggest highlight, though, was the bear encounter as we headed back to town.  We spotted him in the distance and stopped for a look. Our driver and bear researcher, Dave, said he thought it was a young bear; maybe four or five years old.  “He might just come and check us out if we sit quietly. They are curious when young, just like cats”, said Dave. And check us out, he did!

 After chewing on a tyre and walking around the whole bus for a few minutes, he chose a window in the middle and made it clear he wanted to look in.

Dave had us all stand back as he opened the window, and in popped two huge paws and a head. We were all awestruck, mostly forgetting to take a photo or video. We were just so captivated by this magnificent creature. Eventually, I thought to take a few quick pictures on my phone just to remind me of the day.

After a good look around, the bear decided to taste the bus seat, crunching through the thick leather as though it were butter. “Enough,” said Dave, tapping him on the nose. “Out of my bus if you’re going to bite it.” Reluctantly, off he went!

Looking back, I wonder that no one was the least bit scared or panicked; just totally enthralled by what had happened.

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