Editing Polar bear (section)

==Relationship with humans==
Polar bears have coexisted and interacted with [[circumpolar peoples]] for millennia.{{sfn|Fee|2019|pp=25–26}} "White bears" are mentioned as commercial items in the Japanese book ''[[Nihon Shoki]]'' in the seventh century. It is not clear if these were polar bears or white-coloured brown bears.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|p=30}} During the [[Middle Ages]], Europeans considered white bears to be a novelty and were more familiar with brown- and black-coloured bears.{{sfn|Ellis|2009|pp=13}} The first known written account of the polar bear in its natural environment is found in the 13th-century anonymous Norwegian text ''[[Konungs skuggsjá]]'', which mentions that "the white bear of Greenland wanders most of the time on the ice of the sea, hunting seals and whales and feeding on them" and says the bear is "as skillful a swimmer as any seal or whale".{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|p=53}} 
[[File:Richard Westall (1765-1836) - Nelson and the Bear - BHC2907 - Royal Museums Greenwich.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Nelson and the Bear]]'', by [[Richard Westall]] (1809)]]
Over the next centuries, several European explorers would mention polar bears and describe their habits.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=53-66}}{{sfn|Ellis|2009|pp=14–23}} Such accounts became more accurate after the [[Age of Enlightenment|Enlightenment]], and both living and dead specimens were brought back. Nevertheless, some fanciful reports continued, including the idea that polar bears cover their noses during hunts. A relatively accurate drawing of a polar bear is found in [[Henry Ellis (governor)|Henry Ellis]]'s work ''A Voyage to Hudson's Bay'' (1748).{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=49, 51–52}} Polar bears were formally classified as a species by Constantine Phipps after his 1773 voyage to the Arctic. Accompanying him was a young [[Horatio Nelson]], who was said to have wanted to get a polar bear coat for his father but failed in his hunt.{{sfn|Fee|2019|p=41}} In his 1785 edition of ''[[Histoire Naturelle]]'', [[Georges-Louis Leclerc de Buffon|Comte de Buffon]] mentions and depicts a "sea bear", clearly a polar bear, and "land bears", likely brown and black bears. This helped promote ideas about [[speciation]]. Buffon also mentioned a "white bear of the forest", possibly a [[Kermode bear]].{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|p=50}}

===Exploitation===
{{Further information|Bear hunting}}
[[File:Eskimo hunter and polar bear slain with bow and arrow LCCN2005691848 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Hunter with polar bear slain with bow and arrow in Alaska (1924)]]
Polar bears were hunted as early as 8,000 years ago, as indicated by archaeological remains at [[Zhokhov Island]] in the [[East Siberian Sea]]. The oldest graphic depiction of a polar bear shows it being hunted by a man with three dogs. This [[rock art]] was among several [[petroglyph]]s found at [[Pegtymel]] in Siberia and dates from the fifth to eighth centuries. Before access to firearms, native people used lances, bows and arrows and hunted in groups accompanied by dogs. Though hunting typically took place on foot, some people killed swimming bears from boats with a harpoon. Polar bears were sometimes killed in their dens. Killing a polar bear was considered a [[rite of passage]] for boys in some cultures. Native people respected the animal and hunts were subject to strict rituals.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=122–124, 130, 133}}  Bears were harvested for the fur, meat, fat, tendons, bones and teeth.{{sfn|Fee|2019|p=28}}{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|p=128}} The fur was worn and slept on, while the bones and teeth were made into tools. For the Netsilik, the individual who finally killed the bear had the right to its fur while the meat was passed to all in the party. Some people kept the cubs of slain bears.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=127–128, 132}}
[[File:Greenland-polarbear-skin hg.jpg|thumb|right|Skins of hunted bears in Greenland]]
Norsemen in Greenland traded polar bear furs in the Middle Ages.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=34–35}} Russia traded polar bear products as early as 1556, with [[Novaya Zemlya]] and [[Franz Josef Land]] being important commercial centres. Large-scale hunting of bears at Svalbard occurred since at least the 18th century, when no less than 150 bears were killed each year by Russian explorers. In the next century, more Norwegians were harvesting the bears on the island. From the 1870s to the 1970s, around 22,000 of the animals were hunted in total. Over 150,000 polar bears in total were either killed or captured in Russia and Svalbard, from the 18th to the 20th century. In the Canadian Arctic, bears were harvested by commercial whalers especially if they could not get enough whales. The [[Hudson's Bay Company]] is estimated to have sold 15,000 polar bear coats between the late 19th century and early 20th century.{{sfn|Stirling|2011|pp=246–249}} In the mid-20th century, countries began to regulate polar bear harvesting, culminating in the 1973 agreement.<ref name=International1973/>

Polar bear meat was commonly eaten as rations by explorers and sailors in the Arctic, to widely varying appraisal. Some have called it too coarse and strong-smelling to eat, while others have praised it as a "royal dish".{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|p=141}} The liver was known for being too toxic to eat. This is due to the accumulation of [[vitamin A]] from the bears' prey.{{sfn|Derocher|2012|p=27}} Polar bear fat was also used in lamps when other fuel was unavailable.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|p=141}} Polar bear rugs were almost ubiquitous on the floors of Norwegian churches by the 13th and 14th centuries. In more modern times, classical Hollywood actors would pose on bearskin rugs, notably [[Marilyn Monroe]]. Such images often had sexual connotations.{{sfn|Fee|2019|pp=32, 131–133}}

===Conflicts===
{{further information|Bear danger|Bear attack}}
[[File:Polar-Bear-Warning-Longyearbyen.jpg|thumb|right|Road sign warning about the presence of polar bears. The Norwegian text translates into "Applies to all of Svalbard".]]
When the sea ice melts, polar bears, particularly subadults, conflict with humans over resources on land.<ref name=Heenskerk2020>{{cite journal|last1=Heemskerk|first1=S.|last2=Johnson|first2=A. C.|last3=Hedman|first3=D.|last4=Trim|first4=V.|last5=Lunn|first5=N. J.|last6=McGeachy|first6=D.|last7=Derocher|first7=A. E.|year=2020|title=Temporal dynamics of human-polar bear conflicts in Churchill, Manitoba|journal=Global Ecology and Conservation|volume=24|page=e01320|doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01320|s2cid=225123070|doi-access=free|bibcode=2020GEcoC..2401320H }}</ref> They are attracted to the smell of human-made foods, particularly at garbage dumps and may be shot when they encroach on private property.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Clark|first1=D. A.|last2=van Beest|first2=F. M.|last3=Brook|first3=R. K.|year=2012|title=Polar Bear-human conflicts: state of knowledge and research needs|journal=Canadian Wildlife Biology and Management|volume=1|issue=1|pages=21–29|url=https://cwbm.ca/polar-bear-human-conflicts-state-of-knowledge-and-research-needs/}}</ref> In [[Churchill, Manitoba]], local authorities maintain a "[[polar bear jail]]" where nuisance bears are held until the sea ice freezes again.<ref>{{cite web |title=Inside Canada's polar bear 'jail' where bears go without food and are kept behind bars — but it's not what you might think |date=13 May 2023 |first=Crystal |last=Raypole |website=Business Insider |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/inside-polar-bear-jail-churchill-canada-holding-facility-2023-5|access-date=3 September 2023}}</ref> Climate change has increased conflicts between the two species.<ref name=Heenskerk2020/> Over 50 polar bears [[2019 mass invasion of Russian polar bears|swarmed a town]] in Novaya Zemlya in February 2019, leading local authorities to declare a state of emergency.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Stanley-Becker |first1=Isaac |title=A 'mass invasion' of polar bears is terrorizing an island town. Climate change is to blame. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/02/11/mass-invasion-polar-bears-is-terrorizing-an-island-town-climate-change-is-blame/?noredirect=on |access-date=14 February 2019 |agency=washingtonpost |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=11 February 2019}}</ref>

From 1870 to 2014, there were an estimated 73 polar bear attacks on humans, which led to 20 deaths. The majority of attacks were by hungry males, typically subadults, while female attacks were usually in defence of the young. In comparison to brown and American black bears, attacks by polar bears were more often near and around where humans lived. This may be due to the bears getting desperate for food and thus more likely to seek out human settlements. As with the other two bear species, polar bears are unlikely to target more than two people at once. Though popularly thought of as the most dangerous bear, the polar bear is no more aggressive to humans than other species.<ref name=Wilder2017>{{cite journal|last1=Wilder|first1=J. M.|last2=Vongraven|first2=D.|last3=Atwood|first3=T.|last4=Hansen|first4=B.|last5=Jessen|first5=A.|last6=Kochnev|first6=A.|last7=York|first7=G.|last8=Vallender|first8=R.|last9=Hedman|first9=D.|last10=Gibbons|first10=M.|year=2017|title=Polar bear attacks on humans: implications of a changing climate|journal=Wildlife Society Bulletin|volume=41|issue=3|pages=537−547|doi=10.1002/wsb.783|bibcode=2017WSBu...41..537W }}</ref>

===Captivity===
[[File:Polar Bear at DZ.jpg|thumb|right|Visitors observing polar bears underneath a plexiglass tunnel at the [[Detroit Zoo]]]]
The polar bear was for long a particularly sought-after species for exotic animal collectors, since it was relatively rare and remote living and had a reputation as a ferocious beast.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=96}} It is one of the few marine mammals that will reproduce well in captivity.<ref name=Perrin>{{cite book|editor-first1=William F.|editor-last1=Perrin|editor-first2=Bernd |editor-last2= Wursig|editor-first3=J. G. M. 'Hans' |editor-last3=Thewissen|title=Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals|year=2009|publisher=Academic Press|isbn=978-0-08-091993-5|last1=Robeck|first1=T. R.|last2=O'Brien|first2=J. K.|last3=Obell|first3=D. K. |contribution=Captive Breeding|pages=178}}</ref> They were originally kept only by royals and elites. The [[Tower of London]] got a polar bear as early as 1252 under [[Henry III of England|King Henry III]]. In 1609, [[James VI and I]] of Scotland, England and Ireland was given two polar bear cubs by the sailor [[Jonas Poole]], who got them during a trip to [[Svalbard]].{{sfn|Fee|2019|pp=32, 103, 105}} At the end of the 17th century, [[Frederick I of Prussia]] housed polar bears in [[menagerie]]s with other wild animals. He had their claws and canines removed to allow them to perform mock fights safely. Around 1726, [[Catherine I of Russia]] gifted two polar bears to [[Augustus II the Strong]] of Poland, who desired them for his animal collection.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=95}} Later, polar bears were displayed to the public in [[zoo]]s and [[circus]]es.{{sfn|Fee|2019|pp=103, 108}} In early 19th century, the species was exhibited at the [[Exeter Exchange]] in London, as well as menageries in Vienna and Paris. The first zoo in North America to exhibit a polar bear was the [[Philadelphia Zoo]] in 1859.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=xii, 96–97}}

Polar bear exhibits were innovated by [[Carl Hagenbeck]], who replaced cages and pits with settings that mimicked the animal's natural environment.  In 1907, he revealed a complex [[panoramic]] structure at the [[Tierpark Hagenbeck]] Zoo in Hamburg consisting of exhibits made of artificial snow and ice separated by moats. Different polar animals were displayed on each platform, giving the illusion of them living together. Starting in 1975, [[Hellabrunn Zoo]] in Munich housed its polar bears in an exhibit which consisted of a glass barrier, a house, concrete platforms mimicking ice floes and a large pool. Inside the house were maternity dens, and rooms for the staff to prepare and store the food. The exhibit was connected to an outdoor yard for extra room. Similar naturalistic and "immersive" exhibits were opened in the early 21st century, such as the "Arctic Ring of Life" at the [[Detroit Zoo]] and Ontario's [[Cochrane, Ontario|Cochrane]] Polar Bear Habitat.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=7, 101, 105–106}}{{sfn|Fee|2019|p=118}} Many zoos in Europe and North America have stopped keeping polar bears because of the size and costs of their complex exhibits.{{sfn|Fee|2019|pp=120–121}} In North America, the population of polar bears in zoos reached its zenith in 1975 with 229 animals and declined in the 21st century.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Curry|first1=E|last2=Safay|first2=S|last3=Meyerson|first3=R|last4=Roth|first4=T. L.|year=2015|title=Reproductive trends of captive polar bears in North American zoos: a historical analysis|journal=Journal of Zoo and Aquarium Research|volume=3|issue=3|pages=99–106|doi=10.19227/jzar.v3i3.133}}</ref>
[[File:Repetitie Nationaal Songfestival in Carré, Sylvia de Leur dresseert beren, Bestanddeelnr 926-2489.jpg|thumb|left|Performing polar bear at the 1973 ''[[Nationaal Songfestival]]'' in the Netherlands]]
Polar bears have been trained to perform in circuses. Bears in general, being large, powerful, easy to train and human-like in form, were widespread in circuses, and the white coat of polar bears made them particularly attractive. Circuses helped change the polar bear's image from a fearsome monster to something more comical. Performing polar bears were used in 1888 by [[Circus Krone]] in Germany and later in 1904 by the [[Frank C. Bostock|Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie]] in England. Circus director Wilhelm Hagenbeck trained up to 75 polar bears to slide into a large tank through a chute. He began performing with them in 1908 and they had a particularly well-received show at the [[Hippodrome, London|Hippodrome in London]]. Other circus tricks performed by polar bears involved tightropes, balls, roller skates and motorcycles. One of the most famous polar bear trainers in the second half of the twentieth century was the East German Ursula Böttcher, whose small stature contrasted with that of the large bears. Starting in the late 20th century, most polar bear acts were retired and the use of these bears for the circus is now prohibited in the US.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=109–111, 116–119}}

Several captive polar bears gained celebrity status in the late 20th and early 21st century, notably [[Knut (polar bear)|Knut]] of the [[Berlin Zoological Garden]], who was rejected by his mother and had to be hand-reared by zookeepers. Another bear, [[Binky (polar bear)|Binky]] of the [[Alaska Zoo]] in Anchorage, became famous for attacking two visitors who got too close.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=21–24, 105}}{{sfn|Fee|2019|pp=123–124, 145}} Captive polar bears may pace back and forth, a [[Stereotypy (non-human)|stereotypical behaviour]]. In one study, they were recorded to have spent 14 percent of their days pacing.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shepherdson|first1=D.|last2=Lewis|first2=K. D.|last3=Carlstead|first3=K.|last4=Bauman|first4=J.|last5=Perrin|first5=N.|year=2013|title=Individual and environmental factors associated with stereotypic behavior and fecal glucocorticoid metabolite levels in zoo housed polar bears|journal=Applied Animal Behaviour Science|volume=147|issue=3–4|pages=268–277|doi=10.1016/j.applanim.2013.01.001}}</ref> [[Gus (bear)|Gus]] of the [[Central Park Zoo]] was prescribed [[Prozac]] by a therapist for constantly swimming in his pool.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|p=24}} To reduce stereotypical behaviours, zookeepers provide the bears with enrichment items to trigger their play behaviour.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Canino|first1=W.|last2=Powell|first2=D.|year=2010|title=Formal behavioral evaluation of enrichment programs on a zookeeper's schedule: a case study with a polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') at the Bronx Zoo|journal=Zoo Biology|volume=29|issue=4|pages=503–508|doi=10.1002/zoo.20247|pmid=19373879}}</ref> In sufficiently warm conditions, [[algae]] concentrated in the medulla of their fur's guard hairs may cause zoo polar bears to appear green.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Lewin|first1=R. A.|last2=Farnsworth|first2=P. A.|last3=Yamanaka|first3=G.|year=1981|title=The algae of green polar bears|journal=Phycologia|volume=20|issue=3 |pages=303–314|doi=10.2216/i0031-8884-20-3-303.1|bibcode=1981Phyco..20..303L }}</ref>

===Cultural significance===
{{further information|Cultural depictions of bears}}
{{Multiple image
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| image1            = Ours nageant (Musée du quai Branly) (3034045389).jpg|caption1=[[Ivory carving]] of a swimming polar bear from the [[Dorset culture]], northern Canada
|image2             = Coat of arms of Greenland.svg|caption2=The [[coat of arms of Greenland]]
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Polar bears have prominent roles in [[Inuit culture]] and [[Inuit religion|religion]]. The deity [[Torngarsuk]] is sometimes imagined as a giant polar bear. He resides underneath the sea floor in an [[underworld]] of the dead and has power over sea creatures. [[Kalaallit]] [[shaman]]s would worship him through singing and dancing and were expected to be taken by him to the sea and consumed if he considered them worthy. Polar bears were also associated with the goddess [[Nuliajuk]] who was responsible for their creation, along with other sea creatures. It is believed that shamans could reach the Moon or the bottom of the ocean by riding on a [[Tutelary deity|guardian spirit]] in the form of a polar bear. Some folklore involves people turning into or disguising themselves as polar bears by donning their skins or the reverse, with polar bears removing their  skins. In [[Inuit astronomy]], the [[Pleiades]] star cluster is conceived of as a polar bear trapped by dogs while [[Orion's Belt]], the [[Hyades (star cluster)|Hyades]] and [[Aldebaran]] represent hunters, dogs and a wounded bear respectively.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=152–153, 156–162}}

[[Nordic folklore]] and [[Scandinavian literature|literature]] have also featured polar bears. In ''[[The Tale of Auðun of the West Fjords]]'', written around 1275, a poor man named Auðun spends all his money on a polar bear in Greenland, but ends up wealthy after giving the bear to the king of Denmark.{{sfn|Fee|2019|p=32}} In the 14th-century manuscript [[Hauksbók]], a man named Odd kills and eats a polar bear that killed his father and brother. In the story of ''The Grimsey Man and the Bear'', a mother bear nurses and rescues a farmer stuck on an ice floe and is repaid with sheep meat. 18th-century Icelandic writings mention the legend of a "polar bear king" known as the {{lang|is|bjarndýrakóngur}}. This beast was depicted as a polar bear with "ruddy cheeks" and a [[unicorn]]-like horn, which glows in the dark. The king could understand when humans talk and was considered to be very astute.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=165–166, 181–182}} Two Norwegian fairy tales, "[[East of the Sun and West of the Moon]]" and "[[White-Bear-King-Valemon]]", involve white bears turning into men and seducing women.{{sfn|Fee|2019|p=98}}

Drawings of polar bears have been featured on maps of the northern regions. Possibly the earliest depictions of a polar bear on a map is the Swedish ''[[Carta marina]]'' of 1539, which has a white bear on Iceland or "Islandia". A 1544 map of North America includes two polar bears near [[Quebec]]. Notable paintings featuring polar bears include [[François-Auguste Biard]]'s ''Fighting Polar Bears'' (1839) and [[Edwin Landseer]]'s ''[[Man Proposes, God Disposes]]'' (1864). Polar bears have also been filmed for cinema. An Inuit polar bear hunt was shot for the 1932 documentary ''[[Igloo (1932 film)|Igloo]]'', while the 1974 film ''[[The White Dawn]]'' filmed a simulated stabbing of a trained bear for a scene. In the film ''[[The Big Show (1961 film)|The Big Show]]'' (1961), two characters are killed by a circus polar bear. The scenes were shot using animal trainers instead of the actors. In modern literature, polar bears have been characters in both [[children's literature|children's fiction]], like Hans Beer's ''[[The Little Polar Bear|Little Polar Bear and the Whales]]'' and Sakiasi Qaunaq's ''The Orphan and the Polar Bear'', and fantasy novels, like [[Philip Pullman]]'s ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' series. In radio, [[Mel Blanc]] provided the vocals for [[Jack Benny]]'s pet polar bear Carmichael on ''[[The Jack Benny Program]]''.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|pp=xi–xii, 36, 82–83, 100, 116, 184, 215}} The polar bear is featured on flags and coats of arms, like the [[coat of arms of Greenland]], and in many advertisements, notably [[Coca-Cola polar bears|for Coca-Cola]] since 1922.{{sfn|Fee|2019|pp=32, 133–135}}

As [[charismatic megafauna]], polar bears have been used to [[Consciousness raising|raise awareness]] of the dangers of climate change. Aurora the polar bear is a giant [[marionette]] created by [[Greenpeace]] for climate protests.<ref name=Born2019>{{cite journal|last=Born|first=D.|year=2019|title=Bearing witness? Polar bears as icons for climate change communication in ''National Geographic''|journal=Environmental Communication|volume=13|issue=5|pages=649–663|doi=10.1080/17524032.2018.1435557|s2cid=150289699|doi-access=free|bibcode=2019Ecomm..13..649B }}</ref> The [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] has sold [[teddy bear|plush polar bears]] as part of its "Arctic Home" campaign.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Dunaway|first=F|year=2009|title=Seeing global warming: contemporary art and the fate of the planet|journal=Environmental History|volume=14|issue=1|pages=9–31|doi=10.1093/envhis/14.1.9}}</ref> Photographs of polar bears have been featured in ''[[National Geographic]]'' and ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'' magazines, including ones of them standing on ice floes, while the climate change documentary and advocacy film ''[[An Inconvenient Truth]]'' (2006) includes an animated bear swimming.<ref name=Born2019/> Automobile manufacturer [[Nissan]] used a polar bear in one of its commercials, hugging a man for using an electric car.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Martinez|first1=D. E.|contribution=Polar bears, Inuit names, and climate citizenship|title=Culture, Politics and Climate Change In 2009|editor-first1=Deserai A.|editor-last1=Crow|editor-first2=Maxwell T|editor-last2=Boykoff|year=2014|publisher=Taylor & Francis|page=46|isbn=9781135103347}}</ref> To make a statement about global warming, in 2009 a Copenhagen ice statue of a polar bear with a bronze skeleton was purposely left to melt in the sun.{{sfn|Engelhard|2017|page=xiii}}