Watch This Guard Dog Bite a Polar Bear’s Face Defending Their Camp

We all know that our dogs love us and a few of them may be prepared to protect us if there was an intruder in our house. But would your family pet be willing to fend off a polar bear to keep you safe? Over two and a half million people have already viewed this courageous dog tackle a polar bear that seemed to be threatening a human camp.

Canines as Guard Dogs

Dogs evolved from a line of wolves that are now extinct. There is some debate about exactly when and where this happened but it was probably in northern Eurasia and was between 14,000 and 29,000 years ago. So, dogs were the first animals to be domesticated by man and this was done by cavemen! It is also thought that dogs kind of domesticated themselves by following nomadic tribes of early humans and feeding off scraps of food that they offered. Nothing much has changed there!

Once it became obvious that dogs could be useful to human society, they were bred to fulfil specific roles. Individual dogs that had the attributes that were useful to the specific role were bred together.

Dogs were, and still are, used for hunting, herding, catching rodents, companionship and guarding. It is this final role that we see at play here. Dogs were used to guard property, humans and livestock from human and animal intruders but guarding a property from a polar bear is above and beyond most job descriptions!

Polar Bear Intruders

Polar bears are one of the biggest species of bear in the world. They can weigh up to 1,300 pounds and grow to over eight feet. They live around the Artic Ocean but are so endangered that they could be extinct within decades.

Adult polar bears are apex predators and do not have any natural predators which may explain why this one seems so bemused by the dog’s behavior. However, the dog is taking a big risk. As well as being large and powerful, polar bears have 42 teeth that are longer and sharper than those of the brown bear. They could cause a nasty injury to a dog.

Polar bears usually eat seals which provide them with plenty of energy and fat. However, their natural habitat is being eroded due to climate change and they now find it hard to source enough food. Brown and black bears have already worked out that human settlements are a source of food so perhaps polar bears are now doing the same!

Next Up:

• Watch the World’s Bravest Dog Chase Away a Polar Bear
• Watch a Submarine Dog Win Fetch Forever With Underwater Retrieval
• Watch a Fearless Dog Defend His Family’s Home From a Stray Bear

The photo featured at the top of this post is © DoberNut/Shutterstock.com