| 1 | The Dutch Barentsz expedition, 1596 |
Buried in the annals of time, this polar bear attack happened when they were still called the “ice bear” and not confirmed to be an actual species.
William Barentz was leading an expedition to find the northeast passage in 1596, when his ship became blocked by ice briefly. Anchoring it to ground ice, he allowed his men to step ashore for a while, two at a time.
While two men talked and stretched their legs, little did they know that a polar bear was sliding up behind them, assuming they were seals. It was on its stomach and silent, using its centuries old method of hunting.
Suddenly, one man felt arms clasp round his stomach. He thought it was a practical joke, but in shock, his friend yelled out “a bear!”. Within seconds, the polar bear bit the man’s head to pieces and began to devour him, while the second man fled to the ship.
Quickly, a squad of 20 crew members arrived armed with musket and pikes. Yet the powerful polar bear killed another crew member with a quick swipe, suffering no damage.
Several men fled to the ship. The others half a conference; two men were already dead, so what was the point of carrying on? Yet three of the bravest men turned around for a final confrontation with the polar bear. Crew member William Geysen immediately shot the bear in the head, but somehow, it still didn’t die, merely stumbling forward.
The finishing blow came when Geysen thumped the polar bear in the head with the butt of his gun. It fell to the ground, making a loud crashing noise, and Geyson seized the opportunity by leaping onto the bear’s back and slitting its throat.
The men gathered the remains of the two dead men, and buried them under rocks, since the arctic ice was far too solid to dig a grave in. They skinned the bear to create a 13 feet long pelt, and later cooked its meat.
From that day forth, arctic expeditions knew never to underestimate a starving polar bear.
| 2 | Captain Kees de Jong, 1668 |
An ancient story which proves that a polar bear can leap 24 feet if it feels like it. One day in 1668, Captain Kees de Jong and his whaling crew were paddling around Arctic waters hunting, when they decided that it was bedtime after a hard day’s work.
Suddenly, a polar bear emerged out of the shadows onto the sea ice. It jumped into the water, and the whalers knew what they had to do. Quickly paddling up to the bear with another boat, de Jong immediately threw a lance into the bear’s stomach, seriously wounding it.
What came next was a classic case of overconfidence. Convinced that it would die within minutes, de Jong casually followed the polar bear around so that he could skin its pelt. He refrained from making another attack, not wanting to redden the beautiful white fur.
The bear then climbed onto a piece of ice and lay down with its head in its paws like a resting cat. De Jong decided it was time to finish the bear off, until all of a sudden, the polar beat leapt 24 feet into the air and landed right on the captain.
De Jong fell over, lost his lance, and prepared for a mauling. But suddenly, another boat and a man with a boat hook approached, and the bear ran away. Coming near to the boat, one whaler prepared to lance it, but de Jong shouted not to, as he feared that the polar bear would jump aboard and maul everyone.
Instead, he threw a lump of wood, which the bear chased down like dog. 8 men pursued the bear, and de Long threw another lance, which missed. The polar bear suddenly seemed to become intelligent and guarded the lance, bearing its teeth at them. Then the bear fled again. The pursuit was on, but soon after, the bear finally succumbed to its wounds and died.
For years afterwards, de Jong was known as “the man under the bear”, and he would retell the story endlessly. The pelt of the polar bear was passed down through his family for generations.
| 3 | Lord Horatio Nelson, 1773 |
Lord Nelson is one of Britain’s greatest military heroes, thanks to his tactical genius in the battle of Trafalgar against Napoleon in 1805. But back when he was just 14, he had a polar bear encounter that many believe to be myth.
In 1773, he was a midshipman aboard the bomb vessel, Carcass, which teamed up with Racehorse and set sail for the northeast passage under the command of Commodore Phipps. Within weeks, Nelson had saved the Racehorse’s crew from a herd of enraged walruses.
One day, Nelson and a friend ventured out onto the ice near Spitsbergen, claiming that they were looking for polar bears. By nightfall, the captain was increasingly worried, as Nelson hadn’t returned. Suddenly the mist cleared, and Nelson was standing on the ice, pointing his musket at an angry polar bear.
He fired the gun, but it wouldn’t work, and as the polar bear charged, he flipped the musket around to whack the bear with its butt instead. Nelson was about to be mauled, but he fought back valiantly. Suddenly, the ship’s guns fired a booming blast, scaring the bear and causing it to flee. Nelson was dressed down by the captain, but replied “I was in hopes, sir, of getting a skin for my father”.
Today, this story is still mysterious. Stories differ over whether Nelson actually whacked the bear’s face with the musket, or was just about to. Some historians believe that this happened to a different crew member, while others believe that it never happened at all.
Apparently, Nelson never wrote about the polar bear himself, only a witness. Another version claims that Nelson was saved when the sea ice split apart and he and the polar bear were separated.
| 4 | Captain Cook, 1778 |
This encounter is truly lost in the dusty old books of history. Little is known about Captain Cook, captain of the arctic explorer Archangel.
All that’s known is that Cook landed on the coast of Spitzenberg with his surgeon and mate in 1778. While wandering the beaches, a polar bear suddenly appeared from behind an ice hump where it had been hiding. It took everyone by surprise, materialising out of thin air. The polar bear galloped forward, opened its mouth, and seized Captain Cook between its jaws.
The captain had seconds to act or have his bones broken. Somehow, while in a polar bear’s mouth, Cook stayed completely calm, and shouted at his surgeon two words which would save his life: “shoot it!”.
Another thing which saved his life was the surgeon’s aim, the shot of a lifetime. He fired his rifle at the polar bears head, destroying its brain and killing it instantly with one bullet. He was standing 40 yards away. Captain Cook fell down, brushed himself off, and the three went on their way.
Nothing else is known about this story. Textbooks which reference the encounter date back to 1788, which is easily close enough that the story is probably true. Numerous more textbooks from 1820, 1831 and later reference the tale as well.
| 5 | The second German arctic expedition,1870 |
In 1869, the German empire was finally beginning to unify, and was desperate to prove that they were a proper empire. This of course meant ships trapped in ice floes, crew members stranded on islands, and death-defying polar bear fights.
In 1869, the ships Hansa and Germania set sail for the Arctic, but within months, Hansa had sunk. By March, the crew was preparing for a sleigh ride northwards, while scientists milled around the camp collecting data as planned.
On March 6th 1870, while sitting inside a cabin, three men heard a ear piercing shriek. They poked their head out, and heard a cry of “a bear is carrying me off!”. At 8:45PM, Dr Borgen had ventured out to collect meteorological data. He had a talk with Captain Koldewey, before walking to the shore.
While returning to the ship, and just 50 yards away, Borgen heard a rustling noise to the left. According to his diary, a polar bear appeared and grabbed him so quickly that he had no time to dodge or use his gun. He instantly felt his scalp ripping open; the bear had bitten his skull like it would bite a seal.
Captain Koldewey rushed out the hut, and saw a bear dragging Borgen across the ice. Raising his rifle, he fired a shot, but the polar bear only dropped Borgen’s head and picked up his arm.
“300 paces” later, the bear finally dropped Borgen. He woke up to see Captain Koldewey staring down at him saying “thank god, he’s alive”. Meanwhile, the bear stood waiting uncertainly, before the rifle fired a fresh bullet and it dashed off into the night.
Later, Borgen claimed to have felt zero pain or fear. He did, however, have 6 inch strips of scalp hanging over his face, serious skull lacerations, and 20 wounds from being dragged over the ice. The polar bear was never seen again.
| 6 | Johansen and Nansen, 1895 |
On March 14th 1895, a pair of Norwegians decided to set sail for the Arctic in a pair of wooden canoes strapped together. One of them, Hjalimar Johansen, was a stoker with no arctic experience whatsoever. The other was Fridtjof Nansen, a famed explorer who was the first to cross the interior of Greenland on skis.
Nansen and Johansen brought 3 teams of dogs and 700KG of equipment. Their mission: do the impossible and reach the North Pole. Unfortunately, the sea ice was so twisted and deformed that they were constantly devising new routes, figuring out how to move forward.
By April 8th, they decided to settle for the furthest north land record, and travel southwards again. Summer set in, and on August 8th, Nansen was loading their kayaks to travel a freshly opened gap between the sea ice when he heard a scream of “get the gun!”.
Johansen was lying on his back, with a polar bear towering above him. The bear had sneaked up from behind and knocked him down with one swipe of its paw.
There was a problem though – the kayaks had to be saved. Nansen tried to anchor them to the ice, but heard Johansen say “look sharp, if you want to be in time”. Johansen literally had his hand on the bear’s throat, holding its snapping jaws back with all the strength he could muster.
Suddenly, the dogs came to rescue, distracting the bear and allowing Johansen to crawl away. The bear swiped at the dogs, sending them rolling across the sea ice with a howl and a whimper. Nansen grabbed his gun, aimed, and killed the polar bear with one shot.
The only injury Johansen suffered was a slightly wounded hand. Nansen also joked that the polar bear had tidied Johansen up by scraping some grime off his cheek. In his diary that evening, Johansen wrote “Everything thus turned out well, even though it could have ended so sadly“.
| 7 | Roald Amundsen, 1918 |
Roald Amundsen was one of the greatest polar explorers ever, the first man to reach the south pole, beating Robert Falcon Scott by 34 days. Yet even he wasn’t immune to a polar bear attack.
In 1918, Amundsen departed Norway aboard his ship the Maud in order to sail through the northeast passage. In the winter, his ship was frozen into the shoreline of the north coast of Asia, and here, events took a turn for the worst.
First, Amundsen tripped over the dogs while descending the gangway of the ship and broke his shoulder. Then one day, while Amundsen stood on the shore, his dog dashed towards him barking and howling.
Suddenly, out of the gloom, Amundsen heard a heavy panting, and the shape of a polar bear emerged, along with a very cute cub. The bear was chasing the dog, but stopped, and stared at Amundsen. Amundsen stared back.
Quickly, Amundsen turned 180 degrees and ran for the ship, but the bear followed. As he ran, the panting sounds behind him were getting heavier and heavier.
Just as he reached the gangway, a heavy paw whacked his injured shoulder, knocking him down to the snow. After reaching the south pole, this was surely the end for Amundsen, but Jacob the Dog rode to the rescue, barking and distracting the polar bear. Both animals ran off into the distance, while Amundsen staggered aboard the ship, injured but not fatally injured.
The next day, Jacob the Dog returned to the ship, without the polar bear. Did Jacob win the fight? Or did the bear and dog strike a deal? Nobody knows, but Amundsen later described the encounter as “a race between a healthy, furious bear and an invalid”.
According to Amundsen, his life didn’t flash before him. Instead, when the bear prepared for its final swipe, “a scene passed before my eyes which, though vivid enough, was certainly frivolous. I lay there wondering how many hairpins were swept up on the sidewalk of Regent Street in London on a Monday morning“. He then declared that he needed to see a psychologist.
| 8 | Hudson Bay, Canada, 1999 |
A fatal polar bear attack, but the woman did save lives and receive a posthumous medal for bravery. While camping near Hudson Bay, 66 year old Moses Aliyak and his 12 year old grandson Cyrus Aliyak attempted to retrieve their boat, which had drifted away earlier in the day.
However, they instead found an angry, 2 metre tall polar bear standing by the shore. Moses distracted the bear by throwing rocks, allowing Cyrus to dash back to the tent, while Moses was quickly attacked and suffered lacerations to his face.
Meanwhile, Margaret Amarook was at a nearby spring, replenishing their water bottles. She wondered why nobody was coming to help her, and returned to the camp to find Cyrus hiding.
Suddenly, the bear returned, and Hattie Amitnak, 60, and 10 year old Eddie ran out of the tent. The polar bear swiped Eddie across the face, sending him rolling, and then Hattie became a hero: she ran away to district the bear.
Sadly, she was then mauled to death. Standing a few metres away, Amarook said that the bear turned and looked at her. Then she discovered Moses, who was unrecognisable, with blood dripping down his face. He told Margaret to leave him and find help, while he hid in the tent.
After sending a prayer, Margaret headed for the campsite of David and Rosie Oolooyuk, who had a radio, only to turn around and see that Moses was fleeing after all.
Later, wildlife officers tracked down the bear. It was within 3KM of the campsite and estimated to be 1.5 years old. Nobody else suffered lasting injuries, and Hattie Amitnak received a posthumous Medal Of Bravery in 2001 for successfully distracting the bear and saving the children.
| 9 | Pocket knife defense, 2001 |
If you wander into the polar bear’s domain with a 8cm pocket knife, there’s a good chance that you’ll be eaten (or kept as a pet), but also a slight chance that you’ll survive. This theory was successfully proved by Eric Fortier in July 2001.
On Baffin Island in northern Canada, Fortier and his companions Patricia Doyon and Alain Parenteau went to sleep in their tent one night. Suddenly, at 3am, Fortier was jumped awake. He felt what he thought was a dog leaning against his tent, and calmly decided to push it away.
But seconds later, his girlfriend saw a huge, paw-shaped shadow floating sideways. The mysterious paw started to rip the ceiling apart, causing Fortier to yell a warning to Parenteau in a nearby tent.
But it was no use: the bear was alerted to Parenteau’s presence and began mauling him. Apparently, the type of screams suddenly changed. Fortier jumped to his feet, and grabbed the only weapon he had available: an 8cm long pocket knife.
The 6 foot tall Parenteau tried to stand up, but the polar bear knocked him to the ground again. Fortier threw a rock, which distracted the bear, but it then attacked Patricia Doyon.
What happened next was a blur, but apparently, Doyon tripped over and was lying down. The polar bear bent over to sink its teeth in, but just in time, Fortier dashed over and knifed the bear below its jaw two times. After howling, the polar bear stumbled off into the night.
Fortier looked down to find his knife covered in blood and fur, and realised the problem: they were totally isolated. Fortier and Doyon, decided to strap two wooden canoes together, and set sail for the nearest civilisation in hope of getting medical assistance.
In 2003, Fortier was granted a bronze Carnegie Medal for supreme bravery. Paranteau and Doyon made a full recovery, but Paranteau had a gash within a centimetre of his jugular vein.
Meanwhile, a wildlife squad searched Baffin Island, but the polar bear was never located. You never know, it could even still be alive today…
| 10 | Attack in Newfoundland, 2013 |
On July 22nd 2013, explorer Robert Dyer went to bed dreaming of bears. While camping in Canada’s Newfoundland region on an expedition, he had seen a mother and her cub strolling slowly down a beach. Later that day, another polar bear inspected the camp and lolled its tongue, like it had picked up the scene.
Likewise, gunman Rich Gross ran through attack scenarios in his head, like he religiously did every night in his 15 year guiding career. He considered questions like where to keep the flare gun, where could a helicopter land, etc.
At 2:30am, Dyer jumped awake. Outside his tent was what he feared most: a silhouette of a polar bear. He managed to yell “bear in the camp” before a paw ripped into the tent, seizing him and crushing his hand. Dyer’s body became wrapped up in the nylon tent, and as the polar tried to rip him free, the two suddenly flew backwards.
Dyer’s lung collapsed, and seconds later he was tumbling across the hard, icy ground, being dragged towards the beach, and probably his death. Meanwhile, Rich Gross awoke to terrified screaming, echoing all over the camp.
Sprinting through his tent door, he saw an unmistakable shadow dragging Dyer 75 feet away. The tent and electric fence lay in tatters. Gross did what he had to do: he fired the flare gun just above the polar bear’s head. The beast dropped Dyer and dashed off, but Gross assumed that Dyer was already dead.
Fortunately, he was wrong – Dyer was breathing. He was lying unconscious on the sand and tundra grass.
Gross stayed alert; he knew that the bear would be back. When the fluffy white head first reappeared, Gross didn’t hesitate before firing another fiery flare. Finally, the polar bear disappeared once and for all.
Meanwhile, Dyer’s eyes fluttered open. He was instantly hit with an overwhelmingly fishy smelling saliva. Doctors tended to his wounds before declaring him stable after 1 hour, while another person phoned a helicopter.
In the end, Dyer’s voice was altered, and he had many scars, but he almost completely recovered and was itching to embark on another expedition the very moment he woke up in hospital the next day. The polar bear’s fate is unknown.
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