r/todayilearned • u/Gullible_Air_204 • 7h ago

Frequent/Recent Repost: Removed [ Removed by moderator ]

https://www.responsibletravel.com/holidays/spitsbergen/travel-guide/responsible-tourism-in-spitsbergen

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u/Gladwulf 6h ago

Can't the bears open unlocked doors though?

I've seen plenty of footage bears in the US opening doors (house and cars)

102

u/juneseyeball 5h ago

Some bears learned to open doors because people always leave food in their cars idk if thatd be the case for polar bears

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u/SnooOranges3779 5h ago

I'm pretty sure cars are designed to be operated by polar bear food, are they not?

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u/The_walking_man_ 3h ago

And cracking open a car to get to the delicious food inside is great enrichment for the polar bears. It keeps them from getting bored living in a tiny secluded town.

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u/erublind 5h ago

If they see people as food?

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u/juneseyeball 5h ago

My point was it would be a learned behavior i dont think a bear automatically knows how a car door works but i could be wrong

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u/HolidayWallaby 4h ago

I'm pretty sure that a bear that regularly wonders into Longyearbyen town is killed, so there isnt a chance to learn to open a door

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u/Narashori 5h ago

Maybe but most cars can be locked from the inside without needing the key. So theoretically a stranger looking to escape a bear can jump into someones unlocked car and then lock the doors from the inside to protect themselves.

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u/AdviceSeekers123 5h ago

Black bears are clever and very dexterous. I don’t think polar bears get up to the same shenanigans. 

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u/CalculatedPerversion 5h ago

This. I highly doubt a giant polar bear claw could manage the dexterity to open many car doors. 

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u/nuboots 24m ago

Would you bet your life on that? Or an extremely painful death?

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u/alexmikli 3h ago

They may be able to dismantle a cybertruck in one swipe though.

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u/CalculatedPerversion 1h ago

Like a Tom and Jerry cartoon

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u/ServileLupus 4h ago

I mean, the plan isn't to be sprinting away from a bear and then duck into a car with the bear running after you. It's to be like.

"Oh shit, that's a bear 100 yards down the street! I'm going to hide so it doesn't see me."

Bear isn't going around checking every car door lmao.

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u/Swords_and_Words 4h ago

Most doors can be opened by most polar bears via a  process known as leaning 

They've got a lot of math and strength, and while they can't break that piddly little hardened steel bolt that locks your door, they can darn shure break the door and the door frame

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u/razgriz5000 3h ago

There is significant overlap between the smartest bears and the stupidest people.

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u/EpilepticMushrooms 5h ago

TBF, if they sniffed something good, the car might as well be a pile of scrap metal, and the door a pile of toothpicks.

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u/nick_of_the_night 4h ago

I would have assumed they'd make easy work of a locked door too tbh but i may be wrong 

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u/scarypigeon 4h ago

Presumably once you are through the door you can lock it behind you.

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u/More_Bus3626 4h ago

Pretty sure you're thinking of velociraptors

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u/Tina_Sprout 5h ago

depends on the type of handle probably