Polar Bear Tries To Get Attention From Fishing Ship. When Crew Notices, They Lower A Rescue Vessel

During a fishing expedition in the Arctic, a ship's crew spotted something unusual: a polar bear swimming toward them. It didn’t seem near any larger plaques of ice, which concerned the crew, especially when it started to follow their boat. Knowing that polar bears often are solitary and avoid human contact, they knew that they had to do something.

The crew quickly lowered a rescue vessel to investigate further and prepared for an unpredictable and potentially dangerous interaction...

They knew the risks they were taking, but they were sure the boat would be too high for it to jump on. That reason alone made half of the crew less worried, though that didn’t mean their nervousness would completely disappear. There didn’t seem to be ice that could support the animal’s weight in their general proximity either, and, well… They couldn’t just let it drown!

When the lifeboat hit the water, the bear let out a soft roar as its strong paws and claws hauled it onto the lifeboat. “Luckily, that one can’t deflate,” Richard, one of the crew members, murmured, and a few other members laughed at the remark. The captain, Captain Reynolds, walked over to the edge, coming face to face with the polar bear.

The animal stood on its hind legs, looking up at Captain Reynolds and the crew as it let out another, though now more prominent, roar. The captain’s brow furrowed, “What is it doing?” He asked, but his crew remained silent, mesmerized by the animal in the boat under them. What could possibly be wrong with it?

The polar bear just kept making sounds, though its roars weren’t as loud. They stayed on course, but as they kept moving west the polar bear became more frantic. “Halt the ship,” Captain Reynolds ordered and it didn’t take long for it to do so. Then, suddenly, the bear did something they hadn’t expected.

It jumped back into the water. Going the direction of which they came. This was certainly something strange. They thought to have saved the animal, but now the animal was leaving them again. Maybe it had needed a little respite from all its swimming. Regardless, Captain Reynolds felt like he was missing something as he kept a close eye on the animal.

While most of his crew returned to their posts, he kept watching the animal, but instead of swimming away from the boat it suddenly stopped. This piqued Reynold’s interest. What the hell was this animal doing? It turned slightly, it’s head facing the ship again as it let out another loud roar before swimming back to the raft on the water.

It climbed on yet again, standing on its hind legs. Was it merely hungry? Did it view him or any of his other crew members as food? If it was hungry, maybe he could throw it a few of the fish they had caught. They had met the quota already; if this animal was this desperate, it wouldn’t be that much trouble. Captain Reynolds quickly made his way to the storage.

Reynolds made his way into the “ice box” the name they had given the storage room for the fish they had caught over the past few days. He grabbed a rather large specimen and walked back to the side of the boat. He knew the polar bear would still be there with the sounds it was making. However, as Captain Reynolds threw the fish at the animal, it did something unexpected.

It didn’t do anything! It gave the fish a sideway glance, even sniffed it, but after doing so stood back up on its hind legs and roared once more. Captain Reynolds’ brow furrowed. If it wasn’t hungry than what did the bear even want? It frustrated the Captain as he wanted to help the magnificent creature, but he was wise enough to not come any closer. He didn’t have a death wish after all.

In their staredown, the polar bear suddenly seemed to change tactics as it began pawing at the side of the ship. First, its paws scraped against the side of the metallic ship, a sound that was mildly annoying, to say the least, but that soon turned into something along the lines of banging. What did this animal want? Captain Reynolds knew he had to figure it out.

“Steward,” Captain Reynolds exclaimed as one of his crew members stepped forward, looking wearily at the polar bear that was only 12 feet below them. “Yes, Captain. What can I do for you?” he asked one eye on the captain and one on the polar bear. It seemed like not everyone was as enamored with the bear as the captain.

“Get me the radio, will you? Either that or stay with the bear and keep a close eye on him to report back to me its behavior. We need to establish what it wants.” Captain Reynolds said, and he saw Steward pale. “I…– I will get the radio, Sir.” He said as he tried to hold back his stammer but failed as he quickly scurried off to fetch the radio before the Captain changed his mind.