Polar Bear

Polar Bear, originally uploaded by kaiwa_4.

Of the hundreds of animals at the Rio Grande Zoo, the polar bears were my favorite. I mean, look at the furry guy.

"It looks just like a teddy bear!" the little girl standing next to me exclaimed.

"Yeah, isn't he cute?" her mother cooed.

At one point, the bear surfaced, flipped onto his back and did a leisurely back-paddle. Someone hand that bear a Coca-Cola and you'll have yourself a commercial, I thought.

But of all the animals at the zoo, the polar bear is the among the most dangerous.

Chris told me that several years ago, a couple of 11-year-old boys broke into the zoo at night and dared each other to jump in the polar bear pond.

Zoo keepers found parts of the boys' bodies the next day.

Chris' dad said if a lion or other big cat escapes, zoo keepers have a plan of action to re-capture it.

If a polar bear escapes, they call the SWAT team and shoot it.

Because unlike big, wild cats that are wary of humans and try to run away, polar bears will attack.

They're fierce hunters and don't let the Coke ads fool you.