Tooth and claw: Bears
Discovery
BBC
4.3 • 1.2K Ratings
🗓️ 28 June 2021
⏱️ 28 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Teddy bears might be popular with children but real bears are anything but cuddly. Brown, Black and Grizzly bears are the most well-known and have a well-deserved fearsome reputation. But for most part, bear attacks are not nearly as common as you might think. They are solitary, curious and you are unlikely to see one unless you are really lucky – or unlucky depending on your point of view. So what should you do if you find yourself facing one in a forest? To learn more about these fascinating creatures, which can spend the winter months in a deep state of biological hibernation, professor Adam Hart speaks to Dr Clayton Lamb from the University of British Columbia in Canada and Dr Giulia Bombieri from the Science Museum in Trento, Italy, about their work and experiences of these amazing beasts, whose numbers are increasing in some parts of the world, leading to an increase of defensive attacks on people.
Producedr: Rami Tzabar and Beth Eastwood Presenter: Professor Adam Hart.
Picture: Brown bear, Credit: Szabo Ervin-Edward/EyeEm/Getty Images
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Before you listen to this BBC podcast, I'd like to introduce myself. |
| 0:03.6 | My name's Stevie Middleton and I'm a BBC Commissioner for a load of sport podcasts. |
| 0:08.1 | I'm lucky to do that at the BBC because I get to work with a leading journalist, experienced |
| 0:12.2 | pundits and the biggest sport stars. |
| 0:14.3 | Together we bring you untold stories and fascinating insights straight from the players' |
| 0:18.5 | mouths. |
| 0:19.5 | But the best thing about doing this at the BBC is our unique access to the sport world. |
| 0:24.9 | What that means is that we can bring you podcasts that create a real connection to |
| 0:28.8 | dedicated sports fans across the UK. |
| 0:31.2 | So if you like this podcast, head over to BBC Sounds where you'll find plenty more. |
| 0:38.0 | This is Discovery from the BBC World Service. |
| 0:40.8 | I'm Adam Hart and in my series Tooth and Claw, I'll be exploring our complex and |
| 0:45.6 | challenging relationship with Earth's greatest predators, through the people who've spent their |
| 0:50.8 | life studying, protecting and at times narrowly escaping them. |
| 1:00.2 | Today it's the turn of bears. |
| 1:02.6 | Teddy bears might be popular with children and some adults for that matter, but real bears |
| 1:06.8 | are anything but cuddly. |
| 1:09.1 | Unlike Lions last week, bears are pretty diverse from black bears to brown bears, |
| 1:14.1 | which include a fearsome grizzlies and plenty more besides. |
| 1:18.2 | To find out more, I'm joined by Dr Clayton Lamb from the University of British Columbia |
| 1:22.4 | in Canada and Dr Julia Bombieri from the Science Museum in Trento, Italy. |
| 1:27.7 | Now, bears are pretty solitary creatures, who are actually quite difficult to spot, |
... |
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