That bear looks huge, like twice the size of a wild brown bear thatās not from Kodiak or Kamchatka. Also, I guess itās a little comforting to know that heās perfectly safe doing this until he isnāt. Clearly the bear is enjoying this and isnāt likely to forcefully end it so we can assume that for every second of that video heās in no danger. The problem is that at 1:03 we have no idea how safe he was.
This sort of thing seems like a lousy plan; but as high-risk hobbies go there is something endearing about a guy playing whoās the fuzziest puppy? with a lethal looking bear who seems quite content to bliss out and get scritched.
Hopefully he isnāt leaving a bunch of dependents the balance or anything; but there are many less heartwarming ways to run similar risks.
I love these Russian bear videos, because if thereās anything Iām certain of, itās that itinerant hobos in Russia with trained bears always train them with love and kindness and would never abuse them in any way.
Iām not saying itās a wise plan, but in horrible-but-quick-death-should-things-go-south scenarios I canāt say itās too off point.
I assume that there is absolutely no way to get this past an IRB; but Iād be curious to know if(and if any, which ones) you can or cannot āstockholm syndromeā various large dangerous animals.
With the appropriate technology and planning you can obviously restrain and torment pretty much any animal; but if your plan involves periods of interaction where no safeguards are in place, this treatment needs to instill docile terror that is not directly connected to mechanically enforced helplessness.
Does a bear lapse into learned helplessness, persisting even when it is not actually helpless, if you beat on it? Or does it just fill with loathing and bide its time? Do some animals reliably break while others reliably shiv you as soon as you leave an opening?
Alternate title: Backrub or Die.
I get the impression he spends a lot of time and effort keeping his head out of the bearās mouth.
Iām no expert, but the face and head sure make it look like a grizzly. That would be more consistent with itās size.
Despite the Cyrillic characters in the title, they were speaking english with a north american accent.
I have thoughts of Russians watching crazy American videos while Americans watch crazy Russian videos.
Not really sure what you are trying to say. Are you saying that this can only be the result of an animal that was tortured while in captivity? I donāt think people should have wild animals as pets, particularly dangerous ones. But this bear could be the result of a cub that was so young when it was captured (found?) that it imprinted on the man. If the man always showed the bear love and kindness, and kept it fed very well (it looks very well fed) he may have completely overridden its natural instincts. At least well enough to be this casual with the bear without much fear. See some of the videos of strange animal friends for proof that this isnāt something restricted to animal/person interactions. There are a number of famous odd pairings of animals that show genuine affection to each other. One is in fact a bear and a tiger that are ābest friendsā. The biggest danger this man may face is the bear just not realizing how fragile the man is in comparison to itself. That bear could literally kill the man by accidentally sitting on him. But I think most mammals of similar size can get emotions like distress from other animals they are that bonded to. All that said, wild animals belong in the wild. But Iād be lying if I denied that OHMYGODIWANTAGIANTHUGEREALTEDDYBEAR!!! I donāt want that bear as a pet, but I sure wouldnāt mind having that bear as a friend. 
Iāll have you know that I AM the gigantic bear at my home, and others find me quite cuddly. 
Myron Bentham, is that you?
He looks about the right size and right amount of fluffy for an Ussuri brown bear which would make sense for something you might find in Russia. Either way, heās adorable.
It most certainly has the dished head and hump of a grizz, but he looks way larger than any Iāve seen in the wild.
My suspicion is that all of the bearās teeth have been pulled out.
Why? That bear still has its claws and those are equally deadly. Have you seen what a bear can do to a Doug Fir just sharpening its claws? It aināt pretty, and claw sharpening is peanuts compared with an attack swing.
Right fucking there with you. I loathe animal cruelty, and wild animals are wild. But I want to snuggle that bear Sooo hard
Considering the scars I have from the sweetest 8lbs kitty in the world, no shit :D. I am an animal enthusiast, but letās face itāa pet bear is still like bringing a wet noodle to an RPG fight. My domesticated dog lovingly falls on me for cuddles, what the hell would happen if that bear did the exact same thing?
Yes, I want a bear. But I also know it is a baaad idea. 
My pit bull gets along really good with the kids.
I can imagine a pen&paper system with noodles as mighty weapons : P
