Unlike brown bears, polar bears are not territorial.
Although stereotyped as being voraciously aggressive, they are normally cautious in confrontations, and often choose to escape rather than fight.
Satiated polar bears rarely attack humans unless severely provoked.
However, due to their lack of prior human interaction, hungry polar bears are extremely unpredictable, fearless towards people and are known to kill and sometimes eat humans.
Many attacks by brown bears are the result of surprising the animal, which is not the case with the polar bear.
Polar bears are stealth hunters, and the victim is often unaware of the bear's presence until the attack is underway.
Whereas brown bears often maul a person and then leave, polar bear attacks are more likely to be predatory and are almost always fatal.
However, due to the very small human population around the Arctic, such attacks are rare.
Michio Hoshino, a Japanese wildlife photographer, was once pursued briefly by a hungry male polar bear in northern Alaska.
According to Hoshino, the bear started running but Hoshino made it to his truck.
The bear was able to reach the truck and tore one of the doors off the truck before Hoshino was able to drive off.

In general, adult polar bears live solitary lives.
Yet, they have often been seen playing together for hours at a time and even sleeping in an embrace, and polar bear zoologist Nikita Ovsianikov has described adult males as having "well-developed friendships."
Cubs are especially playful as well.
Among young males in particular, play-fighting may be a means of practicing for serious competition during mating seasons later in life.
Polar bears are usually quiet but do communicate with various sounds and vocalizations.
Females communicate with their young with moans and chuffs, and the distress calls of both cubs and subadults consists of bleats.
Cubs may hum while nursing.
When nervous, bears produce huffs, chuffs and snorts while hisses, growls and roars are signs of aggression.
Chemical communication can also be important: bears leave behind their scent in their tracks which allow individuals to keep track of one another in the vast Arctic wilderness.

In 1992, a photographer near Churchill took a now widely circulated set of photographs of a polar bear playing with a Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) a tenth of its size.
The pair wrestled harmlessly together each afternoon for 10 days in a row for no apparent reason, although the bear may have been trying to demonstrate its friendliness in the hope of sharing the kennel's food.
This kind of social interaction is uncommon; it is far more typical for polar bears to behave aggressively towards dogs.
Unlike brown bears, polar bears are not territorial. Although stereotyped as being voraciously aggressive, they are normally cautious in confrontations, and often choose to escape rather than fight. Satiated polar bears rarely attack humans unless severely provoked. However, due to their lack of prior human interaction, hungry polar bears are extremely unpredictable, fearless towards people and are known to kill and sometimes eat humans. Many attacks by brown bears are the result of surprising the animal, which is not the case with the polar bear. Polar bears are stealth hunters, and the victim is often unaware of the bear's presence until the attack is underway. Whereas brown bears often maul a person and then leave, polar bear attacks are more likely to be predatory and are almost always fatal. However, due to the very small human population around the Arctic, such attacks are rare. Michio Hoshino, a Japanese wildlife photographer, was once pursued briefly by a hungry male polar bear in northern Alaska. According to Hoshino, the bear started running but Hoshino made it to his truck. The bear was able to reach the truck and tore one of the doors off the truck before Hoshino was able to drive off.
In general, adult polar bears live solitary lives. Yet, they have often been seen playing together for hours at a time and even sleeping in an embrace, and polar bear zoologist Nikita Ovsianikov has described adult males as having "well-developed friendships." Cubs are especially playful as well. Among young males in particular, play-fighting may be a means of practicing for serious competition during mating seasons later in life. Polar bears are usually quiet but do communicate with various sounds and vocalizations. Females communicate with their young with moans and chuffs, and the distress calls of both cubs and subadults consists of bleats. Cubs may hum while nursing. When nervous, bears produce huffs, chuffs and snorts while hisses, growls and roars are signs of aggression. Chemical communication can also be important: bears leave behind their scent in their tracks which allow individuals to keep track of one another in the vast Arctic wilderness.
In 1992, a photographer near Churchill took a now widely circulated set of photographs of a polar bear playing with a Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) a tenth of its size. The pair wrestled harmlessly together each afternoon for 10 days in a row for no apparent reason, although the bear may have been trying to demonstrate its friendliness in the hope of sharing the kennel's food. This kind of social interaction is uncommon; it is far more typical for polar bears to behave aggressively towards dogs.
Polar bear