5/23/2003: Bear eats sub
 

http://cellar.org/2003/bearsub1.jpg

Polar bears, it turns out, are generally kind of dumb. Everything they see represents some kind of food. Although when you're near the north pole, there isn't much that moves that isn't food.

And so when the US submarine Connecticut, in training exercises near the North Pole, poked its sail and rudder through the ice, this bear figured that it was getting a fine treat, perhaps some free whale meat. And it tried to chow down. The crew took these shots via the periscope.

http://cellar.org/2003/bearsub2.jpg

The sub took some minor damage but surely not so much that it affected its operation at all, one would imagine...

http://cellar.org/2003/bearsub3.jpg

To link this up to another thread, apparently one of the subs' jobs is to use sonar to measure the ice thickness to track the effects of global warming. Apparently the warming affects the bears a great deal.

Gosh, I guess we'll have to take this global warming seriously if our subs are going to be in danger of bear attacks.;)

See, what he ordered was a hoagie.<groan>

*HIJACK*

There is a GREAT Philly Cheese Steak and Hoagie (the real deal) place in Bradford County! I didn't believe it until I tasted it, but Lisa's Little Philly Cheese Steaks ARE the real thing, not imitation. :) :drool:

It's a hike from Grifftopia, but if you're wandering through ...

&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Any word on how much sub was above ice here? I'm just looking for some perspective on the size of the bear.

I watched some show on Discovery a while back about polar bears on Svalbard (in the North Atlantic). Very interesting stuff.

This is the time of year where the bears are coming out of hibernation, and desperately need some food. Usually, they feed on seals, though males will eat anything. The ladies are cautious to stay away from them until mating season, for they or their cubs could be his next meal.