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** And, of course, [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Welcome_Bear Welcome Bears]], a BeefGate monster in the Eastern Plaguelands. While the zone level has been significantly nerfed, they're still likely to kill any unwary low-level Forsaken players who inadvertently wander in from the adjacent [[NoobCave Tirisfal Glades]].
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** And, of course, [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Welcome_Bear Welcome Bears]], a BeefGate monster in the Eastern Western Plaguelands. [[NoobCave Tirisfal Glades, a starting area]], is directly adjacent to the Plaguelands, so unwitting low level characters were often mauled on wandering across the border. While the zone level has been significantly nerfed, they're still likely to kill any unwary low-level Forsaken players who inadvertently wander in from the adjacent [[NoobCave Tirisfal Glades]].unwary.
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* Bear-hunting was a favourite pastime of medieval Russian princes. Subverted in that, with armed retainers, clever tactics, and special-issue anti-bear spears (special ''rogatina''s with oak handles and silver heads), it actually wasn't all that difficult to kill a bear. Pseudo-Demetrius I, the wacky early 17th century impostor that threw the country into bloody infighting, was very popular with the commoners of Moscow because of his badass stunt where he used his freakish strength to not only stop a bear in mid-pounce with his rogatina (that was standard practice), but also ''throw it backwards over his head''. So if bears wrote TVTropes, they would have to make a trope for "Everything Is Worse With Russian Princes and Political Opportunists That Pretend To Be Such".
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* Bear-hunting was a favourite pastime of medieval Russian princes. Subverted in that, with armed retainers, clever tactics, and special-issue anti-bear spears (special ''rogatina''s with oak handles and silver heads), it actually wasn't all that difficult to kill a bear. Pseudo-Demetrius I, the wacky early 17th century impostor that threw the country into bloody infighting, was very popular with the commoners of Moscow because of his badass stunt where he used his freakish strength to not only stop a bear in mid-pounce with his rogatina (that was standard practice), but also ''throw it backwards over his head''. So if bears wrote TVTropes, they would have to make a trope for "Everything Is Worse With Russian "Russian Princes and Political Opportunists That Pretend To Be Such".Such Are Bad News".
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* ''OregonTrail''. Damn bears are always eating party members. 'Specially if you try to hunt them.
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* ''OregonTrail''.''VideoGame/TheOregonTrail''. Damn bears are always eating party members. 'Specially if you try to hunt them.
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* In ''HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'', Hammers of Fate add-on, dwarves have heavily armored and very {{Badass}} bear cavalry. Just like on the page picture.
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* In ''HeroesOfMightAndMagic ''VideoGame/HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'', Hammers of Fate add-on, dwarves have heavily armored and very {{Badass}} bear cavalry. Just like on the page picture.
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* SergeyLukyanenko's ''LineOfDelirium'' series (inspired by ''MasterOfOrion'') has the Bulrathi, a race of huge ursine {{Proud Warrior Race Guy}}s, who are obsessed with melee combat despite almost everyone else using all manner of ranged energy weapons. During the [[GreatOffscreenWar Vague War]], the Bulrathi would often interrogate captured humans, then hit them in the liver and send them home. After a few days, the person would die. In a quirk of evolution, Bulrathi [[VocalDissonance speak with falsetto voices]]. On the other hand, they make excellent tenors, but good luck trying to watch a Bulrathi performance without bursting into laughter (unless you're afraid of having your head torn off). True to their nature, the Bulrathi even managed to use their voice as a weapon, specifically against the [[SiliconBasedLife Silicoids]], who use focused EM fields to move, communicate, and attack. The high-frequency sound emitted by Bulrathi warriors resonates with the Silicoid EM-emitting organ, requiring a single punch to disable it. One of the few Bulrathi featured in the series has become a CombatPragmatist since the war, though. He never goes anywhere without his blaster and will take hostages if necessary, only engaging in honorable combat if he's sure he has the advantage.
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* ''Film/{{Ted}}'' is a comedy about a teddy bear named Ted who comes to life as a result of a child's Christmas wish. Years later, the boy is all grown-up and struggling to become an adult. Ted is a slacker who just wants to drink beer and smoke pot and wants his best friend to do the same. Not scary, but still bad news.
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* The anime ''SilverFang'' features bears in the role of antagonists, which is somewhat logical considering that the protagonist is an ''Akita'' bear-dog. The BigBad, Aka Kabuto, is particularly demonic in aspect, being an insane, one-eyed, red-haired grizzly-bear.
** You would be too if you had a bullet in your brain, fucking up your winter sleep forcing you to stay awake the whole year.
** You would be too if you had a bullet in your brain, fucking up your winter sleep forcing you to stay awake the whole year.
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** One of Trafalgar Law's crew members is a bear in a jumpsuit. It knows kung-fu.
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** One of Trafalgar Law's crew members is a bear in a jumpsuit. [[IKnowKungFu It knows kung-fu.kung fu]].
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* The new TropeNamer, the 1976 film ''TheBadNewsBears'', actually has nothing to do with this trope. Those Bears just sucked at playing baseball.
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* ''MegaManZero 2'' had Polar Kamrous, and she's just as "deadly" as her predecessor.
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* ''MegaManZero ''VideoGame/MegaManZero 2'' had Polar Kamrous, and she's just as "deadly" as her predecessor.
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* Transformers (Generation One toys) had a Pretender Bear named Chainclaw. He was an Autobot.
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* One of the most famous scenes in ''HajimeNoIppo'' has Takamura ''fighting'' against an angry bear to save his own life, after Ippo and the other Kamogawa boxers ran away from it when all of them were training in the mountains. Takamura actually ''wins'' against the bear in a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]] and [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] moment. Despite that, Takamura spares the bears life after he sees it's actually a MamaBear with two cubs crying for it. The whole incident leaves Takamura with three giant scars on his chest and gaining him the title "Bear Slayer" after the thing hits the news. It also doubles with the RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun trope, as Takamura never shies away from reminding others that ''beat a goddamn bear''.
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* One of the most famous scenes in ''HajimeNoIppo'' has Takamura ''fighting'' against an angry bear to save his own life, after Ippo and the other Kamogawa boxers ran away from it when all of them were training in the mountains. Takamura actually ''wins'' against the bear in a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]] and [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] moment. Despite that, Takamura spares the bears bear's life after he sees it's actually a MamaBear with two cubs crying for it. The whole incident leaves Takamura with three giant scars on his chest and gaining him the title "Bear Slayer" after the thing hits the news. It also doubles with the RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun trope, as Takamura never shies away from reminding others that he ''beat a goddamn bear''.
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* The "Bear Holding a [[ThreateningShark Shark]]" from ''HomestarRunner''.
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* The "Bear Holding a [[ThreateningShark Shark]]" from ''HomestarRunner''.''WebAnimation/HomestarRunner''.
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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Namespace changing, yeah.
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* Siegfried sets one loose on Mime in his [[DerRingDesNibelungen eponymous music-drama]].
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* Siegfried sets one loose on Mime in his [[DerRingDesNibelungen [[Theatre/DerRingDesNibelungen eponymous music-drama]].
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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** Naga is female, making her a perfect MamaBear example.
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*** That bear later turns into an AndroclesLion as Homer finds out that he had a defective tracking tag on his ear that kept sending painful jolts in its ear.
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** Even the tame bear and television host Gentle Ben attacks his handler after hungrily going for the food table.
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* In ''GarfieldAndFriends'' the Buddy Bears may not attack or maul anyone, but their presence inevitably makes things worse for Garfield anyway.
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Note that this trope only seems to apply to adult bears. Cubs are treated in the same way other cute cuddly animals would be treated. [[PandaingToTheAudience Pandas as well]], [[YetAnotherBabyPanda regardless of age]]. Polar bears also tend to get a bit less of a bad rap than brown bears and black bears; their prominence in shows dealing with their vulnerability to melting ice caps makes them TheWoobie in some people's eyes. [[hottip:*:Ironically, polar bears are just as dangerous as any other bear, if not more so, considering that they're a predatory species that hunts for fun. Pandas aren't really so nice in real life either.]]
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Note that this trope only seems to apply to adult bears. Cubs are treated in the same way other cute cuddly animals would be treated. [[PandaingToTheAudience Pandas as well]], [[YetAnotherBabyPanda regardless of age]]. Polar bears also tend to get a bit less of a bad rap than brown bears and black bears; their prominence in shows dealing with their vulnerability to melting ice caps makes them TheWoobie in some people's eyes. [[hottip:*:Ironically, polar bears are just as dangerous as any other bear, if not more so, considering that they're a predatory species that hunts for fun. Pandas aren't really so nice in real life either.]]
]] UrsineAliens can also invoke this.
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* The ''{{Digimon}}'' franchise has Grizzmon, an Adult-level [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin grizzly bear]]. He's appeared twice in different anime series: first in the ''DigimonFrontier'' movie as the commander of the Beast Digimon army, and many appear late in ''DigimonXrosWars'' as a staple {{Mook}} species in Apollomon's army. [[AllThereInTheManual Expanded universe material]] bills the species as ferocious warriors with honourable spirits. Related is Bearmon, Grizzmon's lesser Child-level incarnation who takes the form of a bear cub, also appearing in the ''Frontier'' movie and ''Xros Wars''.
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* The ''{{Digimon}}'' ''Franchise/{{Digimon}}'' franchise has Grizzmon, an Adult-level [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin grizzly bear]]. He's appeared twice in different anime series: first in the ''DigimonFrontier'' ''Anime/DigimonFrontier'' movie as the commander of the Beast Digimon army, and many appear late in ''DigimonXrosWars'' ''Anime/DigimonXrosWars'' as a staple {{Mook}} species in Apollomon's army. [[AllThereInTheManual Expanded universe material]] bills the species as ferocious warriors with honourable spirits. Related is Bearmon, Grizzmon's lesser Child-level incarnation who takes the form of a bear cub, also appearing in the ''Frontier'' movie and ''Xros Wars''.
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** Then there's "Lesson Zero", where Fluttershy surprisingly fought and [[NeckSnap seemingly killed]] a bear. [[spoiler:She was really giving it a massage.]]
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Originally named "Everything's Worse With Bears", but the community decided a [[ChekhovsPun pun]] on the film title ''TheBadNewsBears'' was better.
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* The most infamous straight play in anime or manga would be ''GingaNagareboshiGin''. The primary nemeses are bears. The leader bear, Akakabuto, is an ungodly huge, strong and malicious bear with one eye.
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* [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer A bear! You made a BEAR!!]]
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* [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer [[Series/BuffyTheVampireSlayer A bear! You made a BEAR!!]]
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* The ''{{Haven}}'' episode "Fur" featured hunting trophy animals coming to life and attacking people, including a bear.
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* The ''{{Haven}}'' ''Series/{{Haven}}'' episode "Fur" featured hunting trophy animals coming to life and attacking people, including a bear.
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* Some ClassicDisneyShorts have been known to pit a main character against a bear, either a generic bear (i.e., MickeyMouse's encounter with one in "The Pointer") or, especially in the case of DonaldDuck, a goofy-looking bear named Humphrey.
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* Some ClassicDisneyShorts have been known to pit a main character against a bear, either a generic bear (i.e., MickeyMouse's encounter with one in "The Pointer") or, especially in the case of DonaldDuck, a goofy-looking bear named Humphrey.
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* Several ClassicDisneyShorts have been known to pit a main character against a bear. One notable example is the handful of DonaldDuck cartoons in which he is pitted against a goofy-looking bear named Humphrey.
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* Several Some ClassicDisneyShorts have been known to pit a main character against a bear. One notable example is bear, either a generic bear (i.e., MickeyMouse's encounter with one in "The Pointer") or, especially in the handful case of DonaldDuck cartoons in which he is pitted against DonaldDuck, a goofy-looking bear named Humphrey.
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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* Several ClassicDisneyShorts have been known to pit a main character against a bear. One notable example is the handful of DonaldDuck cartoons in which he is pitted against a goofy-looking bear named Humphrey.
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* Inverted in {{Manga/HaruhiChan}}. In one episode, Tsuruya claims that she once defeated a bear.
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* Inverted in {{Manga/HaruhiChan}}.Manga/HaruhiChan. In one episode, Tsuruya claims that she once defeated a bear.
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* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'': [[spoiler:Spaceball-1 is about to self-destruct, and the bad guys are trying to get to their escape pods]], but since it's a MelBrooks movie, [[spoiler:there were also a bunch of circus folk on the ship, and they took all of the escape pods]]. There was also a bear, to make this part more hilarious. It scared President Skroob.
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* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'': [[spoiler:Spaceball-1 is about to self-destruct, and the bad guys are trying to get to their escape pods]], but since it's a MelBrooks Creator/MelBrooks movie, [[spoiler:there were also a bunch of circus folk on the ship, and they took all of the escape pods]]. There was also a bear, to make this part more hilarious. It scared President Skroob.
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
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* Averted in the [[ClassicalMythology Greek myth]] of Atalanta, who, after being left to die as a baby, was raised by a she-bear, and became a badass HotAmazon ActionGirl.
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* Averted in the [[ClassicalMythology Greek myth]] of Atalanta, who, after being left to die as a baby, was raised by a she-bear, and became a badass HotAmazon ActionGirl.
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Really stupid shoehorned example
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* Although the original film ''TheWickerMan'' had no bears, TheRemake has scenes of NicolasCage in a [[FurryFandom bear suit]]. And it is, indeed, worse.
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** An eggbear (A bear that lays eggs) serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfEternia''. Later, as a SecretTestOfCharacter, Reid gets to ''be'' the same bear and relive its experiences that occurred just prior to his fight with it, [[ForegoneConclusion ultimately fighting himself and Keele]], though not before unleashing its wrath upon one of the traders who killed its family and random monsters who get in the way.
** An eggbear also serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfVesperia'' and is the cause for Karol's [[MemeticMutation memorable quote]] of "Prepare to die, eggbear!".
** An eggbear also serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfVesperia'' and is the cause for Karol's [[MemeticMutation memorable quote]] of "Prepare to die, eggbear!".
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** An eggbear (A bear that lays eggs) serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfEternia''.''VideoGame/TalesOfEternia''. Later, as a SecretTestOfCharacter, Reid gets to ''be'' the same bear and relive its experiences that occurred just prior to his fight with it, [[ForegoneConclusion ultimately fighting himself and Keele]], though not before unleashing its wrath upon one of the traders who killed its family and random monsters who get in the way.
** An eggbear also serves as an early boss in''TalesOfVesperia'' ''VideoGame/TalesOfVesperia'' and is the cause for Karol's [[MemeticMutation memorable quote]] of "Prepare to die, eggbear!".
** An eggbear also serves as an early boss in
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%%Image selected per Image Pickin' thread: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/posts.php?discussion=1326284219041692600
%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheFoxAndTheHoundBear_350.jpg]]]]
->''"I do fear bears. They're giant, marauding, godless killing machines."''\\
-- StephenColbert, on bears.
Want to make a bad situation worse? Add a bear!
Just as [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys monkeys]] and [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguins]] are guaranteed to make something funnier or cuter, bears have a knack for scaring the crap out of everyone. Being the largest extant land-based predators in the world, with a penchant for aggressive behavior, might be a reason for that (polar bears, the largest of bear species, can weigh up to ''1500 pounds'' and have been known to hunt walruses and belukha whales). Because of this, throwing a bear into a scene is the best way to let the audience know that our heroes [[ItGotWorse have gone beyond rock bottom]] and are now totally screwed.
It's also a great way to raise the credentials of your villain or AntiHero if you give them a bear. Especially as a mount, because there's nothing more cool than riding a bear.
... Except maybe a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot robot bear or zombie bear, or a bear made of fire or ice]]. [[ThreateningShark Or a shark]], or a [[EverythingsWorseWithWolves wolf pack]], or [[EverythingsWorseWithBees bees]], whose honey is bound to attract the bears.
Note that this trope only seems to apply to adult bears. Cubs are treated in the same way other cute cuddly animals would be treated. [[PandaingToTheAudience Pandas as well]], [[YetAnotherBabyPanda regardless of age]]. Polar bears also tend to get a bit less of a bad rap than brown bears and black bears; their prominence in shows dealing with their vulnerability to melting ice caps makes them TheWoobie in some people's eyes. [[hottip:*:Ironically, polar bears are just as dangerous as any other bear, if not more so, considering that they're a predatory species that hunts for fun. Pandas aren't really so nice in real life either.]]
Compare with GrumpyBear, where a bear can't get the respect it deserves and MamaBear, where the bear will make things worse for you when you mess with her cubs.
Bears have such a long history of scaring the [[AWorldwidePunomenon Pooh]] out of human beings that most of the names we've ever given them are derived from [[FluffyTheTerrible conciliatory euphemisms]], as part of an old taboo against [[SpeakOfTheDevil naming something so dangerous]]. The English word 'bear' originally meant "brown one", and the Slavic word ''medved'' originally meant "honey eater". The original [[HistoryOfEnglish Proto-Indo-European]] word such words are avoiding [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear#Etymology was related to the word for "harm" or "injury"]], proving [[OlderThanFeudalism just how ancient]] this particular PrimalFear is.
Do not confuse this with [[TheBear the gay slang]] for a big hairy ManlyGay guy, who are mostly not scary. In [[DeathWorld Australia]], you should watch out for {{Drop Bear}}s.
The subversion of this would be BearyFunny, or perhaps a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear teddy bear]], [[SealedEvilInATeddyBear but even]] [[KillerTeddyBear then...]]
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Advertising]]
* An old Pepsi commercial had five bears emerging from the wilderness to terrorize a small town by spelling out "Pepsi" in a distinctly "YMCA"-style dance. After the townspeople fearfully comply to the beasts' request, a man remarks, "We'll be helpless if they ever learn the Macarena."
* Is it any wonder that Sugar Bear is the only cereal mascot who successfully runs off anyone who tries to take his Golden Crisp as opposed to all the other sorry saps like Lucky and the Trix Rabbit?
** During the sugar-is-now-evil transition from Super Sugar Crisp to Super Golden Crisp in the 1980s, Sugar Bear could turn himself into Super Bear. Super Bear was basically a realistic-looking grizzly bear with no traces of cuddliness whatsoever. Eventually, Post figured out that a scary carnivore might not be the best mascot for a children's cereal, and the concept was dropped.
*** Webcomic ''BreakfastOfTheGods'' takes advantage of that brief time that [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/poyorick/botg3/series.php?view=archive&chapter=39874 Super Bear was scary]].
** In the early '60s, when Sugar Bear became a sweater-wearing hipster, his tv ads showed him barging into sweet old Granny's house and stealing her cereal. A thieving nuisance, but at least he was mellow and good-natured.
* According to the Boston Bruins hockey team, if you do not follow the unwritten rules and etiquette of being a hockey fan, a giant bear ''will'' find you and [[http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-If-they-awarded-the-Stanley-Cup-for-comme?urn=nhl,155269 kick your ass]]. And when it's done doing that, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Vn35Ybr90 it will dance]].
** The bear has since become the team's commercial mascot, as it has been shown [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZGp8i6fBE4 promoting new jerseys]], rallying fans for a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZGp8i6fBE4 new]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U17OEcbSPkg season]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOPjs6U4C_A celebrating Christmas]] and even doing [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHALHEqnQRw a little exercise]]. But it still finds time [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwchenZolCE to]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7P9xU_09Ko punish]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewUXalRDcgc those]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiI0mqCZMY8 who]] violate good hockey fan behavior.
* Want someone to bully campers into putting out their fires?
* McDonalds is apparently so delicious that even bears will attack your car for it.
* Advertising/{{Orangina}} has a dancing bear for its [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bi3erz2Ek8 commercial]] who is about to attack a doe... until he sees the doe drinking Orangina!
* [[TemptingFate How could a]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6iHCFiSqIw Panda Bear be evil?]]
* Australian rum brand Bundaberg Rum features a polar bear as its mascot, the Bundy Bear, who prominently features in their advertising. Things do tend to be worse with "Bundy" around, but that's got more to do with how he's an enormous {{Troll}} to tourists.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NE_4y-bQn8 This bear working in the movie business]] is almost a [[BearyFunny subversion]], weren't it for the [[PrimaDonnaDirector occasional tantrum]]. Also, he seems to be very fond of StuffBlowingUp.
* A Capri-Sun commercial has a kid beating a giant cyborg bear with the straw from his pouch.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Bizarrely drawn (and bizarrely voiced...seriously, they emit some kind of ''screech'' instead of growling) bears shows up several times in ''[[JungleWaItsumoHaleNochiGuu Haré+Guu]]''. [[spoiler:Actually, this is counted as normal for this anime.]]
* Senri in ''Manga/PlusAnima''. Especially when [[spoiler:his eyepatch comes off on a large mountain and he starts attacking everyone]]. The only way it stopped was [[spoiler:by both the PowerOfFriendship and Cooro putting his EyepatchOfPower back on.]]
* Sherwood the Monster Princess (not Hime, her sister) from ''PrincessResurrection'' has blood-immortal empowered bears as her Servants. They have, for example, ripped to shreds an army of lesser vampires.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has Ursaring, a giant grizzly bear Pokémon that is easily annoyed during mating season, being awakened during hibernation, [[HairTriggerTemper or just on general principle]]. It has one of the highest attack base stats in the game. Also, it can [[FrickinLaserBeams fire laser beams]] [[BreathWeapon from its mouth]]. A memorable episode of ''Pokémon'' has the entire cast chased around a forest by enraged Ursaring during a time when they were preparing to give birth.
** Fittingly, it's one of the best Pokémon for the move Frustration. And if it's [[StandardStatusEffects crippled]] by an opponent, it doubles either its attack strength or its [[LightningBruiser speed]].
** Ash's rival Paul has one of these Ursaring. It has actually caused one of Ash's Pokémon to lose consciousness out of fear. And how it battles; if it had a nickname, it would be Rape Bear.
*** Considering Ash is still a kid, wouldn't it be Pedobear?
*** Ursaring cares not for his victim's age or general look. He merely destroys.
** There is also the Johto League Champions episode "[=UnBEARable=]", which features the group coming across a wild Teddiursa who uses its cuteness and Charm attack to great effect on trainers. That and it has the nasty habit of stealing a Trainer's food and putting the blame on one of the Trainer's Pokémon. It evolves into Ursaring at the end of the episode, and everyone thinks that it won't be able to play its tricks anymore. Of course, Team Rocket are still enticed by its Charm at the end.
*** It [[JustForPun bears]] mentioning that, even though said Ursaring still tries to invoke CutenessOverload, the effect is lost on Team Rocket. The fact that Ursaring tend to be fearsome, strong Pokémon is the reason why they let it join them.
* Even ''RanmaOneHalf'' includes an unbearable example. While in the original manga, Ranma fought Cologne on the beach while she ''summoned a shark to assist her'', in the anime, the fight instead takes place in a mountain resort, where in an even more outlandish fashion, she creates an ice sculpture of a bear that she can levitate and use to attack on a whim.
** When Ranma, Genma, and Soun need to retrieve the scroll of a DangerousForbiddenTechnique from a women's {{Onsen| Episode}} before [[TricksterMentor Happosai]] does, they have the bright idea of painting Genma's cursed form (an 7-foot-tall panda bear) to resemble a huge, voracious bear and scare off the women. Unfortunately, the only paint they had on hand was ''white''...
-->"[[MisplacedWildlife Who ever heard of polar bears in Japan]]?"
:::Cue the beatings.
** In the manga, Ryū Kumon is introduced by soundly beating up an escaped bear that was attacking Nodoka (before Ranma could even intervene).
** Let's not forget Genma himself, turns into a giant panda when wet, and one of the worst AbusiveParents ever. Of course, he already had that (dis)honor before he was cursed...
* In ''{{Sekirei}}'', the animal avatar that represents Musubi is a bear. Musubi herself is the {{Determinator}} type, and the Bear-Fist is one of her attacks.
** For Minato, [[AWorldwidePunomenon Everything's Worse With Bares]].
* In ''KoihimeMusou'''s HotSpringsEpisode, Rinrin comes across a bear that she thinks is a [[PetBabyWildAnimal little cub she raised when she was a kid]]. It isn't. Cue fleeing from angry bear.
* In ''KamenNoMaidGuy'', after training in the mountains, Naeka feels as though she could take on a bear. She finds herself staring down a growling grizzly moments later, courtesy of Kogarashi. Turns out she's not as ready as she thought.
* A similar incident occurs in ''[[KenichiTheMightiestDisciple History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi]]''. Kenichi, annoyed by his training in the mountains, throws a rock at what he ''thinks'' is his eldest master secretly watching him. It turns out to be, you guessed it, a bear. Despite being a fan of How-To books, Kenichi does ''exactly'' the wrong things in trying to escape this particular bear.
* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' takes the MamaBear to literal levels, having a bear named Mama serve as the ApronMatron in charge of Ako, Akira, and Natsumi. She beats up anyone who dares abuse the girls serving under her.
** Earlier in the series, Negi along with {{Ninja}} Kaede (only he was scared) are chased through the woods by a bear while carrying a giant cookable mushroom.
* The anime ''SilverFang'' features bears in the role of antagonists, which is somewhat logical considering that the protagonist is an ''Akita'' bear-dog. The BigBad, Aka Kabuto, is particularly demonic in aspect, being an insane, one-eyed, red-haired grizzly-bear.
** You would be too if you had a bullet in your brain, fucking up your winter sleep forcing you to stay awake the whole year.
* Teddy Bomber from the ''CowboyBebop'' episode "Cowboy Funk".
* In ''FutakoiAlternative'' a loan shark walks around with a polar bear for some extra muscle.
* One of the most famous scenes in ''HajimeNoIppo'' has Takamura ''fighting'' against an angry bear to save his own life, after Ippo and the other Kamogawa boxers ran away from it when all of them were training in the mountains. Takamura actually ''wins'' against the bear in a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]] and [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] moment. Despite that, Takamura spares the bears life after he sees it's actually a MamaBear with two cubs crying for it. The whole incident leaves Takamura with three giant scars on his chest and gaining him the title "Bear Slayer" after the thing hits the news. It also doubles with the RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun trope, as Takamura never shies away from reminding others that ''beat a goddamn bear''.
* In ''MyHeavenlyHockeyClub'', the hockey club runs afoul of a bear during a trip in the woods... and it makes a strong connection with Hana. Eventually they try to teach it to play field hockey so they can use it as a goalie in an upcoming game... but contrary to what they'd hoped, it's immediately noticed to be a bear and carted off, perpetuating the RunningGag of the team never getting to actually play a single game.
* ''TheWorldIsMine'' has an overall bear motif: A giant bear-like creature called Hakumadon is attacking Japan, rampaging through whole towns and turning anyone who encounters it into slurry ("My daughter followed my mother into the woods and they both came back ''in a bucket!''"). One of the two MadBomber {{Serial Killer}}s, [[ChaoticEvil Mon]], always carries a stuffed teddy bear which is implied to be the only friend he had as a child. When Mon encounters Hakumadon, his partner Toshi dies and he gets shredded... but both miraculously survive, the only evidence being Mon's slashed teddy bear. When Mon and Hakumadon meet ''again'', another character thinks he sees Mon once more getting killed, but again he survives. A few characters wonder if Hakumadon is a god sent to [[GaiasVengeance reclaim the earth]] or that it and [[FanNickname Toshi+Mon]] are in a "killing contest". [[spoiler:In reality, Hakumadon is an American shock-and-awe weapon/robot that went out of control -- imagine the Big Dog rig but three stories tall, covered in shaggy fur with yard-long teeth and claws]]. Appears to have been inspired by the "Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident" (see Real Life).
* TheBeastmaster Maeda Matsu in the ''SengokuBasara'' anime, in a fit of temper, ultimately calls up a bear to attack her brother-in-law Keiji. Keiji is already making a hasty retreat and the bear attacks Matsu's husband Toshiie instead (though Toshiie comes out of it more or less fine since the whole thing is played for laughs).
* In ''OnePiece'', the original Seven Warlords of the Sea all have an animal theme. Bartholomew Kuma's is, [[MeaningfulName naturally]], a bear. Both times he's appeared to antagonize the Straw Hats, things went south ''fast'' for the heroes. However, Kuma can also be a subversion, [[spoiler:the first time appeared Zoro was able to appeal to Kuma's honor to be allowed to sacrifice himself in place of Luffy. In the Shabaody Islands, Kuma's arrival was what saved the Straw Hats, despite initial appearances.]]
** We also get Kumacy, Perona's giant zombie teddy bear. He shows up in the middle of Ussop's fight with Perona -- that's already going pretty badly, mind you - and delivers a nasty NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that forces the sniper to TakeALevelInBadAss just to survive it.
** One of Trafalgar Law's crew members is a bear in a jumpsuit. It knows kung-fu.
** And then there's anime episode 504. Full stop.
* [[http://myanimelist.net/character/13649/Death_Panda Death Panda]], by Waita Uziga ([[Music/{{Megadeth}} yes]], ''him'').
* {{Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun}} ''starts'' with the main character fighting a bear twice his size - and several moments later it shows that his sister has beaten ''[[AlwaysSomeoneBetter an even larger one]]''.
* While ''{{Kinnikuman}}'' is training for his match with Warsman, Mari-chan is attacked by a bear and he has to save her. It puts him in the Palo Special, which he counters with a Kinniku Buster.
* In ''{{Naruto}}'', a flashback shows a young Karin being threatened by an almost comically-oversized bear while her teammates are nowhere to be found. Sasuke then comes by and drop-kicks it.
** We later see more of them on the island Killer Bee and A trained on including one with [[EyepatchOfPower an eyepatch]]. Bee apparently spends some of his "vacation" time ''sumo-wrestling them''.
* General Olivier Armstrong's BadassArmy in ''FullmetalAlchemist'' is nicknamed the "Briggs Bears".
** And although she's PandaingToTheAudience and adorable, Shao May has one heck of a bite for such a tiny thing.
* Speaking of Arakawa's manga, this trope is played for laughs in ''SilverSpoon'', when a Beware Of Bears sign in the woods makes our hero so nervous that he mistakes an approaching horse for a bear.
* The manga ''{{Ooku}}'' starts with a young boy getting mauled by a bear while picking mushrooms in the forest. And then the {{gendercide}} plague hits his family and spreads throughout Japan. The two may or may not be related
* In ''TanteiOperaMilkyHolmes'', while searching for a lost girl, Sherlock comes across a bear. She tries to play nice with it, but this is a bear that can ''uppercut''. That the bear knocks her into the sky and off the cliff is a major catalyst for the episode. When Sherlock, Kokoro and Airi come across that same bear later, it's still almost invincible.
* Almost played straight in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', during a school hiking trip, one of the groups is terrorized by a huge bear. Which is then turned into a pet by Isumi.
* ''SaintSeiya'': Some of the training scenes feature fighting bears with their bare hands as a means of showing how dangerous it is.
* ''{{Yaiba}}'': When the revenant warrior Goemon Ishikawa TurnsRed he transforms into a huge, armored Bear-Man armed with dual sais and FuumaShuriken.
* Early on, the eponymous ''GrapplerBaki'' has to wrestle a monster bear as TrainingFromHell.
* While training in the mountains, ''KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' encounters an angry bear. He proceeds to try and avoid it in all the wrong ways, while the correct ways are listed in the narration.
* In ''{{Softenni}}'', the girls run into a bear about three times the size of an average human in the mountains. Kurusu not only fights it to a draw (while naked), she [[FluffyTamer lets the bear give the team a ride up the mountain]].
* Holo of ''SpiceAndWolf'' finds out that her hometown was destroyed by a gigantic bear spirit.
* The ''{{Digimon}}'' franchise has Grizzmon, an Adult-level [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin grizzly bear]]. He's appeared twice in different anime series: first in the ''DigimonFrontier'' movie as the commander of the Beast Digimon army, and many appear late in ''DigimonXrosWars'' as a staple {{Mook}} species in Apollomon's army. [[AllThereInTheManual Expanded universe material]] bills the species as ferocious warriors with honourable spirits. Related is Bearmon, Grizzmon's lesser Child-level incarnation who takes the form of a bear cub, also appearing in the ''Frontier'' movie and ''Xros Wars''.
** ''Manga/{{Digimon V-Tamer 01}}'': A WakeUpCallBoss from halfway through the manga's run was Callismon, said to be the product of exposing an aforementioned Grizzmon to [[LEGOGenetics a sample of]] [[OlympusMons Arcadimon]]'s data. The result was an enormous bear of immense power with a HandCannon, providing the first real challenge to Taichi and Zero in a very long time.
* Inverted in {{Manga/HaruhiChan}}. In one episode, Tsuruya claims that she once defeated a bear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comics]]
* In one of GarthEnnis' more bizarrely hilarious moments, ThePunisher falls into a polar bear enclosure at a zoo. Hearing the bad guy mooks in pursuit, Frank [[Funny/ThePunisher punches the nearest bear]]. Frank escapes, and the enraged bear attacks the bad guys. The finale includes Frank [[Awesome/ThePunisher throwing the big bad into the bear pit]] and letting the bears chew her arms and legs off.
* One graphic novel in the ''{{Blacksad}}'' series had an (anthropomorphic) polar bear heading the "Arctic Nation", a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi/KKK fusion]] white-fur supremacy group. Of course, the leader was undercover.
** In the first album one of Statoc's enforcers is a brown bear.
* A zombie bear (Ursa Major, of the (of course) Russian Avengers) appears in ''MarvelZombies''. It bites down on Machine Man's head where he impales it with spikes and rips it apart.
* There's a ''[[TheFarSide Far Side]]'' cartoon in which a bar fight is happening in an old Western saloon. From the speed at which people are running out the door/being thrown through the window, it's implicit that there's a pretty tough guy inside. Well, his bear is parked outside among the horses.
** Gary Larson actually did this a few times. Another example can be summarized by quoting the caption. Two bear hunters are examining the gruesome fate of a third, and one of them says:
-->There he is, just like all the others. [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted Tied up with his own shotgun, hunting license stuffed in his mouth.]] I want this bear, Dave. I want him bad.
** In one strip a [[ThreateningShark shark]] tricks a bunch of beach-goers into the water [[InvokedTrope by shouting "Bear! Bear!"]]
* The British comic ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' had an ongoing strip about Shako, a polar bear VillainProtagonist supposedly inspired by the shark in ''Jaws'', thus neatly combining the worst aspects of both bears and sharks.
* The archenemy of the {{New Mutant|s}} [[Characters/NewMutants Dani Moonstar]] is the Demon Bear, a gigantic spectral bear who steals souls and seemed to have killed her parents.
* In a story by Creator/WilhelmBusch, a bear eats the donkey of Saint Anthony, but Anthony makes the bear carry him instead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films]]
* The 1966 film The Night of the Grizzly is one of the earliest "Killer Bear" films.
* ''AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'': the prospect of a woman joining the news team will raise the possibility of the network being overwhelmed by bear attacks as they are attracted to her menses; at the film's climax the hero and heroine must defend themselves after falling into the bear pit at the zoo.
* The all but forgotten 1979 eco-horror flick ''Film/{{Prophecy}}'' features mercury-crazed, skinless, gooey mutant bears that crave human flesh.
** Or it at least looked somewhat like a mutant monster. To quote LeonardMaltin, it looked kind of like "[[SpecialEffectsFailure a salami]]."
* In ''BackToTheFuture Part III'', Marty discovers that the cave he hid in houses a bear. He runs.
* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'': [[spoiler:Spaceball-1 is about to self-destruct, and the bad guys are trying to get to their escape pods]], but since it's a MelBrooks movie, [[spoiler:there were also a bunch of circus folk on the ship, and they took all of the escape pods]]. There was also a bear, to make this part more hilarious. It scared President Skroob.
** Even funnier when ou remember that the circus was ordered closed earlier in the film by Lord Helmet as punishment.
* The White Witch in TheFilmOfTheBook of ''TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' leads her army from atop a chariot pulled by polar bears.
** In TheFilmOfTheBook of ''PrinceCaspian'' the Pevensies discover that the animals of Narnia have started to go wild when Lucy is attacked by a bear.
* ''{{Semi-Pro}}'' "Everybody panic! Oh my God there's a bear loose in the stadium! There will be no refunds!"
** FunnyAneurysmMoment: The trainer for that bear was killed by said bear later that year.
*** And the bear got put down.
* In ''TheLostSkeletonOfCadavra'', the horrible disembowellings by the mutant are at first attributed to a bear.
-->'''Ranger Brad:''' In my time as a forest ranger, I've seen bears do things not even a bear would do.
* This trope sums up ''Film/TheEdge'', with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.
* In ''Film/{{Outlander}}'', Kainan and several Vikings go searching for the creature that slaughtered an entire village. They find a giant bear. While the bear is bad enough in its own right, it ''wasn't'' the creature that slaughtered the village--and the Vikings assume that it ''was'', and stop searching.
* While forbidden from eating men, the [[Film/{{Beowulf}} Grendel]] is apparently able to eat bears and wolves.
* Although the original film ''TheWickerMan'' had no bears, TheRemake has scenes of NicolasCage in a [[FurryFandom bear suit]]. And it is, indeed, worse.
* The film ''{{Grizzly}}'' featured a giant prehistoric killer bear going on a killing spree on ranger's station; the bear's claws are so sharp he can cut off a person's arms and decapitate a horse with a single swipe.
* In ''Film/LakePlacid'', the group is chased and menaced by a bear...only for the [[AlwaysABiggerFish gigantic crocodile to lunge out of the water and eat it]].
* In ''Road to Utopia'', bears intrude in the cabin and BobHope mistakes one of them for his girlfriend while he groped its paw and commented on its long claws. One of them even talks.
* ''The Great Outdoors'' features a large bear (rumored to be a man-eater) which had her head fur removed via shotgun many years earlier by John Candy's character. This bear shows up toward the end of the movie and is shot in the butt with the shotgun lamp, causing the raccoons to make fun of her.
* ''The13thWarrior'' features man-eating bear-monsters as the primary antagonists [[spoiler:who turn out to be neolithic cavemen wearing bearskins.]]
* In ''SantaClausConquersTheMartians'', the two lead kids get menaced by a polar bear ([[SpecialEffectsFailure or at least a man in a laughably awful polar bear costume]]).
* In ''TheLoveBug'', as Thorndyke's car is stuck in mud and his assistant Havershaw attempts to push it out, a bear enters the car, enticed by the food they had. After they get out, Thorndyke immediately takes off without Havershaw, but because his racing goggles are heavily smeared with mud, he doesn't realize there's a bear until he strikes it, making it growl and prompting him to faint.
* Br'er Bear in ''SongOfTheSouth'' certainly qualifies.
* The mascot of the high school in ''Girls Nite Out'' is a bear. The killer steals the costume and gives it WolverineClaws.
* Claws, a hard to find film from the 80s.
* Several direct-to-video films including GrizzlyPark, Bear and GrizzlyRage
* Savage Planet featured space bears.
* The Japanese film Yellow Fangs, which was based upon the Sankebetsu incident.
* An amusing example shows up in the film Shoot to Kill.
* The upcoming RedMachine
* TheThreeStooges met with foul-tempered bears on more than one occasion. They were a little more civilized than the trope usually allows for; one even proved capable of driving a car and signaling for a turn.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Gone to absolutely ridiculous and eventually cinematic extremes in David Fletcher's Hunted: A True Story of Survival, in which a literal MamaBear goes after the writer for killing her cub and it only ends when the writer manages to crush the bear under tons of ice. The kicker? It's supposed to be based on a "true story"
* In the ChivalricRomance ''Valentine and Oursson'', [[MosesInTheBullrushes an abandoned boy]] is raised by a bear, and ends up a WildMan of the Woods.
* Averted by Terry Bisson in his short story "Bears Discover Fire."
* One of the most memorable scenes from the ''AmericanGirls'' series involves Kirsten Larson and an angry mama bear. [[http://americangirl.wikia.com/wiki/File:Kirsten5_3.jpg Naturally, the illustration of the event was used for the cover of the latest edition]]. The associated meme has become one of the more well-known in the fandom.
* The favored combat morph for [[ActionGirl Rachel]] in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. She acquired it specifically because she knew the team was taking on their most dangerous mission yet. Also, the characters consider their polar bear morphs (biggest land predator) to the baddest of their {{Badass}}. They only bust them out for serious shock value and mayhem.
* In CliveBarker's ''Sacrament'', the main character is mauled by a bear and ends up in a coma.
* In Jim Butcher's ''DresdenFiles'':
** ''Death Masks'': the [[BigBad Denarians]] are first introduced. The first of them? Ursiel, a monstrous demonic bear rampaging through the alleys. It takes ''all three'' [[ChurchMilitant Knights of the Cross]] to take him down. Compare later battles where the Knights go one-on-one with the Nickelheads, or when [[LittleMissBadass Ivy]] takes on a large group singlehandedly. Some Tropers have blamed InverseNinjaLaw... but good grief, '''it's a bear!!'''
** ''Turn Coat'': they threw fireballs at the ''[[EldritchAbomination naagloshii]]'', they threw lightning bolts, werewolves, vampires, heavy arms fire, [[WhiteMagic the fires of creation that angels use]]. Nothing worked. What kicks its ass? Someone turned into a bear. A bear the size of a minibus.
* StephenKing's ''TheDarkTower'': The group, in the [[TheDarkTower/TheWasteLands third book]], has to [[spoiler:fight a giant zombie cyborg bear god,]] named "Shardik" [[Literature/{{Shardik}} in reference to the Richard Adams novel about a similar creature]].
* PhilipPullman's ''HisDarkMaterials'' has [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy panserbjorne]], sapient polar bears who wear full plate armor forged from [[ThunderboltIron meteoric iron]]. The name literally means "armored bears", but colloquially could be taken as "''tank bears''".
** In TheMovie they are called "Isbjorne", meaning "ice bears" or polar bears. Not as intimidating, but you do not want to run into a polar bear anywhere.
** It's worth of noting that they are morally neutral, with their current king Iorek Byrnisson as a friend to the protagonists. Nonetheless, one should pity the ones that are enemies to the bears...
*** Besides being giant polar bears in [[ThunderboltIron sky iron]] armor that can think and talk like humans, the panserbjorne have [[PlayingWithFire flamethrowers]]. [[SoCoolItsAwesome Armored Polar Bear Vikings with Flamethrowers]].
* Although they don't have flamethrowers, bears in the {{Spellsinger}} series are among the most physically-formidable of all [[FunnyAnimal Warmlanders]]. Several of the bad guys use bears as Mooks, or recruit a bear as TheDragon.
* The first book in ''TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'' has a giant, evil, demon-possessed bear that pretty much exists to kill things. If you suddenly can't see or hear any other animals, start praying.
* Rasputin, a former circus bear which can drink beer and throw hand grenades, is adopted by the 27th Penal Panzer Regiment in SvenHassel's ''The Bloody Road to Death''. Porta is distraught when it gets killed in action.
** This, by the way, is based on fact (though the bear is fighting on the wrong side).
* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'': When the [[ZombieApocalypse wights]] attack The Fist in ''A Storm of Swords'', they have a reanimated undead bear in tow. Cue pants pissing.
** ''A Storm of Swords'' also gives us the famous scene in which Brienne the Beauty is dropped into a pit with a bear that's angry, starved, and has basically been trained entirely to kill and devour men. Her only weapons? A blunted sword and a lacy pink dress. [[spoiler: She holds her own until TheCavalry arrives.]]
* In the ''{{Belgariad}}'', males of a certain family possess the power to [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting spontaneously become bears]] when the Rivan King is threatened. Given that they're already from the local Viking analogue, this just makes them ''more'' dangerous.
** Fittingly, they're from a culture that worships Belar, the bear god. It's not certain whether this is just a happy coincidence or a very direct blessing from Belar himself, but it is definitely awesome. There is also an extremist sect devoted to Belar known as the Bear-Cult. In the Belgariad they're a mild annoyance, but in the Mallorean they definitely make things worse. Belar, meanwhile, generally appears as a young blond-haired warrior, and not a bear.
* A set of 3 novellas by GordonRDickson was collected into ''The Right to Arm Bears''. The Dilbians, bear-like natives of the planet Dilbia, have ThePlan as [[PlanetOfHats their hat]].
* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''TheHobbit'', the protagonists stay in the home of Beorn on their journey, and are warned not to go outside at night. The reason? [[spoiler:He turns into a bear.]]
** Even worse is his appearance at the Battle of Five Armies. [[spoiler:"He came alone, and in bear's shape, and seemed to have grown almost to giant-size in his wrath." He [[FoeTossingCharge charges through the entire Goblin army]] to retrieve Thorin's body, then does it again to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge chase down and kill Bolg]], the Goblin Chieftan.]]
** Though, unusually, Beorn and his descendants are [[GoodIsNotNice good folks]]. They are also the prototypes for D&D werebears, whose alignment is lawful good.
* ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' has the dozy, good-hearted Bulgy Bears in ''PrinceCaspian'', a couple of dangerous non-talking bears, and the perpetually confused (though good fighter) Talking Bear in ''TheLastBattle''. In sum, for the protagonists, everything is pretty much even with bears.
** There is also a bear mentioned in the round-up at the end of ''TheHorseAndHisBoy'', but there is nothing much wrong with that one that a good fist-fight won't put right.
** ''PrinceCaspian'' also provides a straight example of the trope when Lucy was attacked by a non-talking bear when they were traveling to meet the Narnian army. It serves as a warning that Narnia as a whole is not the nice place they were rulers of.
* Richard Adams' ''Literature/{{Shardik}}'', as referenced in the StephenKing entry above, features a bear which is believed to personify the power of God. Whether or not this is true, the bear only ever seems to maul the bad guys.
* In the Cambridge Latin Course series of plot-oriented textbooks, a bitter British chieftain attempts to kill his rival chieftain with a ''bear he has spent a year training for murder''. The bear breaks free of control and goes on a rampage, nearly killing the king. The rampage is stopped by [[TheHero Quintus]], who has a penchant for heroic animal abuse. Nobody ever said it made sense.
* ''The Bear Kingdom'' trilogy by Michael Coleman, might as well be called ''EverythingsWorseWithBears: [[TheMovie The Series]]''. It takes place in an Alternate Universe, where bears have taken over, and humans are nothing more than slaves/pets, and sometimes...[[spoiler:''food''.]]
* In the JudgeDee story ''The Haunted Monastery'', the judge, faced with a CompleteMonster whose reputation and connections at the Imperial Court make him untouchable by the law, locks him in a room with an angry bear.
* In [[MonsterHunterInternational Monster Hunter Vendetta]], the MHI compound is attacked by an army of zombie animals, including at least one zombie bear that Owen and Agent Franks have to kill at close range.
* In the {{Hoka}} stories, the aliens look like teddy bears, but they are indeed a menace. To your sanity, at least.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''ProsperosDaughter'' trilogy, Logistilla's bear is her guard, and it menaces some of her family on occasion.
* Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23-24 of Literature/TheBible, while walking up to Bethel, was insulted by some [[BlindIdiotTranslation bandits]]. They had called him "bald head" and implied that he had been complicit in the death of Elijah. His response? Summoning two bears to come and maul 42 of them, making this trope OlderThanFeudalism. There's a reason why this story isn't included in compilations of Bible stories meant for toddlers.
** Also, David kills a bear and a lion that threaten his flock. People tend to forget that although he was only twelvish when he fought the giant Goliath, he was a pretty {{badass}} kid.
** Even ''{{God}} [[WordOfGod himself]]'' states that bears make things worse in Amos 5:19: "It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear."
* In the first of Keith Taylor's ''Bard'' stories, "Fugitives in Winter", Felimid tricks the enraged king hunting him into following a false trail into a bear cave. [[spoiler:He wasn't expecting the inhabitant to be a two-headed monster that refused to stop at killing just the king, though...]]
* A bear tries to attack the hunter in ''Literature/TheFoxAndTheHound'', but Chief saves him.
* Averted in ''Literature/RemoteMan''. The situation gets worse because of the smugglers who target the bears, not the bears themselves.
* TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon: A little girl lost for weeks in the forest is bad enough. This is also the Appalachians.
* ZigZagged in ''Reverend Huuskonen's Beastly Manservant'' by Arto Paasilinna. Subverted in that the titular reverend adopts a bear cub, then a complicated series of events leads to him taking a grand tour or Eastern Europe all the way down to the Black Sea, training the bear to be an excellent manservant (unpacking suitcases, ironing and folding clothes, helping him during the sermons and running a bar with unrivalled efficiency). Played straight in that the bear's name is Beelzebub, and if you should threaten his master, he is still very much [[BullyingADragon an adult male brown bear.]]
* ZigZagged in LoisMcMasterBujold's ''{{Chalion}}'' series:
** In ''The Curse of Chalion,'' the sick Roya Orico becomes much sicker when his pet bear is killed [[spoiler:along with the rest of his menagerie, which was a gift from the Temple that magically kept him alive. But the leopard was the scary and dangerous animal.]]
** In ''Paladin of Souls,'' a bear shows up, Foix dy Gura kills it, [[spoiler:and the demon that was possessing the bear jumps into Foix.]]
** In ''The Hallowed Hunt,'' Fafa the ice bear isn't killed, but:
--> '''Ijada:''' I was imagining the most bizarre things befalling you.
--> '''Ingrey:''' Did they include a six-hundred-pound ice bear and a pirate poet?
--> '''Ijada:''' No...
--> '''Ingrey:''' Then they weren't the most bizarre after all.
* Grok from ''Literature/StarRiskLtd'' is a nonhuman whose species strongly resembles bears. And he's not above using the resemblance to his advantage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''WalkerTexasRanger'' featured bears a number of times, Episode 173 featuring a NightmareFuel powered one.
* According to ''{{Scrubs}}'', while unwanted pregnancy or [=STDs=] are not fun, "Losing a baseball scholarship because a bear ate your arm is a much worse consequence of sex." Probably true.
** This line immediately follows a flashback in which Elliott, having parked in the woods with her high school boyfriend, starts drizzling honey on him as part of foreplay when a ravenous bear comes and breaches the car, eating the poor guy's arm.
* One of the terrors of the horrible MirrorUniverse in ''TheMiddleman''.
-->'''Ivan Avi:''' I was born into an evil world. Skies choked with ammonia, seas full of benzine, baby farms! Random suffocations...''bears''...
* [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer A bear! You made a BEAR!!]]
** I didn't mean to!
*** UNDO IT! UNDO IT!
* ''JukenSentaiGekiranger'' is a show about two competing schools of martial arts [[AnimalMotifs styled after animals]]. The evil school has Maku, one of the most ridiculously overpowered villains in the series. Guess what his power animal is?
** The same goes for his Western counterpart in ''PowerRangersJungleFury'', Grizzaka. Even the other villains are wary of pissing him off.
** Earlier example from ''NinjaSentaiKakuranger''/''MightyMorphinPowerRangers Season 3'': The Yellow Ranger has the bear as their animal motif, having three mecha with the theme (two anthropomorphic, one not).
** ''HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger''/''PowerRangersWildForce'' has the Rangers gain a pair of bear zords: a black bear and a polar bear, able to shoot beams of fire and ice respectively. The Bear Brothers turn out to be too powerful for the main megazord to use reliably, forcing the Rangers to find a stronger zord that could handle the bears' strength.
* One episode of ''{{CSI}}'' is famous for use of the line, "The bear could be considered a lethal weapon."
* A recent ''{{Monk}}'' had a bear show up... twice. Both times were plot-relevant.
* An episode of the AnimalPlanet series ''Series/RiverMonsters'' filmed in Alaska had a run-in with a grizzly where it stole a salmon the host had hooked right off his line, then came back ''again''. Only when the guide accompanying him fired a warning shot from the [[HandCannon huge]] [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolver]] he was carrying did the bear finally leave.
* A recent episode of ''{{Reaper}}'' had Sam trying to get someone to sell their soul, and being chased out of the guy's property by a polar bear. Which had been delivered to the {{jerkass}} by the Devil. Andi in particular was amused. Sam was not.
* A ''SaturdayNightLive'' sketch had a bearologist. He decided to kill his wife by releasing the bear he was studying, who then proceeded to... pick up a gun from table and shoot her. (Which the scientist blamed on "too much TV", but the bear was revealed to be the bearologist's brother in disguise.)
** Another sketch featured a world in which bears killed everyone and took on the role of humans.
* ''SurvivingDisaster'', a non-fiction [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin surviving disaster]] show, has an episode on how to survive an avalanche -- ''with a bear attack''.
* In the first season of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', the castaways are attacked by polar bears on a couple of occasions.
* StephenColbert is famous for his fear and hatred of bears (one once killed everything he loved), so naturally the featured film clip for his interview with ''The National Parks'' director Ken Burns features a river filled with ''almost a dozen grizzlies''.
-->'''Colbert:''' That is the scariest film I've ever seen.
* Inverted with DavidLetterman, who loves bears and was positively thrilled when JackHanna let him hold a pair of day-old cubs. In a more recent show, Hanna was recounting how he, his wife, and a family of hikers had a close encounter with a MamaBear and her pair of two-year old cubs (ironically just after shooting a PSA for the National Parks) and Letterman felt it would've been a shame if Hannah was attacked because it would have meant the possible death of the bear.
* In ''NorthernExposure'', Holling Vincouer was once mauled by a bear (whom he named Jesse) while hunting. While recovering, he claimed to have a nightmare where he was pursued by all the animals he had hunted in the past. The experience changed Holling; while he had sworn vengeance against Jesse (to the point where Jesse had become his personal {{Moby-Dick}}), he vowed never to hunt any animal other than Jesse except with a camera.
* Dwight from ''TheOffice'' wisely fears bears. He once went to see a movie about bear attacks, but mistakenly walked into ''Film/WeddingCrashers'', he stayed, because "bears attack when you least expect it."
* In an episode of ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'', Starsky gets kidnapped by a psycho {{cult}}. Things go about as expected, and at one point whilst trying to escape he turns a corner and comes face to face with a bear. A very large bear. That he is supposed to fight. With a rock. Yeah.
* Part of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVagUIaVATk the scariest picture on Earth.]]
* In one episode of ''HighlanderTheSeries'', Duncan [=McLeod=] is helping a fugitive Native American woman [[spoiler:who has stolen the child of a white mine owner to replace her own child that died of poisoning from polluted water from the mine]]. During the night, a bear wanders into the log cabin in which they're sheltering.
* One ''AllThat'' skit had the crew smothering an unlucky ButtMonkey reporter freezing in the tundra with honey to attract a nearby polar bear.
* In the ''MarriedWithChildren'' episode, "Bearly Men", Al and Bud go hunting with Peggy's father to prove their manliness. Al and Bud run into a bear (literally; they hit it with a car). Thinking it dead, they take the bear home... only for it to wake up and escape into Chicago. Al, Bud, and Peggy's father then have to go after it.
* A demonic-looking bear actually shows up in ''TheTeletubbies'' along with [[CatsAreMean a similarly demonic-looking lion]]. The bear in the flying carousel, on the other hand isn't scary at all.
* On ''BoyMeetsWorld'', as part of an EscalatingWar, one group of the main characters superglue the other main characters to their classroom seats, dowse them in honey and set a bear loose in the classroom. Givin that the source of the bear is never explained, nor do they get in trouble for it, this one goes directly under RuleOfFunny.
* In ''HowIMetYourMother'', Marshall is worried about being uninsured while looking for work, and keeps coming up with worst-case scenarios about every situation, all of which include being attacked by a bear (well, a guy in a bad bear costume).
** The bad bear suit heightens the RuleOfFunny, as does Marshall melodramatically screaming "NOT LIKE THIS" every time.
* The ''{{Haven}}'' episode "Fur" featured hunting trophy animals coming to life and attacking people, including a bear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* If you wanted to release an album named "No Fear Restriction", what you'd put on the cover to match? [[http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/27266 Right]]...
* The back of the album cover of Music/JethroTull's ''Stormwatch'' has a 1000 foot tall polar bear stomping on an oil refinery station.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology]]
* ''The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft'' noted a conspicuous absence of bears in some shamanic societies' legends, probably owing to the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-ness.
* DavyCrockett. King of the wild frontier. Killed him a bear when he was only three.
* Averted by many Native American legends. Amongst the Navajo, for example, the bear is a symbol of healing, peace, and tranquility and harming one brings ''very bad'' luck. Then again, if you try to provoke a bear [[LaserGuidedKarma you're probably going to get everything you deserve]].
** Played straight by others. The OriginStory of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Tower_National_Monument Devil's Tower]] in Wyoming involves one or more gigantic bears trying to kill frightened children and the Creator raising the tower up under the kids to save them.
* The Japanese ''Oniguma'' (devilbear): strong enough to carry away horses and [[LightningBruiser quick enough to smash monkeys with one blow]]. Also it was said that killing bears would cause the "Bear Wrath", a really nasty event.
* Averted in the [[ClassicalMythology Greek myth]] of Atalanta, who, after being left to die as a baby, was raised by a she-bear, and became a badass HotAmazon ActionGirl.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''DungeonsAndDragons'':
** What's the biggest, strongest werecreature? That's right. Werebear.
*** In defiance of the "worse" aspect, werebears are the only good-aligned lycanthrope (chaotic good prior to D&D 3.5, lawful good after). This was probably thanks to [[TheHobbit Beorn]].
** [[http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG63.jpg OH KORD IT'S A DIRE BEAR GET IN THE CART]].
*** The dire bear made a pants-wettingly terrifying appearance in ''NeverwinterNights2'', just so you could get a sense of scale: it is ''bigger than a friggin' garbage truck'', and covered with [[SpikesOfVillainy bony spikes]].
** Werebear-ians: Barbarian Were Bears. Ouch.
** There's a RunningGag about ''DungeonsAndDragons'' druids: no matter how good their stats, they will invariably reach level 5 as a human/elf/whatever, then spend the rest of their lives as a bear. Using the Natural Spell feat to keep casting.
*** And to take this UpToEleven, they have animal companions as well. So this means that they can transform into a bear (Wild Shape) and ride a bear (Animal Companion) while summoning bears (spontaneously cast summon spells). OhCrap.
**** We did the calculations on this once...you can get close to a hundred bears at 20th level without any bizarre min/maxing or obscure feats. Also, the same theory can be applied to most any animal.
** Also, [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Bear_Lore they're very mysterious.]]
** Most templates in 4e have a requirement of a certain creature type being necessary in order for it apply, usually humanoid. However, the Death Knight template's only requirement is that the creature be level 11, which means Cave Bear Death Knights are realistic possibilities in any campaign.
** In 4th edition, the Druid class gains at 1st level the ability to change into animal form (which doesn't technically change your stats, it just makes you look different and gives you different attacks) at will for as long as you want. So, technically, you could play a Druid who spends their entire life as a bear.
** Plus, there's a spell in 3.5 edition called "Bite of the Werebear", which grants +16 strength, +8 CON, three natural attacks, and the Power Attack feat to the target. It has a range of self, but can be cast on familiars for...interesting results.
** However, there's also Owlbears. I don't care ''what'' its stats are, an Owlbear is a bit difficult to take seriously.
** This is definitely the case for the enemies of [[{{Eberron}} Breland]], considering the Brelish field elite ''bear cavalry'' (as befits Breland's coat of arms). Obviously, the Brelish themselves would tend to disagree.
* ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' has Napoleon, a sentient bear that thinks he's Napoleon. [[OhCrap Who also leads an army of other sentient animals]].
* The Huraka (wind bears) of ''{{Exalted}}''. While they are normally gentle wind herders, they also serve as the shock troops of the Air Elementals. You know you're screwed when giant, flying bears with wind powers come barreling toward you.
* In the ''OldWorldOfDarkness'', what was stronger than a [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse werewolf]] in its hybrid "war form"? A werebear in their version of same form. Not only that, but [[GrimReaper the incarnation of death itself]] was the aptly-named Death Bear, which had to be fought to bring someone back to life. Guess which changing species was the only one up to the task?
** Ironically enough, the Gurahl (the werebears) are actually the ones who are supposed to make everything ''better''. Just as werewolves are Gaia's warriors, werebears are Gaia's healers -- they have the most potent restorative rituals of all the Changing Breeds, including the ability to bring the recently deceased back to life (but if they get there a little too late... [[CameBackWrong well...]])
* Allegedly, ''World of Synnibarr'' includes bears with {{Frickin Laser| Beams}} EyeBeams.
* The flavor text for the ''{{Magic| The Gathering}}'' card Grizzly Bears: ''Don't try to outrun one of Dominia's Grizzlies; it'll catch you, knock you down and eat you. Of course, you could run up a tree. In that case you'll get a nice view before it knocks the tree down and eats you.''
** It should also be noted that in the early days of Magic, a 2/2 creature with no abilities cost 3 mana, 1 of the creature's color and 2 of any color (Examples: [[http://magiccards.info/al/en/214.html Pearled Unicorn]], [[http://magiccards.info/al/en/157.html Gray Ogre]]) while the [[http://magiccards.info/al/en/108.html Grizzly Bears]] (also 2/2 with no abilities) was only 2 mana; 1 green, 1 other. Thus, they're ''faster''.
** Some of the other Bears in Magic include [[http://magiccards.info/od/en/282.html Werebear]] (starts off a weak 1/1, but get 7 cards in your graveyard and it turns 4/4), [[http://magiccards.info/ts/en/190.html Ashcoat Bear]] (You're not even safe from your opponent summoning bears during your turn), and [[http://magiccards.info/od/en/229.html Bearscape]] (They can come from anywhere!)
* ''{{Warhammer}}'': Borus Ursus, former Tzar of Kislev, rode a giant bear into battle. There's also a mention of a Chaos Lord whose chariot is pulled by ''skinless bears''.
** A grizzly bear is the standard mount for any of the Tzars or Tzarinas of Kislev, including the current incumbent Katarin the Ice Queen.
** Also the Dogs of War character, Beorg Bearstruck; a Norse barbarian that has transformed into a Were-bear.
* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' has Bjorn the Fell-Handed of the SpaceWolves (Viking SpaceMarines), the oldest living SpaceMarine in the Imperium. Among his many claims to fame was resisting an EvilSorcerer's CompellingVoice (he thought his TrueName was "Bear") and killing him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theater]]
* {{Shakespeare}}'s ''Theatre/TheWintersTale''. "ExitPursuedByABear." The bear pursuing Antigonus off the stage does in fact make everything worse (especially for Antigonus).
* In ''UbuRoi'' Pile, Cotice and Père Ubu are attacked by a bear in the forest. Pile and Cotice barely manage to kill it, while Ubu hides and prays, coming out after the bear is killed and claiming they'd never survive the encounter without his prayer.
* The Bad Idea Bears from AvenueQ, ''look'' adorable, but [[PunctuatedForEmphasis they]]. [[NightmareFuel are]]''. '''[[TheAggressiveDrugDealer EVIL!!!!!!!!!]]''' ''
* Siegfried sets one loose on Mime in his [[DerRingDesNibelungen eponymous music-drama]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Toys]]
* Graalok the Ash Bear from ''{{Bionicle}}'', who briefly terrorizes Takua and Jaller in ''Mask of Light''. Bonus points for being a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot cyborg bear]].
* The main ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' toyline had at least one. [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Polar_Claw Polar Claw]] transformed a polar bear. He was repainted into two other characters, [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Grizzly-1 Barbearian/Grizzly-1]] and [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Survive Survive]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* In the Southern Vashnar mountains in ''{{Achaea}}'', there is a point where the traveller must decide between going south or southwest. Southwest is a safe path leading to the city of Cyrene. There is a small and easy to miss sign at the fork in the path, which reads, "CAUTION: bears south". They're ''not'' friendly.
** Speaking of Iron Realms, there's a whole ''race'' of humanoid bears in ''{{Lusternia}}'', called the Tae'dae. Though usually WinnieThePooh-esque GentleGiant's, they're about eight feet tall and have the highest potential natural strength in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'', players can hunt bears for food (the villagers sent to the process will get quite injured, though)... and [[SillinessSwitch use a cheat code to unlock a "lazer bear"]], which wears the flag of Canada and fires beams.
* In the arcade and [[SegaGenesis Genesis]] classic ''AlteredBeast'', the form you can take in the third stage is a werebear. A werebear that can [[TakenForGranite turn enemies into stone by breathing on them]].
* Random wilderness-dwelling brown and cave bears in ''BaldursGate''. While far from the toughest enemies of the game, they start off showing as neutral to you, become aggressive if you get at all close, and can serve up a good mauling if you stop to fight. And usually come in pairs or groups. Oh, and you can encounter them right after the tutorial, at level 1.
* While ''[[http://battlebears.com Battle Bears]]'' is a game about bears, of note most of his enemies are also bear-based including a brief fight with the [[StephenColbert Colbear]] and a Bearbershop Quartet.
* There's only one way to make [[RedScare The Soviet Union]] scarier: '''[[CommandAndConquer PARACHUTING ARMORED]] [[http://portal.commandandconquer.com/portal/site/redalert/template.MAXIMIZE/factions_en/?javax.portlet.tpst=887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_viewID=proxy_view_secondary&javax.portlet.prp_887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_wcproxyurl=http%253A%252F%252Flocalhost%253A8080%252FSiteAssets%252Ffactions%252FWarBear.html&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken WAR BEARS.]]''' With ''paralyzing sonic roars''.
** In ''[[CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert 3]]'', one of the Allied Spy's unit responses is "I don't like bears...", which is justified by the Soviet War Bear's ability to sniff out and maul spies.
*** On the DVD extras the actors cannot believe it. Watch as George Takei tries to get his head around it ("Battle Bears? B E A R S?") or Autumn Reeser laughing as she asks for an explanation.
** In the challenge mode of the Uprising expansion, the mission where you unlock the War Bear's is called [[TheColbertReport The Number One Threat to America]], and features giant bears that can ''smash tanks''.
* One of ''{{Condemned}} 2'''s scariest and most talked-about scenes involves being chased through an abandoned mountain cabin by a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixvh-8W1OS8 rabid Jaws-sized monster bear]].
* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' has a level called, "It's War", in which the game's reluctant, accidental antihero fights against an army of evil, fascist bears known as the Tediz. (Pun of "Nazis") These bears are more human than animal, but they are still creepy, and even [[AccindetalNightmareFuel more horrifying]] is the final boss of the level, a huge cybernetic bear with spider legs, embedded weapons, and a hand puppet of an innocent girl, which he uses to lure Conker in.
** I'd hardly call her "innocent". As she says, she's the eyes, and the brains.
* ''[[VideoGame/DisasterDayOfCrisis Disaster: Day of Crisis]]'' had a bear as part of the many pre-release screenshot collections. And that bear means business. It's not your ordinary bear. It's a bear that's MadeOfIron.
* One of the quests in the ''Bloodmoon'' expansion pack for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' involves you hunting down and killing a Spirit Bear. Before doing that, you have to kill either Skaal hunters or werewolves, both incredibly tough enemies, and the bear has the annoying habit of entering the fray while you're currently engaged.
** Bears in the sequel, ''{{Oblivion}}'', are among the most hated and feared enemies in the game for their high attack power, health, and ability to stagger the player character. They are oftentimes more dangerous than most of the quasi-demonic hordes of Daedra currently invading Tamriel.
*** At first yes, but eventually they just become annoying.
** They keep this up in the following chapter [[TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]], where they are more dangerous than ''dragons''. At least the dragons give you the courtesy of announcing their attack with a bellowing roar and circling you a few times beforehand.
*** Skyrim also has the Stormcloak Rebels, who have a prominent bear motif. Their generals even wear bearskin cloaks, complete with a hood made out of the bear's head.
* ''{{Fallout 3}}'' has the Yao Guai, giant, vicious, mutated bears that roam the Capital Wasteland disemboweling anyone they come across. In terms of dangerousness, they're pretty much second only to the Deathclaws.
** They return in FalloutNewVegas in the Honest Hearts DLC, which includes a giant ''flaming'' one called the Ghost of She.
* Vargas, a boss from the beginning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', had two bears for no apparent reason other than making the fight slightly more challenging.
** There is a [[GoddamnedBats type of bear-like enemy]] in the mountains of Zozo that enjoys ambushing the party, stealing a hell of a LOT of money, and fleeing in its next turn. It made an annoying dungeon so much ''worse''...
* ''FurFighters'' had the {{Mooks}} as bears with polar-bears being the strongest and brown-bears making up the majority. Oddly not Black Bears and they were commandeered by a massive Cat.
* ''GuildWars'' has bears capturable as pets in in the tutorial area of prophecies though it's difficult and having one is considered a status symbol. They're also capturable in the main game but then are considered worse than common pets, because they have a special attack that does nothing but slow their attack speed.
** To clarify, in the "Presearing" (tutorial) area of Prophecies, the capturable bear is the black bear. Brown bears and polar bears are available as common pets in Prophecies and Eye of the North, and there is a special variant of the polar bear known as a Jingle Bear available as a reward for a holiday quest in Eye of the North.
** The Norn in Eye of the North can shapeshift into anthropomorphic bears as well. Whenever you talk to a hunter for the first time, they'll turn into one and attack. Additionally, there's the Nornbear, a corrupted version you have to kill, and whose brief existence inspires a ReligionOfEvil.
*** Norn characters in ''Guild Wars 2'' will be able to replicate the shapeshifting. It also includes the Kodan, a race of permanently anthropomorphic bears who consider themselves the most enlightened race.
* In the old NES game ''IceClimber'', Polar Bears wearing sunglasses and swim trunks would show up and cause earthquakes. Of course, they could easily kill the player.
* ''KatamariDamacy'' features a bear-themed ScrappyLevel called Ursa Major in which the object is to gather the largest bear possible into your katamari. The problem? Picking up any sized bear, no matter how tiny, automatically ends the level and bears are ''everywhere''! Even gathering a single bear-themed item like a "beware of bears!" sign or a "tiny teddybear" will end the level.
** ''We ♥ Katamari'' ups the ante with a "Cowbear" level in which you must gather the largest cow and/or bear item to win. Now only must you dodge bear-themed items, you must be wary of cow and milk-themed items as well or the round will end prematurely.
* The Bulrathi, from the first two ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrion'' games, landing on your planet generally made for having a bad day, unless you had a significant numerical and/or technological advantage over them.
* One of the Druid's animal companion options in ''NeverwinterNights'' and ''NeverwinterNights2'' is a bear. Try to guess what every player picks.
* ''[[NeverwinterNights2 Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer]]'' interrupts your not quite pleasant stay at the town of Mulsantir by having a bear show up at the gates. Not just any bear either, but a bear ''god''. With an army. An army which includes ghost bears. To make matters worse, it's a bear god ''specifically'' out to kill you, meaning the residents of the town are keen to throw your woefully unprepared ass out against it like some sort of sacrificial lamb. If it weren't for Gann and his magical bear god weak-point detecting skills, you'd be pretty much fucked.
** Awesomely inverted if you decide to spare and recruit said bear god. You have a ''freaking bear god'' on your side!
* Whispering Rocks Summer Camp has a [[LampshadeHanging slight bear problem]] in ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}''. Specifically, telekinetic bears.
* The first enemies you come across in Akhma Cave in ''Rohan Online'' are Ursas, Warrior Ursas, Elder Ursas, and Ursa Mages, A.K.A. Giant Fucking Humanoid Bears From Hell. The weakest of them, the Ursas, start at level 20, but the most advanced Ursa types can easily go up to level 30. You will NEED a party in order to take these things (and Akhma Cave in general) on, because unless you're really high level, you WILL get eaten alive, particularly because the tougher ones like to mob you.
* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsons'' arcade game had a bear as a boss. Even [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNAxBpl13mo its associated boss theme]] screams, "You're one doomed motherfucker!" When you beat it, however, it [[RuleOfFunny shrinks and turns into a fat mook]].
* In Maxis newest installment ''TheSims 3'', exploring the crypt can end in a special status effect, where we learn that what's found at the bottom of the crypt is ''bears''.
** And occasionally GIGANTIC RAMPAGING [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies ZOMBIE BEARS]].
* Bears are a common enemy type in the ''TalesSeries''.
** An eggbear (A bear that lays eggs) serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfEternia''. Later, as a SecretTestOfCharacter, Reid gets to ''be'' the same bear and relive its experiences that occurred just prior to his fight with it, [[ForegoneConclusion ultimately fighting himself and Keele]], though not before unleashing its wrath upon one of the traders who killed its family and random monsters who get in the way.
** An eggbear also serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfVesperia'' and is the cause for Karol's [[MemeticMutation memorable quote]] of "Prepare to die, eggbear!".
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', the two most deadly physical attacking monsters in the game are the Galf Beast and the Wolf Heddin. And which of these is the final evolved form of the bear? Actually, the bear has a divergent evolution and thus has two final evolved forms: ''the Galf Beast and the Wolf Heddin''. Apparently, someone at Namco really likes bears.
** The first monster [[NonActionGuy Emil]] is attacked by is a bear. In NewGamePlus playthroughs, any {{mons}}ters you inherited from your previous game can't defeat the bear until [[BigDamnHeroes Marta]] arrives on the scene.
* Kuma, Heihachi Mishima's guard bear from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''. Not so much with his {{Palette Swap}}ped counterpart, Xiaoyu's sort-of pet Panda.
* [[{{Chibi-Robo}} Sunshine]], but only when he's going through [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything honey withdrawal]]
* The Grizzly Noise from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', especially of the Taboo variety.
* ''WorldInConflict'': [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdzZBx2eUcQ "The Red Bear has awoken. The world will see his might."]]
* Druids in ''WorldOfWarcraft'' can [[VoluntaryShapeshifting take the form of a bear]] to become more effective tanks. As it can deal decent damage while tanking, this is arguably their strongest form. What really speaks to their intimidating capability is, of course, is their ability to scare things into attacking them over the much more dangerous people nearby. A human might be forgiven for focusing on the bear trying to claw their face off over the mage prepping a fireball, but when you can make a 60 foot dragon see you as the most dangerous thing around, you are one scary bear.
** Of course, that was preceded by Druids of the Claw (who can turn into bears and boost allies' damage by roaring) and the Beastmaster Rexxar in ''WarCraft III'', who could summon his bear from anywhere.
*** Oh and the Beastmaster Bears can teleport and [[WordOfGod "teleporting bears are funny"]].
*** In general, bears account for a surprisingly large proportion of the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny crowning moments of funny]] in the game, what with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBZUXhSbOA rocket-propelled bears]] and [[http://www.wowwiki.com/RAWRbomb bears charging out of the sky]].
** Polar bears in ''WarcraftIII'' are tough, amphibious neutral monsters with saberteeth.
** Bears can also be tamed by hunters (although like the druid form, they are more suited for tanking than damage)
** Blizzard's "special" mounts (i.e. mounts that are not available through normal faction vendors) tend to be bear-heavy for some reason:
*** The most (in)famous bear mount is the Amani War Bear, which could only be gotten as part of a lvl 70 raid instance, [[ScrappyLevel by killing four bosses and rescuing their hostages before time runs out and they are murdered]]. When the latest expansion was released and the level cap raised to 80, the Amani Bear was removed from the game so it would be a status symbol for the players [[PoopSocking dedicated enough]] to have gotten it at lvl 70.
*** The mount has since been reintroduced after Zul'Aman was retooled as a Level 85 Heroic instance, and is still fairly difficult to get in the time limit (it basically requires downing the enemies and bosses as efficiently as possible without wiping). One of the four bosses happens to be a troll infused with the power of a bear spirit who can charge distant players (one-shotting anyone who has the debuff from his charge), and who can turn into a bear, increasing his damage done to the tank and giving him the ability to roar and silence players.
*** ''Wrath of the Lich King'' also introduced an Armored Brown Bear mount available from the Dalaran mount vendor. It costs considerably more than the usual mount.
*** The reward for being part of the kills of every leader of the opposite faction, a feat that can require nearly a hundred organized players? A black war bear mount. Even better? Those bears were implemented in the closing days of ''Burning Crusade'', during that brief period when mob levels (including faction leaders) were upped but players could not level yet. Despite (or because) of this, many top guilds actually got up at 4am to kill the faction leaders before WOTLK came out. Despite the fact that killing one faction leader easily took 30 minutes because of the vast level gap. Bears are SeriousBusiness.
*** The Hyldnir, a group of giant blue warrior women, ride polar bear mounts in battle, one of which you can receive as a rare reward from a daily quest, which itself can involve riding a fighting bear.
** There is also a race of humanoid bears called furbolgs. One tribe of those fiercely guards a tunnel that connects between three zones, one of which can only be reached through that tunnel (and if you aren't a druid, you don't have easy access to another one). While it is possible to befriend them to the degree of them letting you pass with moderate effort, people who decide to skip that are in for one rough treatment when they try to run through the tunnel. Incidentally, two of the mentioned zones are crawling with other furbolgs and regular bears, as well.
** Similarly, the Moonkin are a race created by the goddess Elune to protect her sacred shrines - they are half owl and half bear, to represent the wisest and strongest animals respectively. Druids can also assume their form in order to perform a caster DPS role.
** And, of course, [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Welcome_Bear Welcome Bears]], a BeefGate monster in the Eastern Plaguelands. While the zone level has been significantly nerfed, they're still likely to kill any unwary low-level Forsaken players who inadvertently wander in from the adjacent [[NoobCave Tirisfal Glades]].
** Even that was one-upped by the [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Bear_Reaver Bear Reaver]]. Imagine a creature, wandering about the wilderness, that has the abilities of a ''HumongousMecha'' demon that requires multiple characters at the level cap to kill, but with the graphic of a wild bear. Note that according to the article, this was more dangerous than the demon itself. Making the ''humongous robot'' demon into a ''normal-sized'' bear made it more dangerous.
** And with the recent announcement about the next expansion, the Pandaren are becoming playable. For those who don't know, Pandaren are [[PandaingToTheAudience humanoid panda martial artists]] that [[BoisterousBruiser can kick your ass and may be the only race that can out-drink a Dwarf]]. And seeing as they choose which faction they join, they're likely to make things worse ([[ZigzaggedTrope or better, or both]]) for both the Alliance ''and'' the Horde.
* In ''InfiniteUndiscovery'', Gustav the bear joins your party and proves to be a powerful tank (as you'd expect)...but counts as ''two characters'' toward the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit. Also played straight with enemy bears and their daunting HP totals.
* ''VideoGame/{{Mabinogi}}'' has bears in several flavors, and they're almost as tough as Ogres. Also, Tarlach is human only at night, becoming a bear by day. While he's not particularly violent, he constantly holds up the plot by {{Wangst}}ing when you need info, sending you on {{Fetch Quest}}s, and just [[BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible not telling you the truth about what's going on]].
** In part because he doesn't know the full story either.
* ''{{Vindictus}}'' throws a giant, pissed off polar bear at you in the "Dethrone the White Tyrant" mission of Hoarfrost Hollow, who is easily the toughest boss of that particular part of the game. And just for an encore, there's a ''Red'' Tyrant BonusBoss sometime after you get through with Hoarfrost Hollow which is even ''worse'' than the white one.
* Everything's usually worse with the [[BackyardSports Polar Bears]]. Unless you play as them, that is.
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the Heavy Weapons Guy, according to the Scout, is "like a big shaved bear that hates people."
** Taken to new and very literal levels with a [[GameMod mod]] that [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2huUZG_LIA4 turns the Heavy into an actual bear.]] [[MoreDakka With a minigun]].
** And then comes The Warrior's Spirit, which are bear claws that enable the Heavy to cause more damage[[hottip:*: albeit with a slight health handicap]]. Brings a new meaning to "I will kill you with [[AWorldwidePunomenon bear]] hands!"
*** He's just exercising his right to ''bear'' arms.
*** These puns are getting downright un''bear''able.
* In ''SamuraiShodown'' (aka Samurai Spirits) 0/5 Nakoruru is almost killed by a bear in Rera's storyline intro if not for Rera taking over Nako's body. Nakoruru is hesitant to defend herself for two reasons; one is that in Real Life the bear is one of the Ainu's most holy animal (Nakoruru being Ainu) and the other is that Nakoruru is a friend to all living things and doesn't like to use violence. Rera apparently pulls a [[{{Bleach}} Hollow Ichigo]] and kills the bear after taking over Nako's body because she doesn't feel like dying. Note that Rera is not a bad person, just a part of Nako that doesn't like how Nako normally behaves.
* In ''MassEffect2'' during one mission the mooks describe Shepard and his/her team as "armed for bear". [[CurbStompBattle And seeing how the rest of the mission goes for them they're not wrong]]. Incidentally, the term "armed for bear" likely owes it's existence to this trope.
* ''DragonAge'' has you fight bears from time to time, but also has ''bereskarns'', bears with spikes that have been corrupted by the darkspawn taint. A high-level shapeshifter can actually transform into one. A Rogue with the Ranger Specialization can ''summon'' a bear. Mastering the specialization allows a Rogue to summon an ''even bigger bear''. ''Anywhere''. It's a pretty good meatshield/damage dealer too.
* In ''RedDeadRedemption'', the Tall Trees area in the northeast is populated by large grizzly bears. While not invulnerable (as with every animal, you can kill and even skin them), they can fuck your shit up quite easily. Whether or not they're more dangerous than [[DemonicSpiders cou]][[CatsAreMean gars]] is up for debate, but they're certainly scary. And if you kill one bear, watch your back - most likely, there's more to come.
** ItGotWorse in RedDeadRedemptionUndeadNightmare as they are now zombie bears.
** Don't forget Brumas. This golden bear is much bigger than any other bear, and [[MadeOfIron can take two headshots from the most powerful gun in the game before going down]].
* ''OregonTrail''. Damn bears are always eating party members. 'Specially if you try to hunt them.
** And cougars too, although strangely, you never actually see them while hunting.
* Since ''KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder'' is a {{Sierra}} game, it's no surprise that the bear attacking a beehive [[EverythingTryingToKillYou can kill you]] (and so can the [[EverythingsWorseWithBees bees]]). What is amusing is to see the bear kill Graham with one swing of its paw.
* In ''HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'', Hammers of Fate add-on, dwarves have heavily armored and very {{Badass}} bear cavalry. Just like on the page picture.
* Throughout the game {{Gauntlet}}: Dark Legacy, the player regularly fights against golems, stronger-than-normal enemies that take the form of humanoids built from various substances. Then you get to the Ice Domain, where the golems are replaced by giant, undead polar bears.
* {{Pokémon}} has Teddiursa, a small teddy bear. However, when it evolves at Level 30, it becomes the dangerous Ursaring. As mentioned above in the Anime section, Ursaring is a MightyGlacier that hits and moves like a truck. Weighing in at a base attack stat of 130, it is a beast to be reckoned with and its decent physical movepool is enough to back it up.
** The ROM hack ''PokemonQuartz'' has [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Pokemon%20Quartz/Update%2016/3-dear_god_no.png Babos]] and it's [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Pokemon%20Quartz/Update%2022/171-pkquartzfull_179.png evolution]] [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Pokemon%20Quartz/Update%2022/172-pkquartzfull_180.png Osoe]]. You know that something is '''wrong''' when a [[{{Gonk}} butt-ugly]] bear has [[MemeticMolester CUTE CHARM as its ability and Attract as its moves]]...
** On the subject of ''legitimate'' Pokemon games, Cubchoo averts this trope, as it's a polar bear cub with a giant SnotBubble. Its evo, Beartic, however, is the Unova Rape Bear.
* ''NaughtyBear'' wouldn't be the same game with some other animal.
* {{Shinobido}} has bears in some mission. And they're insanely powerful, veeery suspicious, move erratically and can take a lot of damage before dying. However, you can kill them istantly if they're distracted (usually a salmon will do the trick).
* ReturnToKrondor does not have any actual bears, but it has BigBad Bear. He is taller than everyone else. He has muscles to match his height. He is a mercenary and a pirate leader. He will kill men, women, and children who get in his way. In the game, one small-time pirate name Knute left him and was thrown in jail. Bear broke into the jail with an army of mercenaries, killing just about everyone they encountered. He personally went down to the cells where Knute was held in and ripped Knute's cell door right off its hinges and told Knute to follow him. Then he grabbed Knute by the throat and demanded to know "Where is it?" and "What had Knute done with it?" Knute just kept screaming that he did not do anything. Bear called Knute a liar and sliced him to pieces. When you finally fight Bear yourself, you will find that he wears the best armour and uses the best swords. Oh, and you will find that he is completely immune to your attacks. [[spoiler:He wears an amulet that makes him immune to your attacks.]]
* Parodied in ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers''. During the forest stage, you keep hearing vast thumping footsteps that cause various animals to [[BringMyBrownPants void their bowels in terror]]. About halfway through the stage, a huge bear emerges from the bushes, only to be scared off by the continued footsteps, which turn out to belong to [[spoiler:an enormous troll.]]
* In ''Videogame/JablessAdventure'', you encounter bears on the trip to TheLostWoods and they're one of the toughest enemies in the game. Then, UnderTheSea, you encounter the SCUBA bear, who's invincible. Finally, in [[LethalLavaLand a volcano]], you encounter a bear with a flamethrower, who's not only invincible but impossible to dodge (you have to find something fire-retardant to block him).
* ''DefenseOfTheAncients'' has Ursa, who is infamous for his instagibbing abilities in casual games, and Syllabear, who can summon a bear and turn into a bear as well. Given the right items and some levels, the latter can [[TheJuggernaut tank, dish out insane dps, permanently immobilize enemies and destroy towers in five seconds flat]].
* ''MegaManZero 2'' had Polar Kamrous, and she's just as "deadly" as her predecessor.
* Indie game ''Enviro Bear 2000'' and its iTunes retouch, ''Enviro Bear 2010'', prove this from the bear's perspective. You play a bear attempting to be more efficient at getting food for hibernation by driving around in a car. [[DrivesLikeCrazy Given the controls, that translates loosely into "smash up the forest in a car."]]
* The [[JustForPun Barren Room]] in ''ColossalCave''. [[spoiler:You can tame the bear. Then the Trope becomes active for the Troll.]]
* In ''LeagueOfLegends'', Annie summoned and a sealed a demon in her teddy bear. When she uses her Ultimate, she summon [[FluffyTheTerrible Tibbers]], a raging demon bear. That's on fire.
** There's also Volibear, the envoy of an entire [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race]] of sentient, humanoid bears. He also [[ShockAndAwe harnesses lightning]] to further empower his already strong attacks.
** Volibear is based on the [[InJoke legendary 'armored bear']] from League beta. It has the 'Chronokeeper Hater' buff, a reference to Zilean the Chronokeeper and the Riot developer Zileas who was supposedly against armored bears.
* ''DefenseOfTheAncients'' has Syllabear, a druid who can shapeshift into a bear and has another bear as a minion. Both bears can buy and equip armor. This answers the question of what could possibly be worse than an armored bear character: a character that is ''two'' armored bears.
* One stage of ''KaoTheKangarooRound2'' involves running from a giant bear while avoiding falling into pits. "Exit, pursued by a bear" indeed.
* With the announcement of Kuma as part of the roster of the upcoming ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', players will finally get to see [[HuskyRusskie Zanghief]] wrestling an actual bear.
* ''VideoGame/ThePerilsOfAkumos'': The whole space station is trying to kill you. What next? Oh. A bear attacks you.
* ''Mother 3'' has the [[LethalJokeItem Honey Shower]] which coats an enemy with honey, causing it to be stung repeatedly by bees for minimal damage. Oh, and sometimes a bear shows up, too. The bear ''doesn't'' inflict "minimal" damage.
* The Black Belt Demon's peat bear in ''RumbleRoses XX'' is unlockable.
* In ''{{Thief}}'', you can eavesdrop on a conversation between two guards about bear fighting as a blood sport. One of the guards laments that bears were ferocious when he was a kid, and the pit owners have to strap hooks and razor collars onto the bears to keep the fights interesting.
* ''VideoGame/AztecWars'' has war bears as one of the Russian units. They're fast and utterly devastating against infantry, but useless against buildings and vehicles.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In episode 12 of ''UnforgottenRealms'', Roamin the Paladin rides to the scene of a big battle on the back of, not just a bear, but Ursa Arkadios, Archduke of the High Bears! Oh, and they're loaded with just about every sword in the rulebook.
* In ''HowToKillAMockingbird'', the pirates' [[LaserBlade laser-swords]] shoot bears that are [[IncendiaryExponent on fire]].
* [[http://www.thefucksociety.com/anim.php?id=bearhello&w=400&h=300 "No, you fool, only bears can have bear powers!"]]
* ''HappyTreeFriends'' has Flippy, a bear who, while on the surface [[CuteAndPsycho appears nice, goes insane now and then and brutally kills the entire cast]].
* The "Bear Holding a [[ThreateningShark Shark]]" from ''HomestarRunner''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=5&issue=9 Did someone mention robot bears]]?
** [[http://www.drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=48&issue=3 Grizzly bear with a midget trying to control it.]]
* {{Bearmageddon}} is essentially "Everything's Worse With Bears: The Webcomic".
* Robots and Bears are a very bad combination in ''BobTheAngryFlower'' since they are natural enemies and need only the slightest provocation to fight to the death.
* A storyline in ''GeneralProtectionFault'''s second year had a hike in the woods ruined by a bear. A [[http://www.gpf-comics.com/archive.php?d=20000414 talking]], [[http://www.gpf-comics.com/archive.php?d=20000421 poetry-writing]] bear.
* The female Jagermonster Jenka from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050606 rides a giant bear]]. This is how you know that [[DarkActionGirl she can kick your sorry ass]].
* The possible inspiration for Jenka and Fust can be found in one of Kaja Foglio's other comics, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/stories/dovrefjell/dovrefjell_01.php ''The Cat On The Dovrefjell'']] which was apparently based on a folk tale and involves a bunch of trolls experiencing this trope first hand.
* In ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'', [[GhibliHills Pitcheresk Forest]] is very beautiful and hanging out there causes CharacterDevelopment... but it also invites [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20080401.html bear attacks.]]
* Combined with ThreateningShark in ''{{Nedroid}}'': [[http://nedroid.com/2009/07/doorway-to-your-inner-self/ I CAN NEVER STOP SCREAMING]].
* Inverted in ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'', regarding the owlbear: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0322.html "Why would anyone crossbreed a perfectly serviceable bear with an owl?"]]
** How does a druid who focuses on spellcasting prepare for melee combat? That's right, by [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0353.html becoming a dire bear]].
* ''PennyArcade'': "We've secretly replaced Gabe's Xbox controller with an ''eight hundred pound grizzly bear''. [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/03/25 Let's see if he notices.]]"
** "Did you order one of those smaller controllers or something? I think I like it better."
* [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1285 One of the most bizarre moodkillers of all time]] appears in ''QuestionableContent'', courtesy of a bear.
* [[MacHall Matt Boyd and Ian Mc Conville]], authors of MacHall and ThreePanelSoul, remind you that this trope also applies to [[http://machall.com/view.php?date=2003-08-18 Morrowind]] and [[http://threepanelsoul.com/view.php?date=2008-05-19 Quebec]].
* As photoshopped by SomethingAwful: [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bears_online.jpg 1 in 5 children online gets eaten by rabid bears]].
* [[TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella Wonderella]] + ThePowerOfRock + [[http://nonadventures.com/2006/10/07/the-500-bearable-lightness-of-being/ 500 Bears]].
* [[http://www.shreddedmoose.com/comic/comic_arc.php?comicID=132 This]] strip of ''ShreddedMoose'' shows that sex is also Worse With Bears.
* In DeadOfSummer, the BigBad attacks our heroes with a zombie grizzly bear. However, since they're CrazyAwesome, they dispatch it pretty quickly.
* Parodied in ''BeaverAndSteve'', where it's taken to [[http://www.beaverandsteve.com/index.php?comic=25 the next level]]
* ''SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' gives us [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1488#comic this]].
* ''CtrlAltDel'' Sillies feature Faildruid, the worst noob in WorldOfWarcraft who also happens to be a bear (and at one point an owl-bear).
* Radic from Webcomic/MurphysLaw occasionally wildshapes into a bear.
* ''CyanideAndHappiness'' warns [[http://www.explosm.net/comics/1365/ bike enthusiasts]]. Also, there's [[http://www.explosm.net/comics/1313/ one creature much worse than an owlbear]].
* The bears in ''YuMeDream'' are enforcers for a fascist dictatorship ruling the dreamworld.
* [[http://i.imgur.com/6tQaU.jpg This anonymous MS Paint comic.]]
* [[http://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook/?date=2011-02-08 This]] ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' filler.
** A bear, with a accordion, on a pogo stick! My greatest fear!
* ''{{Roza}}'' [[http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2009-09-14 Just what you want to interrupt your fight.]]
* In ''BirdBoy'', after you [[ForbiddenFruit go into the]] LostWoods and stumble on the AbandonedArea, [[http://bird-boy.com/volume-1-page-20 naturally you get a bear]].
* [[LookingForGroup I'm a]] [[http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/134 bearlock now.]]
* In ''SamuraiPrincess'' when pondering what is inside a treasure chest, Jacquline says it could be a bear. Cue imagination spot.
* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/04-27.html Perrault climbs a tree and November feigns fainting]], and even the bear's nice manners can't induce them not to fear this trope.
* In ''OurLittleAdventure'', [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0237.html scouting the woods turns up bears, which is noted.]]
* In ''Webcomic/LaserFeet'', a bear stars in the test pattern used when the creator is unable to upload that week's comic, for whatever reason, as seen [[http://www.thelaserfeet.com/comic/003/ here]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* There's the MemeticMutation image that illustrates this page... [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Bear_cavalry which gets some responses]].
* The ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' has several examples of this trope:
** Render is an animalistic, bear-like [[AxeCrazy psycho-villain]] who likes the taste of human blood.
** ''Coach Bear'', the gym teacher at the [[SuperheroSchool Hyperion Academy]], used to be the superhero known as "Kodiak".
** Ursa is a Russian superhero who can turn into a polar bear.
* In ''More TalesOfMU'', bears are the only animal that the [[CantArgueWithElves typically arrogant elves]] will not hunt:
-->'''Iason:''' And did nobody ever think to teach you anything about bears?\\
'''Jamie:''' Not to mess with them.\\
'''Iason:''' That will do for a beginning.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfNU7AgSVQM Violated by Bears Man]]'s origin.
* That's not important. Let's focus on [[http://jerslater.blogspot.com/2006/06/on-follow-up-calls.html RAPEBEAR]].
** And [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pedobear#.Tc2ZEc0Zwno Pedobear.]]
* What's more terrifying than a Vampire riding a zombie Dragon? [[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/5677925/ VAMPIRE BEARS RIDING ZOMBIE DRAGONS!]]
* But...[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loyuW_nYGIc what if there's bears?]]
* Fan Fiction: [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4988255/1/Halflife_Fulllife_Consequences_Free_Man John Freeman]] got quiet then dropped weapon and said "I have to kill fast and bullets too slow" and started killing Combines with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULWgEnnmcv4 bear hands.]]
* There is a common joke among ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'' handlers that inactive characters are killed and eaten by an "Inactivity Bear". Also, in her first post, version 4 character Maria Graham has a dream where she was actually "Robo-Bear 5000", which was, of course, a robotic bear disguised as a student and was going to avenge its kidnapping.
** Of course, when Version 4's [[spoiler:Megan Nelson]] went [[SureWhyNot inactive]]...
* College Humor reminds us that [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1940966 Cartoon Bears are still bears.]]
* The Russian Internet meme [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/preved-medved Preved Medved (Hello Bear).]]
* [[http://puns.icanhascheezburger.com/2010/10/01/funny-puns-grizzly-violence/ Bears]] [[GearsOfWar of War]].
** The newest [[BadHumorTruck Good Humor flavor]]: [[http://cheezburger.com/View/3600008704 StrawBEARies and SCREAM!]]
* There is such thing as a ''[[http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1809479 Bear Attack Flowchart]]''.
* WhateleyUniverse: the Mediwhila native American tribe just off the grounds of [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] are Weres. But the leader's boyfriend is a Werebear. Do not mess with this guy.
* This is a running joke in the online web series LoadingReadyRun where Kathleen, one of the people in comedy group, has what she describes as a "completely rational fear" of bears.
* This [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/entries/icons/original/000/001/075/AUCrI.png?1255529734 Picture sums up the worst of the worst.]]
* CerberusDailyNews has Brizzly, a sapient, biotic grizzly.
* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
* An episode of ''WhatTheFuckIsWrongWithYou'' featured a story about a man who wanted to find a bear, kill a bear, wear the bear's skin, and then maul his ex-girlfriend to death to make it look like some sort of freak bear attack. Nash was quick to point out the flaws in this plan.
--> '''Nash''': Number one, it's a bear. Number two, it's a bear. Number three, and probably most important... HOLY SHIT, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! IT'S A GODDAMNED BEAR!
* The SCPFoundation currently maintains three "ursine"-tagged subjects: [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1549 SCP-549]], which would be a normal grizzly if it weren't 17 centimetres long; [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1048 SCP-1048]], a sapient teddy bear that can use any material to make more of itself; and [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1055 "Bugsy,"]] a grizzly that gets bigger and more aggressive the [[YourMindMakesItReal more people know about it]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The bear who fights the title character and his daughter in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'' sequel. Thanks to his embodiment of an animal totem, he comes across as more of a spirit guide, but he's still fairly menacing and seems to believe ScareEmStraight is the best way to guide them.
** The first movie had a fight with a bear near the beginning of Balto's journey to find the medicine, and the bear was portrayed as outright ''demonic''.
** Even though they are cubs and thus good the polar bears Muk and Luk pretty much spell this trope for their babysitter, [[MorallyAmbiguousDucktorate "Uncle" Boris]] (who at one point says "I hate bears!"). Good thing that they apparently are stuck as cubs forever (if the time between the movie and sequels is of any indication)
* Parodied in ''TheSimpsons'', where a bear wandering around Springfield, not even getting angry once, causes enough of a panic to lead to an extensive (and costly) bear watch program.
** In a more straightforward example, Homer is traumatized by a bear attack, and even has nightmares of being attacked by vicious teddy bears.
-->'''Homer:''' Are you a Care Bear?\\
'''Care Bear:''' (takes out a crowbar and starts tapping it) I'm an Intensive Care Bear.\\
'''Homer:''' Why does a bear need a crowbar?\\
'''Care Bear:'''...I don't like to get my hands dirty.
** There was also a bear with a ''chainsaw''. {{Chainsaw| Good}} ''[[ChainsawGood bad]]''. In the episode where Mr. Burns and the Rich Texan were destroying the environment. Kent Brockman announced that "Smokey the Bear" is now "Choppy the Lumberjack". Cut to a bear in a lumberjack get-up cutting a tree with a chainsaw, while an activist protested to his actions behind him. Choppy backhanded him angrily and revved up his chainsaw.
** In another episode, Bart and Lisa are stuck in a forest fire. Homer arrives in a helicopter, and let down a rope ladder. Before the kids can climb it, a bear shoulders them aside and climbs the ladder himself (only being stopped from reaching the chopper by Homer cutting the rope).
** One of Homer's dream sequences involves him as "Homey the Bear", a WesternAnimation/YogiBear parody in both appearance and animation style. Not so bad, until Homey proceeds to brutally maul Ranger Ned (Flanders).
** Kent Brockman reported in season 7 about a bear who stowed away on a space shuttle that is now terrorizing the astronauts.
** One of the most infamous cases of this trope took place in the episode, "Homer vs. Dignity." While pulling a prank for Mr. Burns that was an in-universe example of PandaingToTheAudience, a male panda mistook a panda costume-clad Homer for a female and implicitly raped him.
* A RunningGag among many 11-minute AdultSwim animated comedies; the ones that happen to be related to each other by same way (usually creative staff). It started with an episode of ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' with Space Ghost brawling a bear; then became a prominent character in ''PerfectHairForever'' and spread from there.
-->'''[[{{Squidbillies}} Granny]]:''' And then the Lord made bears. Lots of bears... Too many bears. Should've dialed back on the bears... And so, he dialed back on the bears!
* ''{{Catscratch}}'' has a bear for a recurring character. His most basic purpose is to make the cats' lives suck.
* ''ClerksTheAnimatedSeries'': Who is driving? Oh my god, bear is driving! How can that be?"
* ''DannyPhantom'' just couldn't do with a regular bear, they had to make it a ''mutated ghostly one with four arms!''.
* ''FamilyGuy'': OH MY GOD, THERE'S A BEAR IN MY OATMEAL!
* The climax of ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound''. Where a bear is portrayed as some demonic beast spawned from the depths of Hell.
* In ''HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' Birdman is tasked with defending Boo Boo Bear, or as he's also known, "[[MadBomber the Unibooboo]]".
-->'''Phil Ken Sebben:''' He's a bear! Buster Brown and his Hairy Hollyknockers! Have you ever tried to bring one down?
** May be an example of an ActorAllusion, as Phil's voice actor is Stephen Colbert.
** Averted with ... the bear, who mostly stands around, and usually leads the OhCisco moment at the end of the shows.
*** In one episode, "[[ActorAllusion Phil belives the Bear is pure evil and stealing from him]]."
* Grier in ''{{Huntik}}'' has a bear Titan named [[MeaningfulName Breaker]]. With [[MultiArmedAndDangerous four arms]] and SpikesOfVillainy. Yeah, Grier's a pretty {{badass}} AntiVillain.
* An episode of ''JohnnyBravo'' has Johnny run into a talking bear who claimed to be '''''[[LargeHam Chronos, Master of All Time!!]]'''''
* In the ChristmasEpisode of ''KimPossible'', [[{{Sidekick}} Ron]] and [[HarmlessVillain Dr. Drakken]] are stuck in the Arctic. So how do you top that? You add a vicious polar bear.
* In the second season finale of ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', Orel's father Clay gets drunk, accidentally shoots Orel, and promptly passes out after Orel [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him out]]. It is only ''then'' that a grizzly appears and begins sniffing around the camp. When Clay's drunken sleep-muttering attracts the bear's attention to them, Orel reluctantly empties the revolver he has to kill the bear and save his father.
* One ''RobotChicken'' sketch [[SugarApocalypse featured the Care Bears brutally massacring the non-bear Care Bear Cousins]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Raven spends much of the episode "Hide and Seek" in disbelief that Melvin's imaginary friend Bobby is real, instead believing Melvin is telekinetic and won't admit it. Then Monsieur Mallah kidnaps Melvin and the other kids, and we learn that Bobby is not only real, he's a nightmarish teddy bear with super-strength. Beatdown ensues.
** Beast Boy also tends to turn into a bear (among other ferocious creatures) when he's angry enough.
* ''[[ScoobyDoo Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo]]'' featured an episode titled "The Hairy Scare of the Devil Bear", which is [[NothingIsScarier about]] [[HellIsThatNoise this]] [[PrimalFear trope]]! Quite scary.
* ''SpongebobSquarepants'' has Squidward running afoul of an [[HairTriggerTemper easily-provoked]] Seabear in "The Camping Episode": "DON'T RUN, SEABEARS HATE THAT!"
-->'''Squidward:''' What'd I do that time?!\\
'''Spongebob:''' I don't know! Maybe he just doesn't like you!
* ''BeavisAndButthead'': On a camping trip, a bear mauls Mr. Van Driesen, and cuts his song about men's feelings to an abrupt halt -- and it's the high point of the trip for Beavis, Butthead, and even Stuart.
* ''CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'' has living gummy bears trying to take out a FlyingCar gremlin style, until being stopped by a gummy bear loving [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys monkey]].
* Seemingly played straight in ''BrotherBear'', when the main character sees bears as irritations at first and goes on to full-blown hatred towards them after one inadvertently caused his brother's death. Subverted when he turns into one and finds out that bears actually aren't so terrible.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'': Dogbert hosts a TV financial round-table. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXKqR2VXHYY With 3 financial specialists and one drunken bear.]]
* Subverted in ''[[SouthPark]]'' when a MamaBear carries off several [[ItMakesSenseInContext Jewish Cub Scouts]]...to be guests at a birthday party for her cub.
** In the battle of the YouTube stars, Sneezing Panda kills three of his opponents.
* One of the bears that appeared in Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' mauled Cody to the point where he had to wear a body cast.
** In the third season, ItGetsWorse: the bear learns how to use [[ChainsawGood the chainsaw]].
* In ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'', there's an episode that Space Ghost is attacked by a bear, because there's a shark in the set. According to his [[ArtisticLicenseBiology educational documentary]] sharks like to walk along with bear, so the shark, named "Kentucky Nightame", attracts him.
* Supposedly played straight in ''AlphaAndOmega'', but ultimately a subversion; if such bears can be defeated by wolves with anime hair, then they clearly don't pose a threat at all (wolves are far too weak to even scratch a grizzly, so...).
** Though [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf#Enemies_and_competitors this]] proves otherwise.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' crosses over this trope with (arguably, due to the nature of this trope) ArsonMurderAndJaywalking. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxkoCKRgHv8 In song.]]
-->''Billy! He's the greatest warrior ever, a hero of renown! Who slayed an evil ocean, who cast the Lich King down! [...] Also...'' '''''He fought a bear!'''''
* In Hero108, [[TheBigBad High Roller]]'s henchmen (other than the [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Zebra twins]]) are an army of bears! They are seen as his henchmen. Especially their king being [[TheDragon High Roller's sidekick in evil]].
* In ''TheVentureBrothers'', the Revenge Society is recruiting new members, and during the TerribleIntervieweesMontage, one of the interviewees is a bear. Or possibly a guy in a bear costume. Either way, it's covered in blood, looks freaky as hell, and just stands there, not speaking or doing anything. Phantom Limb, Professor Impossible, and Baron Underbeit, experienced supervillains, are scared shitless. And then it pulls out a knife.
** In another episode, Brock fights a team of Vatican Swiss Guard bears.
** And in another episode The Monarch forces a prostitute into a deathtrap gauntlet. Featuring the polar bear from Lost.
* On ''{{Jimmy Two-Shoes}}'', Lucius punishes [[YesMan Samy]] with a bear on a stick. It eats him, chews him up, and spits him out.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Stan has both his legs ripped off by a vicious polar bear, after being pushed in by the bear's tank by Roger, who wanted to save Stan and pretend to be a hero, so he'd let him move back in with him.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', "Boast Busters" sees Twilight Sparkle forced to deal with an Ursa Major, a huge, terrifying blue bear as big as a house and ''[[EldritchAbomination made of stars]]'', thanks to two none-too-bright pony boys who wanted to see [[MilesGloriosus boastful magician]] Trixie take one on. [[spoiler:It turns out that was only an Ursa Minor, merely a cranky baby. The real Ursa Major, its mother, is bigger, scarier, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and purple]].]]
* Joe Bear in the [[TexAveryMGMCartoons Tex Avery-directed cartoon]], "Rock-a-Bye Bear".
* There was an animated BeastFable adaptation of TomSawyer where Injun' Joe (or just Joe) was portrayed as a bear.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the larger of the two [[TeamPet team pets]] is Naga, a [[MixAndMatchCritters Polar]] [[EverythingsWorseWithBears Bear]] [[CanineCompanion Dog]]. Korra is distinct in that she's the first to be able to [[FluffyTamer tame such a beast]]. Korra can and does use Naga as an intimidation tool, and Naga is fiercely protective of Korra.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Other]]
* {{Radiohead}}'s album Kid A's marketing campaign told a vague but disturbing story about genetically modified bears killing everyone. The "Radiohead Bear" has remained the band's logo ever since.
* They're learning ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghgg_fukbvU&feature=related Kung Fu]]'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjAQqZrGcg now]]. We're all gonna die.
* These [[http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11925074644#!/group.php?gid=11925074644&v=photos traditional American values]]
* Preying on public fear and stereotypes, the following hoax[[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026914/Mum-bear-eating--Final-phone-calls-woman-19-eaten-alive-brown-bear-cubs.html]] describes a 19-year old Russian girl and her stepfather get eaten alive by a literal MamaBear and cubs.
* Several sports teams such as the Memphis (originally Vancouver) Grizzlies (basketball), the Chicago Cubs (baseball), the Chicago Bears (football), and the Boston Bruins (hockey).
** In AustralianRulesFootball, the Brisbane Bears failed at this, by having a koala as their mascot. [[ArtisticLicenseBiology Koalas are not bears]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* The Nazis probably felt this way about [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/voytek.html Voytek]]. A bear... [[DarkerAndEdgier that drinks, smokes, fights, and carries ammo]].
* Try to read all the way through [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America this page]] without getting the chills. Some standout incidents include:
** The woman who climbed onto her roof when the bear broke into her cabin. It ''[[SuperPersistentPredator followed her onto the roof]]'' and killed her. Nowhere is safe...
** The one where a bear broke the necks of two campers, dragged them off, and ate part of them. When police found the bear five days later...it was ''guarding and protecting their corpses''. Somehow the [[{{Yandere}} really disturbing implications]] of that last bit make this one even creepier.
** The bear who apparently ripped the door off of a trailer to get to the man inside.
** The bear who dragged a five-month-old ''off of the porch of her house'' and killed her.
** And of course the one where [[NothingIsScarier the only information they give us]] is that "his/her partially consumed remains were found." Especially scary is the guy whose half-eaten body was found ''in a campground'' when people woke up the next morning, or the one where "days later, searchers found his campsite with his bare skeleton, one intact hand, and both feet, still booted."
** And then there's the guy who managed to drag himself 1.5 miles to a meadow to die after being mauled and partially eaten.
* The Russian animal symbol is the bear. This trope was used in an American political ad during the Cold War asking, "If there's a bear in the woods, what are you going to do about it?" more or less.
* You know the scientific name for the grizzly bear? ''Ursus arctos horribilis''.
* The English from the time ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' was written avoided even naming the bear. In several languages (including French, English, German, Finnish, and Russian), there was a taboo about even saying "bear" for fear that [[SpeakOfTheDevil it would summon one]]. Thus, there's usually at least one euphemism that survives to this day for them to keep that from happening (in English, the most common one is "bruin", literally "brown one"). In medieval Russia, the word ''medved'' (honey-eater), which is itself an euphemism for the now-lost original word for "bear", itself got tabooed. Instead of naming the animal directly, people would refer to it with nicknames, either endearingly-pejorative ("the hairy one", "the clumsy one") or respectful ("the master"); a common practice was to give it a similar-sounding human name ("Mikhail [[{{Patronymic}} Potapych]]", "Misha").
* There's a ''reason'' the expression "loaded for bear" pretty much means "carrying the biggest damn gun you can get your hands on." In the muzzle-loading days, it meant cramming in extra powder. It takes quite a lot to put a bear down and there's a lot of TakingYouWithMe potential if you don't get it right.
* Campgrounds in the more remote areas of Canada typically offer literature and even lectures by the park ranger on proper bear safety. Despite this, examples abound of tourists failing to take rules like "don't keep food in the tent" and "don't get between a mother bear and her cubs" seriously and paying a heavy price.
* As depicted in ''Film/GrizzlyMan'', Timothy Treadwell had been hanging around bears for a long long time and filming them until two finally ate him and his girlfriend. Before that he apparently had such a way that he could get close to cubs without hitting the momma's BerserkButton. Guess it doesn't matter how much a strong connection you have to nature when there's a food shortage...
* StephenColbert puts bears in the Threat Down for a very good reason. (See page quote, also Phil Ken Sebben's dislike of bears.) WordOfGod says his fear of them is partly based on a recurring dream, and partly on the movie ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067388/ Man in the Wilderness]]''. Also partly because his father, who was a doctor, used a hypothetical bear-mauling as an example of the kind of thing you can brush off with ease with the aid of modern medicine. Which explains the FridgeBrilliance of his referring to pundit BillOReilly as 'papa bear'. Bears are the number one threat to America, and Billo [[TropeCodifier is largely responsible for]] the modern TV personality Colbert professes to parody. Therefore, ''He's the greatest of the greatest threats to America''.
* When the Stock Market goes down, it's said to be in a ''bear'' market. It's said to be a reference to the way they attack; they swipe ''down'' with their paw.
* Legendary NFL linebacker Dick Butkus was dubbed "The Most Feared Man in the Game." Who did he play for? That's right, the Chicago Bears.
* A Russian circus manager was killed by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNsqkmHxpEE an ice skating bear.]]
* A group of armed militants in Kashmir [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8339549.stm stopped to have some pudding in a cave hideway...shared by a bear]]. The bear killed two and severely injured a third.
** To clarify, the cave was shared, not the pudding.
*** Note: This may be why the bear attacked.
* In Finnish, an infuriated person is said to be "mad as a bear shot in the arse".
* Gold Rush miners used to pit bears against everything. The bear always won so they got bored and imported some lions. The lion would roar and charge, the bear would crush their skull with one blow.
* The Lewis and Clark expedition experienced Grizzly bears for the first time when they were exploring the west. "Experienced" here meaning "coming across a creature so incredibly strong they were unable to kill it with all of their guns and had to hide up trees until it left." Note that climbing a tree is not a foolproof solution to bears. Bears, even grizzlies, have been known to climb trees, too. And even standing on the ground, a big bear can reach as much as 10 feet into a tree.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankebetsu_brown_bear_incident The Sankebetsu brown bear incident]]. Not at all a page to read before going to bed.
* Bear-hunting was a favourite pastime of medieval Russian princes. Subverted in that, with armed retainers, clever tactics, and special-issue anti-bear spears (special ''rogatina''s with oak handles and silver heads), it actually wasn't all that difficult to kill a bear. Pseudo-Demetrius I, the wacky early 17th century impostor that threw the country into bloody infighting, was very popular with the commoners of Moscow because of his badass stunt where he used his freakish strength to not only stop a bear in mid-pounce with his rogatina (that was standard practice), but also ''throw it backwards over his head''. So if bears wrote TVTropes, they would have to make a trope for "Everything Is Worse With Russian Princes and Political Opportunists That Pretend To Be Such".
* Berserkers. Norse warriors who, among other rituals, went into battle wearing bearskins. The Norse were scary enough, but God help you if you were attacked by a berserker.
* Sort of a weird example, but [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLykQrCLKE8 this]] is SFW, yet so...bizarre.
* Water bears. That [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1054351/Tiny-water-bears-creatures-survive-space.html cannot be killed by the harsh vacuum or cosmic radiation of space]], or much of anything else.
* In 2006 a brown bear nicknamed "Bruno" by the press became something of a ''cause célèbre'' when it wandered into southern UsefulNotes/{{Germany}} from UsefulNotes/{{Austria}}. Bruno was extremely large and aggressive, showing a particular fondness for killing (but not eating) domestic animals. The fumbling attempts of the [[TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Bavarian]] government to deal with him (particularly Minister-President [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWcIimwhkr8 Edmund Stoiber's description]] of him as a "''Problembär''" ("problem bear")) attracted a great amount of derision. Bruno was finally shot to death by government marksmen.
* And now they're joyriding in [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10753021 your car]]
* Subversion: Recently there was a drug bust of a Marijuana farm guarded [[NoKillLikeOverkill by 10 black bears]]. They were so docile and domesticated that all that happened was that one of them sat on a cop car's hood for an hour, and then they just watched everything.
* For the prehistoric giant cave bear this was inverted. For them everything was worse with [[HumansAreBastards humans]]. [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11096945 We pushed them out of their living space and then hunted them to extinction]].
** While that was going on in Eurasia, Paleo-Indians had to deal with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctodus Giant Short-Faced Bears]], 1800-pound brutes that were twice as tall as humans when standing upright.
* As if WorldWarIII wouldn't be bad enough, consider the fact it was almost started [[http://io9.com/5664390/5-times-we-almost-nuked-ourselves-by-accident by a bear]].
* Despite their cute appearance, pandas are still bears, and they will [[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/drunk-man-mauled-by-panda/story-e6frg6uo-1111112247263 maul you for hugging them]] unless they've been [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH_xFEWvyu4 trained for that.]]
* Most large carnivores attempt to avoid contact with humans unless they learn that humans are an easy source of food (either scavenging human refuse or hunting humans). Polar bears don't make any effort to avoid humans and appear to consider them to be exactly the same as everything else that's not another polar bear: food.
** There is an old Inuit story of a woman who went to live among strange people. She became a burden, and so they placed her in a boat, took her out to sea and cast her overboard. She struggled to regain the side of the boat, but they cut off her fingers to keep her away. As she died in the water, she became Sedna, the godess of the sea and mother of all beasts. Her fingers became the walrus and seals and whales that the people would hunt to eat. But her middle finger became the white bear. When the other animals see a man, they try to run away. But when the white bear sees a man, he is filled with revenge and tries to kill the person who he believes murdered the woman from whose finger he was born. Wise Inuit stay away from the white bear...
* Subverted with [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1890462 this]] video. Apparently, they make hockey better.
* The [[http://www.nonstopsnow.com/blog/stuff-we-like/svalbard-ski-marathon/ Svalbard Ski Marathon]]: probably the only annual sporting event where the entire track has to be surveilled by armed guards to stop polar bears from eating the competitors.
* Everything's worse with a bear market, despite financial advisors' [[https://www.edwardjones.com/groups/ejw_content/@ejw/@us/@graphics/documents/web_content/web034039.pdf attempts to subvert the trope]].
* TheBigShow currently uses a bear as his logo.
* One of the knights who killed Thomas Becket was Reginald [=fitsUrse=], "son of the bear".
[[/folder]]
----
--> ''[[{{Shakespeare}} Exit]], [[Theatre/TheWintersTale pursued by a bear.]]''
%%Please do not change or remove without starting a new thread.
[[quoteright:350:[[Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/TheFoxAndTheHoundBear_350.jpg]]]]
->''"I do fear bears. They're giant, marauding, godless killing machines."''\\
-- StephenColbert, on bears.
Want to make a bad situation worse? Add a bear!
Just as [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys monkeys]] and [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins penguins]] are guaranteed to make something funnier or cuter, bears have a knack for scaring the crap out of everyone. Being the largest extant land-based predators in the world, with a penchant for aggressive behavior, might be a reason for that (polar bears, the largest of bear species, can weigh up to ''1500 pounds'' and have been known to hunt walruses and belukha whales). Because of this, throwing a bear into a scene is the best way to let the audience know that our heroes [[ItGotWorse have gone beyond rock bottom]] and are now totally screwed.
It's also a great way to raise the credentials of your villain or AntiHero if you give them a bear. Especially as a mount, because there's nothing more cool than riding a bear.
... Except maybe a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot robot bear or zombie bear, or a bear made of fire or ice]]. [[ThreateningShark Or a shark]], or a [[EverythingsWorseWithWolves wolf pack]], or [[EverythingsWorseWithBees bees]], whose honey is bound to attract the bears.
Note that this trope only seems to apply to adult bears. Cubs are treated in the same way other cute cuddly animals would be treated. [[PandaingToTheAudience Pandas as well]], [[YetAnotherBabyPanda regardless of age]]. Polar bears also tend to get a bit less of a bad rap than brown bears and black bears; their prominence in shows dealing with their vulnerability to melting ice caps makes them TheWoobie in some people's eyes. [[hottip:*:Ironically, polar bears are just as dangerous as any other bear, if not more so, considering that they're a predatory species that hunts for fun. Pandas aren't really so nice in real life either.]]
Compare with GrumpyBear, where a bear can't get the respect it deserves and MamaBear, where the bear will make things worse for you when you mess with her cubs.
Bears have such a long history of scaring the [[AWorldwidePunomenon Pooh]] out of human beings that most of the names we've ever given them are derived from [[FluffyTheTerrible conciliatory euphemisms]], as part of an old taboo against [[SpeakOfTheDevil naming something so dangerous]]. The English word 'bear' originally meant "brown one", and the Slavic word ''medved'' originally meant "honey eater". The original [[HistoryOfEnglish Proto-Indo-European]] word such words are avoiding [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear#Etymology was related to the word for "harm" or "injury"]], proving [[OlderThanFeudalism just how ancient]] this particular PrimalFear is.
Do not confuse this with [[TheBear the gay slang]] for a big hairy ManlyGay guy, who are mostly not scary. In [[DeathWorld Australia]], you should watch out for {{Drop Bear}}s.
The subversion of this would be BearyFunny, or perhaps a [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teddy_bear teddy bear]], [[SealedEvilInATeddyBear but even]] [[KillerTeddyBear then...]]
----
!!Examples
[[foldercontrol]]
[[folder:Advertising]]
* An old Pepsi commercial had five bears emerging from the wilderness to terrorize a small town by spelling out "Pepsi" in a distinctly "YMCA"-style dance. After the townspeople fearfully comply to the beasts' request, a man remarks, "We'll be helpless if they ever learn the Macarena."
* Is it any wonder that Sugar Bear is the only cereal mascot who successfully runs off anyone who tries to take his Golden Crisp as opposed to all the other sorry saps like Lucky and the Trix Rabbit?
** During the sugar-is-now-evil transition from Super Sugar Crisp to Super Golden Crisp in the 1980s, Sugar Bear could turn himself into Super Bear. Super Bear was basically a realistic-looking grizzly bear with no traces of cuddliness whatsoever. Eventually, Post figured out that a scary carnivore might not be the best mascot for a children's cereal, and the concept was dropped.
*** Webcomic ''BreakfastOfTheGods'' takes advantage of that brief time that [[http://www.webcomicsnation.com/poyorick/botg3/series.php?view=archive&chapter=39874 Super Bear was scary]].
** In the early '60s, when Sugar Bear became a sweater-wearing hipster, his tv ads showed him barging into sweet old Granny's house and stealing her cereal. A thieving nuisance, but at least he was mellow and good-natured.
* According to the Boston Bruins hockey team, if you do not follow the unwritten rules and etiquette of being a hockey fan, a giant bear ''will'' find you and [[http://sports.yahoo.com/nhl/blog/puck_daddy/post/Video-If-they-awarded-the-Stanley-Cup-for-comme?urn=nhl,155269 kick your ass]]. And when it's done doing that, [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8Vn35Ybr90 it will dance]].
** The bear has since become the team's commercial mascot, as it has been shown [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZGp8i6fBE4 promoting new jerseys]], rallying fans for a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZGp8i6fBE4 new]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U17OEcbSPkg season]], [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOPjs6U4C_A celebrating Christmas]] and even doing [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EHALHEqnQRw a little exercise]]. But it still finds time [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwchenZolCE to]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7P9xU_09Ko punish]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ewUXalRDcgc those]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XiI0mqCZMY8 who]] violate good hockey fan behavior.
* Want someone to bully campers into putting out their fires?
* McDonalds is apparently so delicious that even bears will attack your car for it.
* Advertising/{{Orangina}} has a dancing bear for its [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bi3erz2Ek8 commercial]] who is about to attack a doe... until he sees the doe drinking Orangina!
* [[TemptingFate How could a]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v6iHCFiSqIw Panda Bear be evil?]]
* Australian rum brand Bundaberg Rum features a polar bear as its mascot, the Bundy Bear, who prominently features in their advertising. Things do tend to be worse with "Bundy" around, but that's got more to do with how he's an enormous {{Troll}} to tourists.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0NE_4y-bQn8 This bear working in the movie business]] is almost a [[BearyFunny subversion]], weren't it for the [[PrimaDonnaDirector occasional tantrum]]. Also, he seems to be very fond of StuffBlowingUp.
* A Capri-Sun commercial has a kid beating a giant cyborg bear with the straw from his pouch.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Anime & Manga]]
* Bizarrely drawn (and bizarrely voiced...seriously, they emit some kind of ''screech'' instead of growling) bears shows up several times in ''[[JungleWaItsumoHaleNochiGuu Haré+Guu]]''. [[spoiler:Actually, this is counted as normal for this anime.]]
* Senri in ''Manga/PlusAnima''. Especially when [[spoiler:his eyepatch comes off on a large mountain and he starts attacking everyone]]. The only way it stopped was [[spoiler:by both the PowerOfFriendship and Cooro putting his EyepatchOfPower back on.]]
* Sherwood the Monster Princess (not Hime, her sister) from ''PrincessResurrection'' has blood-immortal empowered bears as her Servants. They have, for example, ripped to shreds an army of lesser vampires.
* ''Anime/{{Pokemon}}'' has Ursaring, a giant grizzly bear Pokémon that is easily annoyed during mating season, being awakened during hibernation, [[HairTriggerTemper or just on general principle]]. It has one of the highest attack base stats in the game. Also, it can [[FrickinLaserBeams fire laser beams]] [[BreathWeapon from its mouth]]. A memorable episode of ''Pokémon'' has the entire cast chased around a forest by enraged Ursaring during a time when they were preparing to give birth.
** Fittingly, it's one of the best Pokémon for the move Frustration. And if it's [[StandardStatusEffects crippled]] by an opponent, it doubles either its attack strength or its [[LightningBruiser speed]].
** Ash's rival Paul has one of these Ursaring. It has actually caused one of Ash's Pokémon to lose consciousness out of fear. And how it battles; if it had a nickname, it would be Rape Bear.
*** Considering Ash is still a kid, wouldn't it be Pedobear?
*** Ursaring cares not for his victim's age or general look. He merely destroys.
** There is also the Johto League Champions episode "[=UnBEARable=]", which features the group coming across a wild Teddiursa who uses its cuteness and Charm attack to great effect on trainers. That and it has the nasty habit of stealing a Trainer's food and putting the blame on one of the Trainer's Pokémon. It evolves into Ursaring at the end of the episode, and everyone thinks that it won't be able to play its tricks anymore. Of course, Team Rocket are still enticed by its Charm at the end.
*** It [[JustForPun bears]] mentioning that, even though said Ursaring still tries to invoke CutenessOverload, the effect is lost on Team Rocket. The fact that Ursaring tend to be fearsome, strong Pokémon is the reason why they let it join them.
* Even ''RanmaOneHalf'' includes an unbearable example. While in the original manga, Ranma fought Cologne on the beach while she ''summoned a shark to assist her'', in the anime, the fight instead takes place in a mountain resort, where in an even more outlandish fashion, she creates an ice sculpture of a bear that she can levitate and use to attack on a whim.
** When Ranma, Genma, and Soun need to retrieve the scroll of a DangerousForbiddenTechnique from a women's {{Onsen| Episode}} before [[TricksterMentor Happosai]] does, they have the bright idea of painting Genma's cursed form (an 7-foot-tall panda bear) to resemble a huge, voracious bear and scare off the women. Unfortunately, the only paint they had on hand was ''white''...
-->"[[MisplacedWildlife Who ever heard of polar bears in Japan]]?"
:::Cue the beatings.
** In the manga, Ryū Kumon is introduced by soundly beating up an escaped bear that was attacking Nodoka (before Ranma could even intervene).
** Let's not forget Genma himself, turns into a giant panda when wet, and one of the worst AbusiveParents ever. Of course, he already had that (dis)honor before he was cursed...
* In ''{{Sekirei}}'', the animal avatar that represents Musubi is a bear. Musubi herself is the {{Determinator}} type, and the Bear-Fist is one of her attacks.
** For Minato, [[AWorldwidePunomenon Everything's Worse With Bares]].
* In ''KoihimeMusou'''s HotSpringsEpisode, Rinrin comes across a bear that she thinks is a [[PetBabyWildAnimal little cub she raised when she was a kid]]. It isn't. Cue fleeing from angry bear.
* In ''KamenNoMaidGuy'', after training in the mountains, Naeka feels as though she could take on a bear. She finds herself staring down a growling grizzly moments later, courtesy of Kogarashi. Turns out she's not as ready as she thought.
* A similar incident occurs in ''[[KenichiTheMightiestDisciple History's Strongest Disciple Kenichi]]''. Kenichi, annoyed by his training in the mountains, throws a rock at what he ''thinks'' is his eldest master secretly watching him. It turns out to be, you guessed it, a bear. Despite being a fan of How-To books, Kenichi does ''exactly'' the wrong things in trying to escape this particular bear.
* ''MahouSenseiNegima'' takes the MamaBear to literal levels, having a bear named Mama serve as the ApronMatron in charge of Ako, Akira, and Natsumi. She beats up anyone who dares abuse the girls serving under her.
** Earlier in the series, Negi along with {{Ninja}} Kaede (only he was scared) are chased through the woods by a bear while carrying a giant cookable mushroom.
* The anime ''SilverFang'' features bears in the role of antagonists, which is somewhat logical considering that the protagonist is an ''Akita'' bear-dog. The BigBad, Aka Kabuto, is particularly demonic in aspect, being an insane, one-eyed, red-haired grizzly-bear.
** You would be too if you had a bullet in your brain, fucking up your winter sleep forcing you to stay awake the whole year.
* Teddy Bomber from the ''CowboyBebop'' episode "Cowboy Funk".
* In ''FutakoiAlternative'' a loan shark walks around with a polar bear for some extra muscle.
* One of the most famous scenes in ''HajimeNoIppo'' has Takamura ''fighting'' against an angry bear to save his own life, after Ippo and the other Kamogawa boxers ran away from it when all of them were training in the mountains. Takamura actually ''wins'' against the bear in a [[CrowningMomentOfFunny hilarious]] and [[CrowningMomentOfAwesome awesome]] moment. Despite that, Takamura spares the bears life after he sees it's actually a MamaBear with two cubs crying for it. The whole incident leaves Takamura with three giant scars on his chest and gaining him the title "Bear Slayer" after the thing hits the news. It also doubles with the RememberWhenYouBlewUpASun trope, as Takamura never shies away from reminding others that ''beat a goddamn bear''.
* In ''MyHeavenlyHockeyClub'', the hockey club runs afoul of a bear during a trip in the woods... and it makes a strong connection with Hana. Eventually they try to teach it to play field hockey so they can use it as a goalie in an upcoming game... but contrary to what they'd hoped, it's immediately noticed to be a bear and carted off, perpetuating the RunningGag of the team never getting to actually play a single game.
* ''TheWorldIsMine'' has an overall bear motif: A giant bear-like creature called Hakumadon is attacking Japan, rampaging through whole towns and turning anyone who encounters it into slurry ("My daughter followed my mother into the woods and they both came back ''in a bucket!''"). One of the two MadBomber {{Serial Killer}}s, [[ChaoticEvil Mon]], always carries a stuffed teddy bear which is implied to be the only friend he had as a child. When Mon encounters Hakumadon, his partner Toshi dies and he gets shredded... but both miraculously survive, the only evidence being Mon's slashed teddy bear. When Mon and Hakumadon meet ''again'', another character thinks he sees Mon once more getting killed, but again he survives. A few characters wonder if Hakumadon is a god sent to [[GaiasVengeance reclaim the earth]] or that it and [[FanNickname Toshi+Mon]] are in a "killing contest". [[spoiler:In reality, Hakumadon is an American shock-and-awe weapon/robot that went out of control -- imagine the Big Dog rig but three stories tall, covered in shaggy fur with yard-long teeth and claws]]. Appears to have been inspired by the "Sankebetsu Brown Bear Incident" (see Real Life).
* TheBeastmaster Maeda Matsu in the ''SengokuBasara'' anime, in a fit of temper, ultimately calls up a bear to attack her brother-in-law Keiji. Keiji is already making a hasty retreat and the bear attacks Matsu's husband Toshiie instead (though Toshiie comes out of it more or less fine since the whole thing is played for laughs).
* In ''OnePiece'', the original Seven Warlords of the Sea all have an animal theme. Bartholomew Kuma's is, [[MeaningfulName naturally]], a bear. Both times he's appeared to antagonize the Straw Hats, things went south ''fast'' for the heroes. However, Kuma can also be a subversion, [[spoiler:the first time appeared Zoro was able to appeal to Kuma's honor to be allowed to sacrifice himself in place of Luffy. In the Shabaody Islands, Kuma's arrival was what saved the Straw Hats, despite initial appearances.]]
** We also get Kumacy, Perona's giant zombie teddy bear. He shows up in the middle of Ussop's fight with Perona -- that's already going pretty badly, mind you - and delivers a nasty NoHoldsBarredBeatdown that forces the sniper to TakeALevelInBadAss just to survive it.
** One of Trafalgar Law's crew members is a bear in a jumpsuit. It knows kung-fu.
** And then there's anime episode 504. Full stop.
* [[http://myanimelist.net/character/13649/Death_Panda Death Panda]], by Waita Uziga ([[Music/{{Megadeth}} yes]], ''him'').
* {{Goshuushou-sama Ninomiya-kun}} ''starts'' with the main character fighting a bear twice his size - and several moments later it shows that his sister has beaten ''[[AlwaysSomeoneBetter an even larger one]]''.
* While ''{{Kinnikuman}}'' is training for his match with Warsman, Mari-chan is attacked by a bear and he has to save her. It puts him in the Palo Special, which he counters with a Kinniku Buster.
* In ''{{Naruto}}'', a flashback shows a young Karin being threatened by an almost comically-oversized bear while her teammates are nowhere to be found. Sasuke then comes by and drop-kicks it.
** We later see more of them on the island Killer Bee and A trained on including one with [[EyepatchOfPower an eyepatch]]. Bee apparently spends some of his "vacation" time ''sumo-wrestling them''.
* General Olivier Armstrong's BadassArmy in ''FullmetalAlchemist'' is nicknamed the "Briggs Bears".
** And although she's PandaingToTheAudience and adorable, Shao May has one heck of a bite for such a tiny thing.
* Speaking of Arakawa's manga, this trope is played for laughs in ''SilverSpoon'', when a Beware Of Bears sign in the woods makes our hero so nervous that he mistakes an approaching horse for a bear.
* The manga ''{{Ooku}}'' starts with a young boy getting mauled by a bear while picking mushrooms in the forest. And then the {{gendercide}} plague hits his family and spreads throughout Japan. The two may or may not be related
* In ''TanteiOperaMilkyHolmes'', while searching for a lost girl, Sherlock comes across a bear. She tries to play nice with it, but this is a bear that can ''uppercut''. That the bear knocks her into the sky and off the cliff is a major catalyst for the episode. When Sherlock, Kokoro and Airi come across that same bear later, it's still almost invincible.
* Almost played straight in ''Manga/HayateTheCombatButler'', during a school hiking trip, one of the groups is terrorized by a huge bear. Which is then turned into a pet by Isumi.
* ''SaintSeiya'': Some of the training scenes feature fighting bears with their bare hands as a means of showing how dangerous it is.
* ''{{Yaiba}}'': When the revenant warrior Goemon Ishikawa TurnsRed he transforms into a huge, armored Bear-Man armed with dual sais and FuumaShuriken.
* Early on, the eponymous ''GrapplerBaki'' has to wrestle a monster bear as TrainingFromHell.
* While training in the mountains, ''KenichiTheMightiestDisciple'' encounters an angry bear. He proceeds to try and avoid it in all the wrong ways, while the correct ways are listed in the narration.
* In ''{{Softenni}}'', the girls run into a bear about three times the size of an average human in the mountains. Kurusu not only fights it to a draw (while naked), she [[FluffyTamer lets the bear give the team a ride up the mountain]].
* Holo of ''SpiceAndWolf'' finds out that her hometown was destroyed by a gigantic bear spirit.
* The ''{{Digimon}}'' franchise has Grizzmon, an Adult-level [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin grizzly bear]]. He's appeared twice in different anime series: first in the ''DigimonFrontier'' movie as the commander of the Beast Digimon army, and many appear late in ''DigimonXrosWars'' as a staple {{Mook}} species in Apollomon's army. [[AllThereInTheManual Expanded universe material]] bills the species as ferocious warriors with honourable spirits. Related is Bearmon, Grizzmon's lesser Child-level incarnation who takes the form of a bear cub, also appearing in the ''Frontier'' movie and ''Xros Wars''.
** ''Manga/{{Digimon V-Tamer 01}}'': A WakeUpCallBoss from halfway through the manga's run was Callismon, said to be the product of exposing an aforementioned Grizzmon to [[LEGOGenetics a sample of]] [[OlympusMons Arcadimon]]'s data. The result was an enormous bear of immense power with a HandCannon, providing the first real challenge to Taichi and Zero in a very long time.
* Inverted in {{Manga/HaruhiChan}}. In one episode, Tsuruya claims that she once defeated a bear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Comics]]
* In one of GarthEnnis' more bizarrely hilarious moments, ThePunisher falls into a polar bear enclosure at a zoo. Hearing the bad guy mooks in pursuit, Frank [[Funny/ThePunisher punches the nearest bear]]. Frank escapes, and the enraged bear attacks the bad guys. The finale includes Frank [[Awesome/ThePunisher throwing the big bad into the bear pit]] and letting the bears chew her arms and legs off.
* One graphic novel in the ''{{Blacksad}}'' series had an (anthropomorphic) polar bear heading the "Arctic Nation", a [[ANaziByAnyOtherName Nazi/KKK fusion]] white-fur supremacy group. Of course, the leader was undercover.
** In the first album one of Statoc's enforcers is a brown bear.
* A zombie bear (Ursa Major, of the (of course) Russian Avengers) appears in ''MarvelZombies''. It bites down on Machine Man's head where he impales it with spikes and rips it apart.
* There's a ''[[TheFarSide Far Side]]'' cartoon in which a bar fight is happening in an old Western saloon. From the speed at which people are running out the door/being thrown through the window, it's implicit that there's a pretty tough guy inside. Well, his bear is parked outside among the horses.
** Gary Larson actually did this a few times. Another example can be summarized by quoting the caption. Two bear hunters are examining the gruesome fate of a third, and one of them says:
-->There he is, just like all the others. [[TheHunterBecomesTheHunted Tied up with his own shotgun, hunting license stuffed in his mouth.]] I want this bear, Dave. I want him bad.
** In one strip a [[ThreateningShark shark]] tricks a bunch of beach-goers into the water [[InvokedTrope by shouting "Bear! Bear!"]]
* The British comic ''ComicBook/TwoThousandAD'' had an ongoing strip about Shako, a polar bear VillainProtagonist supposedly inspired by the shark in ''Jaws'', thus neatly combining the worst aspects of both bears and sharks.
* The archenemy of the {{New Mutant|s}} [[Characters/NewMutants Dani Moonstar]] is the Demon Bear, a gigantic spectral bear who steals souls and seemed to have killed her parents.
* In a story by Creator/WilhelmBusch, a bear eats the donkey of Saint Anthony, but Anthony makes the bear carry him instead.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Films]]
* The 1966 film The Night of the Grizzly is one of the earliest "Killer Bear" films.
* ''AnchormanTheLegendOfRonBurgundy'': the prospect of a woman joining the news team will raise the possibility of the network being overwhelmed by bear attacks as they are attracted to her menses; at the film's climax the hero and heroine must defend themselves after falling into the bear pit at the zoo.
* The all but forgotten 1979 eco-horror flick ''Film/{{Prophecy}}'' features mercury-crazed, skinless, gooey mutant bears that crave human flesh.
** Or it at least looked somewhat like a mutant monster. To quote LeonardMaltin, it looked kind of like "[[SpecialEffectsFailure a salami]]."
* In ''BackToTheFuture Part III'', Marty discovers that the cave he hid in houses a bear. He runs.
* ''Film/{{Spaceballs}}'': [[spoiler:Spaceball-1 is about to self-destruct, and the bad guys are trying to get to their escape pods]], but since it's a MelBrooks movie, [[spoiler:there were also a bunch of circus folk on the ship, and they took all of the escape pods]]. There was also a bear, to make this part more hilarious. It scared President Skroob.
** Even funnier when ou remember that the circus was ordered closed earlier in the film by Lord Helmet as punishment.
* The White Witch in TheFilmOfTheBook of ''TheLionTheWitchAndTheWardrobe'' leads her army from atop a chariot pulled by polar bears.
** In TheFilmOfTheBook of ''PrinceCaspian'' the Pevensies discover that the animals of Narnia have started to go wild when Lucy is attacked by a bear.
* ''{{Semi-Pro}}'' "Everybody panic! Oh my God there's a bear loose in the stadium! There will be no refunds!"
** FunnyAneurysmMoment: The trainer for that bear was killed by said bear later that year.
*** And the bear got put down.
* In ''TheLostSkeletonOfCadavra'', the horrible disembowellings by the mutant are at first attributed to a bear.
-->'''Ranger Brad:''' In my time as a forest ranger, I've seen bears do things not even a bear would do.
* This trope sums up ''Film/TheEdge'', with Anthony Hopkins and Alec Baldwin.
* In ''Film/{{Outlander}}'', Kainan and several Vikings go searching for the creature that slaughtered an entire village. They find a giant bear. While the bear is bad enough in its own right, it ''wasn't'' the creature that slaughtered the village--and the Vikings assume that it ''was'', and stop searching.
* While forbidden from eating men, the [[Film/{{Beowulf}} Grendel]] is apparently able to eat bears and wolves.
* Although the original film ''TheWickerMan'' had no bears, TheRemake has scenes of NicolasCage in a [[FurryFandom bear suit]]. And it is, indeed, worse.
* The film ''{{Grizzly}}'' featured a giant prehistoric killer bear going on a killing spree on ranger's station; the bear's claws are so sharp he can cut off a person's arms and decapitate a horse with a single swipe.
* In ''Film/LakePlacid'', the group is chased and menaced by a bear...only for the [[AlwaysABiggerFish gigantic crocodile to lunge out of the water and eat it]].
* In ''Road to Utopia'', bears intrude in the cabin and BobHope mistakes one of them for his girlfriend while he groped its paw and commented on its long claws. One of them even talks.
* ''The Great Outdoors'' features a large bear (rumored to be a man-eater) which had her head fur removed via shotgun many years earlier by John Candy's character. This bear shows up toward the end of the movie and is shot in the butt with the shotgun lamp, causing the raccoons to make fun of her.
* ''The13thWarrior'' features man-eating bear-monsters as the primary antagonists [[spoiler:who turn out to be neolithic cavemen wearing bearskins.]]
* In ''SantaClausConquersTheMartians'', the two lead kids get menaced by a polar bear ([[SpecialEffectsFailure or at least a man in a laughably awful polar bear costume]]).
* In ''TheLoveBug'', as Thorndyke's car is stuck in mud and his assistant Havershaw attempts to push it out, a bear enters the car, enticed by the food they had. After they get out, Thorndyke immediately takes off without Havershaw, but because his racing goggles are heavily smeared with mud, he doesn't realize there's a bear until he strikes it, making it growl and prompting him to faint.
* Br'er Bear in ''SongOfTheSouth'' certainly qualifies.
* The mascot of the high school in ''Girls Nite Out'' is a bear. The killer steals the costume and gives it WolverineClaws.
* Claws, a hard to find film from the 80s.
* Several direct-to-video films including GrizzlyPark, Bear and GrizzlyRage
* Savage Planet featured space bears.
* The Japanese film Yellow Fangs, which was based upon the Sankebetsu incident.
* An amusing example shows up in the film Shoot to Kill.
* The upcoming RedMachine
* TheThreeStooges met with foul-tempered bears on more than one occasion. They were a little more civilized than the trope usually allows for; one even proved capable of driving a car and signaling for a turn.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Literature]]
* Gone to absolutely ridiculous and eventually cinematic extremes in David Fletcher's Hunted: A True Story of Survival, in which a literal MamaBear goes after the writer for killing her cub and it only ends when the writer manages to crush the bear under tons of ice. The kicker? It's supposed to be based on a "true story"
* In the ChivalricRomance ''Valentine and Oursson'', [[MosesInTheBullrushes an abandoned boy]] is raised by a bear, and ends up a WildMan of the Woods.
* Averted by Terry Bisson in his short story "Bears Discover Fire."
* One of the most memorable scenes from the ''AmericanGirls'' series involves Kirsten Larson and an angry mama bear. [[http://americangirl.wikia.com/wiki/File:Kirsten5_3.jpg Naturally, the illustration of the event was used for the cover of the latest edition]]. The associated meme has become one of the more well-known in the fandom.
* The favored combat morph for [[ActionGirl Rachel]] in ''Literature/{{Animorphs}}''. She acquired it specifically because she knew the team was taking on their most dangerous mission yet. Also, the characters consider their polar bear morphs (biggest land predator) to the baddest of their {{Badass}}. They only bust them out for serious shock value and mayhem.
* In CliveBarker's ''Sacrament'', the main character is mauled by a bear and ends up in a coma.
* In Jim Butcher's ''DresdenFiles'':
** ''Death Masks'': the [[BigBad Denarians]] are first introduced. The first of them? Ursiel, a monstrous demonic bear rampaging through the alleys. It takes ''all three'' [[ChurchMilitant Knights of the Cross]] to take him down. Compare later battles where the Knights go one-on-one with the Nickelheads, or when [[LittleMissBadass Ivy]] takes on a large group singlehandedly. Some Tropers have blamed InverseNinjaLaw... but good grief, '''it's a bear!!'''
** ''Turn Coat'': they threw fireballs at the ''[[EldritchAbomination naagloshii]]'', they threw lightning bolts, werewolves, vampires, heavy arms fire, [[WhiteMagic the fires of creation that angels use]]. Nothing worked. What kicks its ass? Someone turned into a bear. A bear the size of a minibus.
* StephenKing's ''TheDarkTower'': The group, in the [[TheDarkTower/TheWasteLands third book]], has to [[spoiler:fight a giant zombie cyborg bear god,]] named "Shardik" [[Literature/{{Shardik}} in reference to the Richard Adams novel about a similar creature]].
* PhilipPullman's ''HisDarkMaterials'' has [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy panserbjorne]], sapient polar bears who wear full plate armor forged from [[ThunderboltIron meteoric iron]]. The name literally means "armored bears", but colloquially could be taken as "''tank bears''".
** In TheMovie they are called "Isbjorne", meaning "ice bears" or polar bears. Not as intimidating, but you do not want to run into a polar bear anywhere.
** It's worth of noting that they are morally neutral, with their current king Iorek Byrnisson as a friend to the protagonists. Nonetheless, one should pity the ones that are enemies to the bears...
*** Besides being giant polar bears in [[ThunderboltIron sky iron]] armor that can think and talk like humans, the panserbjorne have [[PlayingWithFire flamethrowers]]. [[SoCoolItsAwesome Armored Polar Bear Vikings with Flamethrowers]].
* Although they don't have flamethrowers, bears in the {{Spellsinger}} series are among the most physically-formidable of all [[FunnyAnimal Warmlanders]]. Several of the bad guys use bears as Mooks, or recruit a bear as TheDragon.
* The first book in ''TheChroniclesOfAncientDarkness'' has a giant, evil, demon-possessed bear that pretty much exists to kill things. If you suddenly can't see or hear any other animals, start praying.
* Rasputin, a former circus bear which can drink beer and throw hand grenades, is adopted by the 27th Penal Panzer Regiment in SvenHassel's ''The Bloody Road to Death''. Porta is distraught when it gets killed in action.
** This, by the way, is based on fact (though the bear is fighting on the wrong side).
* ''ASongOfIceAndFire'': When the [[ZombieApocalypse wights]] attack The Fist in ''A Storm of Swords'', they have a reanimated undead bear in tow. Cue pants pissing.
** ''A Storm of Swords'' also gives us the famous scene in which Brienne the Beauty is dropped into a pit with a bear that's angry, starved, and has basically been trained entirely to kill and devour men. Her only weapons? A blunted sword and a lacy pink dress. [[spoiler: She holds her own until TheCavalry arrives.]]
* In the ''{{Belgariad}}'', males of a certain family possess the power to [[InvoluntaryShapeshifting spontaneously become bears]] when the Rivan King is threatened. Given that they're already from the local Viking analogue, this just makes them ''more'' dangerous.
** Fittingly, they're from a culture that worships Belar, the bear god. It's not certain whether this is just a happy coincidence or a very direct blessing from Belar himself, but it is definitely awesome. There is also an extremist sect devoted to Belar known as the Bear-Cult. In the Belgariad they're a mild annoyance, but in the Mallorean they definitely make things worse. Belar, meanwhile, generally appears as a young blond-haired warrior, and not a bear.
* A set of 3 novellas by GordonRDickson was collected into ''The Right to Arm Bears''. The Dilbians, bear-like natives of the planet Dilbia, have ThePlan as [[PlanetOfHats their hat]].
* In Creator/JRRTolkien's ''TheHobbit'', the protagonists stay in the home of Beorn on their journey, and are warned not to go outside at night. The reason? [[spoiler:He turns into a bear.]]
** Even worse is his appearance at the Battle of Five Armies. [[spoiler:"He came alone, and in bear's shape, and seemed to have grown almost to giant-size in his wrath." He [[FoeTossingCharge charges through the entire Goblin army]] to retrieve Thorin's body, then does it again to [[RoaringRampageOfRevenge chase down and kill Bolg]], the Goblin Chieftan.]]
** Though, unusually, Beorn and his descendants are [[GoodIsNotNice good folks]]. They are also the prototypes for D&D werebears, whose alignment is lawful good.
* ''TheChroniclesOfNarnia'' has the dozy, good-hearted Bulgy Bears in ''PrinceCaspian'', a couple of dangerous non-talking bears, and the perpetually confused (though good fighter) Talking Bear in ''TheLastBattle''. In sum, for the protagonists, everything is pretty much even with bears.
** There is also a bear mentioned in the round-up at the end of ''TheHorseAndHisBoy'', but there is nothing much wrong with that one that a good fist-fight won't put right.
** ''PrinceCaspian'' also provides a straight example of the trope when Lucy was attacked by a non-talking bear when they were traveling to meet the Narnian army. It serves as a warning that Narnia as a whole is not the nice place they were rulers of.
* Richard Adams' ''Literature/{{Shardik}}'', as referenced in the StephenKing entry above, features a bear which is believed to personify the power of God. Whether or not this is true, the bear only ever seems to maul the bad guys.
* In the Cambridge Latin Course series of plot-oriented textbooks, a bitter British chieftain attempts to kill his rival chieftain with a ''bear he has spent a year training for murder''. The bear breaks free of control and goes on a rampage, nearly killing the king. The rampage is stopped by [[TheHero Quintus]], who has a penchant for heroic animal abuse. Nobody ever said it made sense.
* ''The Bear Kingdom'' trilogy by Michael Coleman, might as well be called ''EverythingsWorseWithBears: [[TheMovie The Series]]''. It takes place in an Alternate Universe, where bears have taken over, and humans are nothing more than slaves/pets, and sometimes...[[spoiler:''food''.]]
* In the JudgeDee story ''The Haunted Monastery'', the judge, faced with a CompleteMonster whose reputation and connections at the Imperial Court make him untouchable by the law, locks him in a room with an angry bear.
* In [[MonsterHunterInternational Monster Hunter Vendetta]], the MHI compound is attacked by an army of zombie animals, including at least one zombie bear that Owen and Agent Franks have to kill at close range.
* In the {{Hoka}} stories, the aliens look like teddy bears, but they are indeed a menace. To your sanity, at least.
* In L. Jagi Lamplighter's ''ProsperosDaughter'' trilogy, Logistilla's bear is her guard, and it menaces some of her family on occasion.
* Elisha in 2 Kings 2:23-24 of Literature/TheBible, while walking up to Bethel, was insulted by some [[BlindIdiotTranslation bandits]]. They had called him "bald head" and implied that he had been complicit in the death of Elijah. His response? Summoning two bears to come and maul 42 of them, making this trope OlderThanFeudalism. There's a reason why this story isn't included in compilations of Bible stories meant for toddlers.
** Also, David kills a bear and a lion that threaten his flock. People tend to forget that although he was only twelvish when he fought the giant Goliath, he was a pretty {{badass}} kid.
** Even ''{{God}} [[WordOfGod himself]]'' states that bears make things worse in Amos 5:19: "It will be as though a man fled from a lion only to meet a bear."
* In the first of Keith Taylor's ''Bard'' stories, "Fugitives in Winter", Felimid tricks the enraged king hunting him into following a false trail into a bear cave. [[spoiler:He wasn't expecting the inhabitant to be a two-headed monster that refused to stop at killing just the king, though...]]
* A bear tries to attack the hunter in ''Literature/TheFoxAndTheHound'', but Chief saves him.
* Averted in ''Literature/RemoteMan''. The situation gets worse because of the smugglers who target the bears, not the bears themselves.
* TheGirlWhoLovedTomGordon: A little girl lost for weeks in the forest is bad enough. This is also the Appalachians.
* ZigZagged in ''Reverend Huuskonen's Beastly Manservant'' by Arto Paasilinna. Subverted in that the titular reverend adopts a bear cub, then a complicated series of events leads to him taking a grand tour or Eastern Europe all the way down to the Black Sea, training the bear to be an excellent manservant (unpacking suitcases, ironing and folding clothes, helping him during the sermons and running a bar with unrivalled efficiency). Played straight in that the bear's name is Beelzebub, and if you should threaten his master, he is still very much [[BullyingADragon an adult male brown bear.]]
* ZigZagged in LoisMcMasterBujold's ''{{Chalion}}'' series:
** In ''The Curse of Chalion,'' the sick Roya Orico becomes much sicker when his pet bear is killed [[spoiler:along with the rest of his menagerie, which was a gift from the Temple that magically kept him alive. But the leopard was the scary and dangerous animal.]]
** In ''Paladin of Souls,'' a bear shows up, Foix dy Gura kills it, [[spoiler:and the demon that was possessing the bear jumps into Foix.]]
** In ''The Hallowed Hunt,'' Fafa the ice bear isn't killed, but:
--> '''Ijada:''' I was imagining the most bizarre things befalling you.
--> '''Ingrey:''' Did they include a six-hundred-pound ice bear and a pirate poet?
--> '''Ijada:''' No...
--> '''Ingrey:''' Then they weren't the most bizarre after all.
* Grok from ''Literature/StarRiskLtd'' is a nonhuman whose species strongly resembles bears. And he's not above using the resemblance to his advantage.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Live-Action TV]]
* ''WalkerTexasRanger'' featured bears a number of times, Episode 173 featuring a NightmareFuel powered one.
* According to ''{{Scrubs}}'', while unwanted pregnancy or [=STDs=] are not fun, "Losing a baseball scholarship because a bear ate your arm is a much worse consequence of sex." Probably true.
** This line immediately follows a flashback in which Elliott, having parked in the woods with her high school boyfriend, starts drizzling honey on him as part of foreplay when a ravenous bear comes and breaches the car, eating the poor guy's arm.
* One of the terrors of the horrible MirrorUniverse in ''TheMiddleman''.
-->'''Ivan Avi:''' I was born into an evil world. Skies choked with ammonia, seas full of benzine, baby farms! Random suffocations...''bears''...
* [[BuffyTheVampireSlayer A bear! You made a BEAR!!]]
** I didn't mean to!
*** UNDO IT! UNDO IT!
* ''JukenSentaiGekiranger'' is a show about two competing schools of martial arts [[AnimalMotifs styled after animals]]. The evil school has Maku, one of the most ridiculously overpowered villains in the series. Guess what his power animal is?
** The same goes for his Western counterpart in ''PowerRangersJungleFury'', Grizzaka. Even the other villains are wary of pissing him off.
** Earlier example from ''NinjaSentaiKakuranger''/''MightyMorphinPowerRangers Season 3'': The Yellow Ranger has the bear as their animal motif, having three mecha with the theme (two anthropomorphic, one not).
** ''HyakujuuSentaiGaoranger''/''PowerRangersWildForce'' has the Rangers gain a pair of bear zords: a black bear and a polar bear, able to shoot beams of fire and ice respectively. The Bear Brothers turn out to be too powerful for the main megazord to use reliably, forcing the Rangers to find a stronger zord that could handle the bears' strength.
* One episode of ''{{CSI}}'' is famous for use of the line, "The bear could be considered a lethal weapon."
* A recent ''{{Monk}}'' had a bear show up... twice. Both times were plot-relevant.
* An episode of the AnimalPlanet series ''Series/RiverMonsters'' filmed in Alaska had a run-in with a grizzly where it stole a salmon the host had hooked right off his line, then came back ''again''. Only when the guide accompanying him fired a warning shot from the [[HandCannon huge]] [[RevolversAreJustBetter revolver]] he was carrying did the bear finally leave.
* A recent episode of ''{{Reaper}}'' had Sam trying to get someone to sell their soul, and being chased out of the guy's property by a polar bear. Which had been delivered to the {{jerkass}} by the Devil. Andi in particular was amused. Sam was not.
* A ''SaturdayNightLive'' sketch had a bearologist. He decided to kill his wife by releasing the bear he was studying, who then proceeded to... pick up a gun from table and shoot her. (Which the scientist blamed on "too much TV", but the bear was revealed to be the bearologist's brother in disguise.)
** Another sketch featured a world in which bears killed everyone and took on the role of humans.
* ''SurvivingDisaster'', a non-fiction [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin surviving disaster]] show, has an episode on how to survive an avalanche -- ''with a bear attack''.
* In the first season of ''Series/{{Lost}}'', the castaways are attacked by polar bears on a couple of occasions.
* StephenColbert is famous for his fear and hatred of bears (one once killed everything he loved), so naturally the featured film clip for his interview with ''The National Parks'' director Ken Burns features a river filled with ''almost a dozen grizzlies''.
-->'''Colbert:''' That is the scariest film I've ever seen.
* Inverted with DavidLetterman, who loves bears and was positively thrilled when JackHanna let him hold a pair of day-old cubs. In a more recent show, Hanna was recounting how he, his wife, and a family of hikers had a close encounter with a MamaBear and her pair of two-year old cubs (ironically just after shooting a PSA for the National Parks) and Letterman felt it would've been a shame if Hannah was attacked because it would have meant the possible death of the bear.
* In ''NorthernExposure'', Holling Vincouer was once mauled by a bear (whom he named Jesse) while hunting. While recovering, he claimed to have a nightmare where he was pursued by all the animals he had hunted in the past. The experience changed Holling; while he had sworn vengeance against Jesse (to the point where Jesse had become his personal {{Moby-Dick}}), he vowed never to hunt any animal other than Jesse except with a camera.
* Dwight from ''TheOffice'' wisely fears bears. He once went to see a movie about bear attacks, but mistakenly walked into ''Film/WeddingCrashers'', he stayed, because "bears attack when you least expect it."
* In an episode of ''Series/StarskyAndHutch'', Starsky gets kidnapped by a psycho {{cult}}. Things go about as expected, and at one point whilst trying to escape he turns a corner and comes face to face with a bear. A very large bear. That he is supposed to fight. With a rock. Yeah.
* Part of [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WVagUIaVATk the scariest picture on Earth.]]
* In one episode of ''HighlanderTheSeries'', Duncan [=McLeod=] is helping a fugitive Native American woman [[spoiler:who has stolen the child of a white mine owner to replace her own child that died of poisoning from polluted water from the mine]]. During the night, a bear wanders into the log cabin in which they're sheltering.
* One ''AllThat'' skit had the crew smothering an unlucky ButtMonkey reporter freezing in the tundra with honey to attract a nearby polar bear.
* In the ''MarriedWithChildren'' episode, "Bearly Men", Al and Bud go hunting with Peggy's father to prove their manliness. Al and Bud run into a bear (literally; they hit it with a car). Thinking it dead, they take the bear home... only for it to wake up and escape into Chicago. Al, Bud, and Peggy's father then have to go after it.
* A demonic-looking bear actually shows up in ''TheTeletubbies'' along with [[CatsAreMean a similarly demonic-looking lion]]. The bear in the flying carousel, on the other hand isn't scary at all.
* On ''BoyMeetsWorld'', as part of an EscalatingWar, one group of the main characters superglue the other main characters to their classroom seats, dowse them in honey and set a bear loose in the classroom. Givin that the source of the bear is never explained, nor do they get in trouble for it, this one goes directly under RuleOfFunny.
* In ''HowIMetYourMother'', Marshall is worried about being uninsured while looking for work, and keeps coming up with worst-case scenarios about every situation, all of which include being attacked by a bear (well, a guy in a bad bear costume).
** The bad bear suit heightens the RuleOfFunny, as does Marshall melodramatically screaming "NOT LIKE THIS" every time.
* The ''{{Haven}}'' episode "Fur" featured hunting trophy animals coming to life and attacking people, including a bear.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Music]]
* If you wanted to release an album named "No Fear Restriction", what you'd put on the cover to match? [[http://www.jamendo.com/en/album/27266 Right]]...
* The back of the album cover of Music/JethroTull's ''Stormwatch'' has a 1000 foot tall polar bear stomping on an oil refinery station.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Mythology]]
* ''The Element Encyclopedia of Witchcraft'' noted a conspicuous absence of bears in some shamanic societies' legends, probably owing to the He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named-ness.
* DavyCrockett. King of the wild frontier. Killed him a bear when he was only three.
* Averted by many Native American legends. Amongst the Navajo, for example, the bear is a symbol of healing, peace, and tranquility and harming one brings ''very bad'' luck. Then again, if you try to provoke a bear [[LaserGuidedKarma you're probably going to get everything you deserve]].
** Played straight by others. The OriginStory of [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Devils_Tower_National_Monument Devil's Tower]] in Wyoming involves one or more gigantic bears trying to kill frightened children and the Creator raising the tower up under the kids to save them.
* The Japanese ''Oniguma'' (devilbear): strong enough to carry away horses and [[LightningBruiser quick enough to smash monkeys with one blow]]. Also it was said that killing bears would cause the "Bear Wrath", a really nasty event.
* Averted in the [[ClassicalMythology Greek myth]] of Atalanta, who, after being left to die as a baby, was raised by a she-bear, and became a badass HotAmazon ActionGirl.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Tabletop Games]]
* ''DungeonsAndDragons'':
** What's the biggest, strongest werecreature? That's right. Werebear.
*** In defiance of the "worse" aspect, werebears are the only good-aligned lycanthrope (chaotic good prior to D&D 3.5, lawful good after). This was probably thanks to [[TheHobbit Beorn]].
** [[http://www.wizards.com/dnd/images/MM35_gallery/MM35_PG63.jpg OH KORD IT'S A DIRE BEAR GET IN THE CART]].
*** The dire bear made a pants-wettingly terrifying appearance in ''NeverwinterNights2'', just so you could get a sense of scale: it is ''bigger than a friggin' garbage truck'', and covered with [[SpikesOfVillainy bony spikes]].
** Werebear-ians: Barbarian Were Bears. Ouch.
** There's a RunningGag about ''DungeonsAndDragons'' druids: no matter how good their stats, they will invariably reach level 5 as a human/elf/whatever, then spend the rest of their lives as a bear. Using the Natural Spell feat to keep casting.
*** And to take this UpToEleven, they have animal companions as well. So this means that they can transform into a bear (Wild Shape) and ride a bear (Animal Companion) while summoning bears (spontaneously cast summon spells). OhCrap.
**** We did the calculations on this once...you can get close to a hundred bears at 20th level without any bizarre min/maxing or obscure feats. Also, the same theory can be applied to most any animal.
** Also, [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Bear_Lore they're very mysterious.]]
** Most templates in 4e have a requirement of a certain creature type being necessary in order for it apply, usually humanoid. However, the Death Knight template's only requirement is that the creature be level 11, which means Cave Bear Death Knights are realistic possibilities in any campaign.
** In 4th edition, the Druid class gains at 1st level the ability to change into animal form (which doesn't technically change your stats, it just makes you look different and gives you different attacks) at will for as long as you want. So, technically, you could play a Druid who spends their entire life as a bear.
** Plus, there's a spell in 3.5 edition called "Bite of the Werebear", which grants +16 strength, +8 CON, three natural attacks, and the Power Attack feat to the target. It has a range of self, but can be cast on familiars for...interesting results.
** However, there's also Owlbears. I don't care ''what'' its stats are, an Owlbear is a bit difficult to take seriously.
** This is definitely the case for the enemies of [[{{Eberron}} Breland]], considering the Brelish field elite ''bear cavalry'' (as befits Breland's coat of arms). Obviously, the Brelish themselves would tend to disagree.
* ''TabletopGame/GammaWorld'' has Napoleon, a sentient bear that thinks he's Napoleon. [[OhCrap Who also leads an army of other sentient animals]].
* The Huraka (wind bears) of ''{{Exalted}}''. While they are normally gentle wind herders, they also serve as the shock troops of the Air Elementals. You know you're screwed when giant, flying bears with wind powers come barreling toward you.
* In the ''OldWorldOfDarkness'', what was stronger than a [[TabletopGame/WerewolfTheApocalypse werewolf]] in its hybrid "war form"? A werebear in their version of same form. Not only that, but [[GrimReaper the incarnation of death itself]] was the aptly-named Death Bear, which had to be fought to bring someone back to life. Guess which changing species was the only one up to the task?
** Ironically enough, the Gurahl (the werebears) are actually the ones who are supposed to make everything ''better''. Just as werewolves are Gaia's warriors, werebears are Gaia's healers -- they have the most potent restorative rituals of all the Changing Breeds, including the ability to bring the recently deceased back to life (but if they get there a little too late... [[CameBackWrong well...]])
* Allegedly, ''World of Synnibarr'' includes bears with {{Frickin Laser| Beams}} EyeBeams.
* The flavor text for the ''{{Magic| The Gathering}}'' card Grizzly Bears: ''Don't try to outrun one of Dominia's Grizzlies; it'll catch you, knock you down and eat you. Of course, you could run up a tree. In that case you'll get a nice view before it knocks the tree down and eats you.''
** It should also be noted that in the early days of Magic, a 2/2 creature with no abilities cost 3 mana, 1 of the creature's color and 2 of any color (Examples: [[http://magiccards.info/al/en/214.html Pearled Unicorn]], [[http://magiccards.info/al/en/157.html Gray Ogre]]) while the [[http://magiccards.info/al/en/108.html Grizzly Bears]] (also 2/2 with no abilities) was only 2 mana; 1 green, 1 other. Thus, they're ''faster''.
** Some of the other Bears in Magic include [[http://magiccards.info/od/en/282.html Werebear]] (starts off a weak 1/1, but get 7 cards in your graveyard and it turns 4/4), [[http://magiccards.info/ts/en/190.html Ashcoat Bear]] (You're not even safe from your opponent summoning bears during your turn), and [[http://magiccards.info/od/en/229.html Bearscape]] (They can come from anywhere!)
* ''{{Warhammer}}'': Borus Ursus, former Tzar of Kislev, rode a giant bear into battle. There's also a mention of a Chaos Lord whose chariot is pulled by ''skinless bears''.
** A grizzly bear is the standard mount for any of the Tzars or Tzarinas of Kislev, including the current incumbent Katarin the Ice Queen.
** Also the Dogs of War character, Beorg Bearstruck; a Norse barbarian that has transformed into a Were-bear.
* ''{{Warhammer 40000}}'' has Bjorn the Fell-Handed of the SpaceWolves (Viking SpaceMarines), the oldest living SpaceMarine in the Imperium. Among his many claims to fame was resisting an EvilSorcerer's CompellingVoice (he thought his TrueName was "Bear") and killing him.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Theater]]
* {{Shakespeare}}'s ''Theatre/TheWintersTale''. "ExitPursuedByABear." The bear pursuing Antigonus off the stage does in fact make everything worse (especially for Antigonus).
* In ''UbuRoi'' Pile, Cotice and Père Ubu are attacked by a bear in the forest. Pile and Cotice barely manage to kill it, while Ubu hides and prays, coming out after the bear is killed and claiming they'd never survive the encounter without his prayer.
* The Bad Idea Bears from AvenueQ, ''look'' adorable, but [[PunctuatedForEmphasis they]]. [[NightmareFuel are]]''. '''[[TheAggressiveDrugDealer EVIL!!!!!!!!!]]''' ''
* Siegfried sets one loose on Mime in his [[DerRingDesNibelungen eponymous music-drama]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Toys]]
* Graalok the Ash Bear from ''{{Bionicle}}'', who briefly terrorizes Takua and Jaller in ''Mask of Light''. Bonus points for being a [[NinjaPirateZombieRobot cyborg bear]].
* The main ''WesternAnimation/BeastWars'' toyline had at least one. [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Polar_Claw Polar Claw]] transformed a polar bear. He was repainted into two other characters, [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Grizzly-1 Barbearian/Grizzly-1]] and [[http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Survive Survive]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Video Games]]
* In the Southern Vashnar mountains in ''{{Achaea}}'', there is a point where the traveller must decide between going south or southwest. Southwest is a safe path leading to the city of Cyrene. There is a small and easy to miss sign at the fork in the path, which reads, "CAUTION: bears south". They're ''not'' friendly.
** Speaking of Iron Realms, there's a whole ''race'' of humanoid bears in ''{{Lusternia}}'', called the Tae'dae. Though usually WinnieThePooh-esque GentleGiant's, they're about eight feet tall and have the highest potential natural strength in the game.
* In ''VideoGame/AgeOfMythology'', players can hunt bears for food (the villagers sent to the process will get quite injured, though)... and [[SillinessSwitch use a cheat code to unlock a "lazer bear"]], which wears the flag of Canada and fires beams.
* In the arcade and [[SegaGenesis Genesis]] classic ''AlteredBeast'', the form you can take in the third stage is a werebear. A werebear that can [[TakenForGranite turn enemies into stone by breathing on them]].
* Random wilderness-dwelling brown and cave bears in ''BaldursGate''. While far from the toughest enemies of the game, they start off showing as neutral to you, become aggressive if you get at all close, and can serve up a good mauling if you stop to fight. And usually come in pairs or groups. Oh, and you can encounter them right after the tutorial, at level 1.
* While ''[[http://battlebears.com Battle Bears]]'' is a game about bears, of note most of his enemies are also bear-based including a brief fight with the [[StephenColbert Colbear]] and a Bearbershop Quartet.
* There's only one way to make [[RedScare The Soviet Union]] scarier: '''[[CommandAndConquer PARACHUTING ARMORED]] [[http://portal.commandandconquer.com/portal/site/redalert/template.MAXIMIZE/factions_en/?javax.portlet.tpst=887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_ws_MX&javax.portlet.prp_887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_viewID=proxy_view_secondary&javax.portlet.prp_887f789b1e9f05362087dce7b100cda0_wcproxyurl=http%253A%252F%252Flocalhost%253A8080%252FSiteAssets%252Ffactions%252FWarBear.html&javax.portlet.begCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken&javax.portlet.endCacheTok=com.vignette.cachetoken WAR BEARS.]]''' With ''paralyzing sonic roars''.
** In ''[[CommandAndConquerRedAlert Red Alert 3]]'', one of the Allied Spy's unit responses is "I don't like bears...", which is justified by the Soviet War Bear's ability to sniff out and maul spies.
*** On the DVD extras the actors cannot believe it. Watch as George Takei tries to get his head around it ("Battle Bears? B E A R S?") or Autumn Reeser laughing as she asks for an explanation.
** In the challenge mode of the Uprising expansion, the mission where you unlock the War Bear's is called [[TheColbertReport The Number One Threat to America]], and features giant bears that can ''smash tanks''.
* One of ''{{Condemned}} 2'''s scariest and most talked-about scenes involves being chased through an abandoned mountain cabin by a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ixvh-8W1OS8 rabid Jaws-sized monster bear]].
* ''VideoGame/ConkersBadFurDay'' has a level called, "It's War", in which the game's reluctant, accidental antihero fights against an army of evil, fascist bears known as the Tediz. (Pun of "Nazis") These bears are more human than animal, but they are still creepy, and even [[AccindetalNightmareFuel more horrifying]] is the final boss of the level, a huge cybernetic bear with spider legs, embedded weapons, and a hand puppet of an innocent girl, which he uses to lure Conker in.
** I'd hardly call her "innocent". As she says, she's the eyes, and the brains.
* ''[[VideoGame/DisasterDayOfCrisis Disaster: Day of Crisis]]'' had a bear as part of the many pre-release screenshot collections. And that bear means business. It's not your ordinary bear. It's a bear that's MadeOfIron.
* One of the quests in the ''Bloodmoon'' expansion pack for ''VideoGame/TheElderScrollsIIIMorrowind'' involves you hunting down and killing a Spirit Bear. Before doing that, you have to kill either Skaal hunters or werewolves, both incredibly tough enemies, and the bear has the annoying habit of entering the fray while you're currently engaged.
** Bears in the sequel, ''{{Oblivion}}'', are among the most hated and feared enemies in the game for their high attack power, health, and ability to stagger the player character. They are oftentimes more dangerous than most of the quasi-demonic hordes of Daedra currently invading Tamriel.
*** At first yes, but eventually they just become annoying.
** They keep this up in the following chapter [[TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]], where they are more dangerous than ''dragons''. At least the dragons give you the courtesy of announcing their attack with a bellowing roar and circling you a few times beforehand.
*** Skyrim also has the Stormcloak Rebels, who have a prominent bear motif. Their generals even wear bearskin cloaks, complete with a hood made out of the bear's head.
* ''{{Fallout 3}}'' has the Yao Guai, giant, vicious, mutated bears that roam the Capital Wasteland disemboweling anyone they come across. In terms of dangerousness, they're pretty much second only to the Deathclaws.
** They return in FalloutNewVegas in the Honest Hearts DLC, which includes a giant ''flaming'' one called the Ghost of She.
* Vargas, a boss from the beginning of ''VideoGame/FinalFantasyVI'', had two bears for no apparent reason other than making the fight slightly more challenging.
** There is a [[GoddamnedBats type of bear-like enemy]] in the mountains of Zozo that enjoys ambushing the party, stealing a hell of a LOT of money, and fleeing in its next turn. It made an annoying dungeon so much ''worse''...
* ''FurFighters'' had the {{Mooks}} as bears with polar-bears being the strongest and brown-bears making up the majority. Oddly not Black Bears and they were commandeered by a massive Cat.
* ''GuildWars'' has bears capturable as pets in in the tutorial area of prophecies though it's difficult and having one is considered a status symbol. They're also capturable in the main game but then are considered worse than common pets, because they have a special attack that does nothing but slow their attack speed.
** To clarify, in the "Presearing" (tutorial) area of Prophecies, the capturable bear is the black bear. Brown bears and polar bears are available as common pets in Prophecies and Eye of the North, and there is a special variant of the polar bear known as a Jingle Bear available as a reward for a holiday quest in Eye of the North.
** The Norn in Eye of the North can shapeshift into anthropomorphic bears as well. Whenever you talk to a hunter for the first time, they'll turn into one and attack. Additionally, there's the Nornbear, a corrupted version you have to kill, and whose brief existence inspires a ReligionOfEvil.
*** Norn characters in ''Guild Wars 2'' will be able to replicate the shapeshifting. It also includes the Kodan, a race of permanently anthropomorphic bears who consider themselves the most enlightened race.
* In the old NES game ''IceClimber'', Polar Bears wearing sunglasses and swim trunks would show up and cause earthquakes. Of course, they could easily kill the player.
* ''KatamariDamacy'' features a bear-themed ScrappyLevel called Ursa Major in which the object is to gather the largest bear possible into your katamari. The problem? Picking up any sized bear, no matter how tiny, automatically ends the level and bears are ''everywhere''! Even gathering a single bear-themed item like a "beware of bears!" sign or a "tiny teddybear" will end the level.
** ''We ♥ Katamari'' ups the ante with a "Cowbear" level in which you must gather the largest cow and/or bear item to win. Now only must you dodge bear-themed items, you must be wary of cow and milk-themed items as well or the round will end prematurely.
* The Bulrathi, from the first two ''VideoGame/MasterOfOrion'' games, landing on your planet generally made for having a bad day, unless you had a significant numerical and/or technological advantage over them.
* One of the Druid's animal companion options in ''NeverwinterNights'' and ''NeverwinterNights2'' is a bear. Try to guess what every player picks.
* ''[[NeverwinterNights2 Neverwinter Nights 2: Mask of the Betrayer]]'' interrupts your not quite pleasant stay at the town of Mulsantir by having a bear show up at the gates. Not just any bear either, but a bear ''god''. With an army. An army which includes ghost bears. To make matters worse, it's a bear god ''specifically'' out to kill you, meaning the residents of the town are keen to throw your woefully unprepared ass out against it like some sort of sacrificial lamb. If it weren't for Gann and his magical bear god weak-point detecting skills, you'd be pretty much fucked.
** Awesomely inverted if you decide to spare and recruit said bear god. You have a ''freaking bear god'' on your side!
* Whispering Rocks Summer Camp has a [[LampshadeHanging slight bear problem]] in ''VideoGame/{{Psychonauts}}''. Specifically, telekinetic bears.
* The first enemies you come across in Akhma Cave in ''Rohan Online'' are Ursas, Warrior Ursas, Elder Ursas, and Ursa Mages, A.K.A. Giant Fucking Humanoid Bears From Hell. The weakest of them, the Ursas, start at level 20, but the most advanced Ursa types can easily go up to level 30. You will NEED a party in order to take these things (and Akhma Cave in general) on, because unless you're really high level, you WILL get eaten alive, particularly because the tougher ones like to mob you.
* ''VideoGame/TheSimpsons'' arcade game had a bear as a boss. Even [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BNAxBpl13mo its associated boss theme]] screams, "You're one doomed motherfucker!" When you beat it, however, it [[RuleOfFunny shrinks and turns into a fat mook]].
* In Maxis newest installment ''TheSims 3'', exploring the crypt can end in a special status effect, where we learn that what's found at the bottom of the crypt is ''bears''.
** And occasionally GIGANTIC RAMPAGING [[EverythingsDeaderWithZombies ZOMBIE BEARS]].
* Bears are a common enemy type in the ''TalesSeries''.
** An eggbear (A bear that lays eggs) serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfEternia''. Later, as a SecretTestOfCharacter, Reid gets to ''be'' the same bear and relive its experiences that occurred just prior to his fight with it, [[ForegoneConclusion ultimately fighting himself and Keele]], though not before unleashing its wrath upon one of the traders who killed its family and random monsters who get in the way.
** An eggbear also serves as an early boss in ''TalesOfVesperia'' and is the cause for Karol's [[MemeticMutation memorable quote]] of "Prepare to die, eggbear!".
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'', the two most deadly physical attacking monsters in the game are the Galf Beast and the Wolf Heddin. And which of these is the final evolved form of the bear? Actually, the bear has a divergent evolution and thus has two final evolved forms: ''the Galf Beast and the Wolf Heddin''. Apparently, someone at Namco really likes bears.
** The first monster [[NonActionGuy Emil]] is attacked by is a bear. In NewGamePlus playthroughs, any {{mons}}ters you inherited from your previous game can't defeat the bear until [[BigDamnHeroes Marta]] arrives on the scene.
* Kuma, Heihachi Mishima's guard bear from ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}''. Not so much with his {{Palette Swap}}ped counterpart, Xiaoyu's sort-of pet Panda.
* [[{{Chibi-Robo}} Sunshine]], but only when he's going through [[DoesThisRemindYouOfAnything honey withdrawal]]
* The Grizzly Noise from ''VideoGame/TheWorldEndsWithYou'', especially of the Taboo variety.
* ''WorldInConflict'': [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AdzZBx2eUcQ "The Red Bear has awoken. The world will see his might."]]
* Druids in ''WorldOfWarcraft'' can [[VoluntaryShapeshifting take the form of a bear]] to become more effective tanks. As it can deal decent damage while tanking, this is arguably their strongest form. What really speaks to their intimidating capability is, of course, is their ability to scare things into attacking them over the much more dangerous people nearby. A human might be forgiven for focusing on the bear trying to claw their face off over the mage prepping a fireball, but when you can make a 60 foot dragon see you as the most dangerous thing around, you are one scary bear.
** Of course, that was preceded by Druids of the Claw (who can turn into bears and boost allies' damage by roaring) and the Beastmaster Rexxar in ''WarCraft III'', who could summon his bear from anywhere.
*** Oh and the Beastmaster Bears can teleport and [[WordOfGod "teleporting bears are funny"]].
*** In general, bears account for a surprisingly large proportion of the [[CrowningMomentOfFunny crowning moments of funny]] in the game, what with the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wEBZUXhSbOA rocket-propelled bears]] and [[http://www.wowwiki.com/RAWRbomb bears charging out of the sky]].
** Polar bears in ''WarcraftIII'' are tough, amphibious neutral monsters with saberteeth.
** Bears can also be tamed by hunters (although like the druid form, they are more suited for tanking than damage)
** Blizzard's "special" mounts (i.e. mounts that are not available through normal faction vendors) tend to be bear-heavy for some reason:
*** The most (in)famous bear mount is the Amani War Bear, which could only be gotten as part of a lvl 70 raid instance, [[ScrappyLevel by killing four bosses and rescuing their hostages before time runs out and they are murdered]]. When the latest expansion was released and the level cap raised to 80, the Amani Bear was removed from the game so it would be a status symbol for the players [[PoopSocking dedicated enough]] to have gotten it at lvl 70.
*** The mount has since been reintroduced after Zul'Aman was retooled as a Level 85 Heroic instance, and is still fairly difficult to get in the time limit (it basically requires downing the enemies and bosses as efficiently as possible without wiping). One of the four bosses happens to be a troll infused with the power of a bear spirit who can charge distant players (one-shotting anyone who has the debuff from his charge), and who can turn into a bear, increasing his damage done to the tank and giving him the ability to roar and silence players.
*** ''Wrath of the Lich King'' also introduced an Armored Brown Bear mount available from the Dalaran mount vendor. It costs considerably more than the usual mount.
*** The reward for being part of the kills of every leader of the opposite faction, a feat that can require nearly a hundred organized players? A black war bear mount. Even better? Those bears were implemented in the closing days of ''Burning Crusade'', during that brief period when mob levels (including faction leaders) were upped but players could not level yet. Despite (or because) of this, many top guilds actually got up at 4am to kill the faction leaders before WOTLK came out. Despite the fact that killing one faction leader easily took 30 minutes because of the vast level gap. Bears are SeriousBusiness.
*** The Hyldnir, a group of giant blue warrior women, ride polar bear mounts in battle, one of which you can receive as a rare reward from a daily quest, which itself can involve riding a fighting bear.
** There is also a race of humanoid bears called furbolgs. One tribe of those fiercely guards a tunnel that connects between three zones, one of which can only be reached through that tunnel (and if you aren't a druid, you don't have easy access to another one). While it is possible to befriend them to the degree of them letting you pass with moderate effort, people who decide to skip that are in for one rough treatment when they try to run through the tunnel. Incidentally, two of the mentioned zones are crawling with other furbolgs and regular bears, as well.
** Similarly, the Moonkin are a race created by the goddess Elune to protect her sacred shrines - they are half owl and half bear, to represent the wisest and strongest animals respectively. Druids can also assume their form in order to perform a caster DPS role.
** And, of course, [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Welcome_Bear Welcome Bears]], a BeefGate monster in the Eastern Plaguelands. While the zone level has been significantly nerfed, they're still likely to kill any unwary low-level Forsaken players who inadvertently wander in from the adjacent [[NoobCave Tirisfal Glades]].
** Even that was one-upped by the [[http://www.wowwiki.com/Bear_Reaver Bear Reaver]]. Imagine a creature, wandering about the wilderness, that has the abilities of a ''HumongousMecha'' demon that requires multiple characters at the level cap to kill, but with the graphic of a wild bear. Note that according to the article, this was more dangerous than the demon itself. Making the ''humongous robot'' demon into a ''normal-sized'' bear made it more dangerous.
** And with the recent announcement about the next expansion, the Pandaren are becoming playable. For those who don't know, Pandaren are [[PandaingToTheAudience humanoid panda martial artists]] that [[BoisterousBruiser can kick your ass and may be the only race that can out-drink a Dwarf]]. And seeing as they choose which faction they join, they're likely to make things worse ([[ZigzaggedTrope or better, or both]]) for both the Alliance ''and'' the Horde.
* In ''InfiniteUndiscovery'', Gustav the bear joins your party and proves to be a powerful tank (as you'd expect)...but counts as ''two characters'' toward the ArbitraryHeadcountLimit. Also played straight with enemy bears and their daunting HP totals.
* ''VideoGame/{{Mabinogi}}'' has bears in several flavors, and they're almost as tough as Ogres. Also, Tarlach is human only at night, becoming a bear by day. While he's not particularly violent, he constantly holds up the plot by {{Wangst}}ing when you need info, sending you on {{Fetch Quest}}s, and just [[BeAsUnhelpfulAsPossible not telling you the truth about what's going on]].
** In part because he doesn't know the full story either.
* ''{{Vindictus}}'' throws a giant, pissed off polar bear at you in the "Dethrone the White Tyrant" mission of Hoarfrost Hollow, who is easily the toughest boss of that particular part of the game. And just for an encore, there's a ''Red'' Tyrant BonusBoss sometime after you get through with Hoarfrost Hollow which is even ''worse'' than the white one.
* Everything's usually worse with the [[BackyardSports Polar Bears]]. Unless you play as them, that is.
* In ''VideoGame/TeamFortress2'', the Heavy Weapons Guy, according to the Scout, is "like a big shaved bear that hates people."
** Taken to new and very literal levels with a [[GameMod mod]] that [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2huUZG_LIA4 turns the Heavy into an actual bear.]] [[MoreDakka With a minigun]].
** And then comes The Warrior's Spirit, which are bear claws that enable the Heavy to cause more damage[[hottip:*: albeit with a slight health handicap]]. Brings a new meaning to "I will kill you with [[AWorldwidePunomenon bear]] hands!"
*** He's just exercising his right to ''bear'' arms.
*** These puns are getting downright un''bear''able.
* In ''SamuraiShodown'' (aka Samurai Spirits) 0/5 Nakoruru is almost killed by a bear in Rera's storyline intro if not for Rera taking over Nako's body. Nakoruru is hesitant to defend herself for two reasons; one is that in Real Life the bear is one of the Ainu's most holy animal (Nakoruru being Ainu) and the other is that Nakoruru is a friend to all living things and doesn't like to use violence. Rera apparently pulls a [[{{Bleach}} Hollow Ichigo]] and kills the bear after taking over Nako's body because she doesn't feel like dying. Note that Rera is not a bad person, just a part of Nako that doesn't like how Nako normally behaves.
* In ''MassEffect2'' during one mission the mooks describe Shepard and his/her team as "armed for bear". [[CurbStompBattle And seeing how the rest of the mission goes for them they're not wrong]]. Incidentally, the term "armed for bear" likely owes it's existence to this trope.
* ''DragonAge'' has you fight bears from time to time, but also has ''bereskarns'', bears with spikes that have been corrupted by the darkspawn taint. A high-level shapeshifter can actually transform into one. A Rogue with the Ranger Specialization can ''summon'' a bear. Mastering the specialization allows a Rogue to summon an ''even bigger bear''. ''Anywhere''. It's a pretty good meatshield/damage dealer too.
* In ''RedDeadRedemption'', the Tall Trees area in the northeast is populated by large grizzly bears. While not invulnerable (as with every animal, you can kill and even skin them), they can fuck your shit up quite easily. Whether or not they're more dangerous than [[DemonicSpiders cou]][[CatsAreMean gars]] is up for debate, but they're certainly scary. And if you kill one bear, watch your back - most likely, there's more to come.
** ItGotWorse in RedDeadRedemptionUndeadNightmare as they are now zombie bears.
** Don't forget Brumas. This golden bear is much bigger than any other bear, and [[MadeOfIron can take two headshots from the most powerful gun in the game before going down]].
* ''OregonTrail''. Damn bears are always eating party members. 'Specially if you try to hunt them.
** And cougars too, although strangely, you never actually see them while hunting.
* Since ''KingsQuestVAbsenceMakesTheHeartGoYonder'' is a {{Sierra}} game, it's no surprise that the bear attacking a beehive [[EverythingTryingToKillYou can kill you]] (and so can the [[EverythingsWorseWithBees bees]]). What is amusing is to see the bear kill Graham with one swing of its paw.
* In ''HeroesOfMightAndMagic V'', Hammers of Fate add-on, dwarves have heavily armored and very {{Badass}} bear cavalry. Just like on the page picture.
* Throughout the game {{Gauntlet}}: Dark Legacy, the player regularly fights against golems, stronger-than-normal enemies that take the form of humanoids built from various substances. Then you get to the Ice Domain, where the golems are replaced by giant, undead polar bears.
* {{Pokémon}} has Teddiursa, a small teddy bear. However, when it evolves at Level 30, it becomes the dangerous Ursaring. As mentioned above in the Anime section, Ursaring is a MightyGlacier that hits and moves like a truck. Weighing in at a base attack stat of 130, it is a beast to be reckoned with and its decent physical movepool is enough to back it up.
** The ROM hack ''PokemonQuartz'' has [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Pokemon%20Quartz/Update%2016/3-dear_god_no.png Babos]] and it's [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Pokemon%20Quartz/Update%2022/171-pkquartzfull_179.png evolution]] [[http://lparchive.org/LetsPlay/Pokemon%20Quartz/Update%2022/172-pkquartzfull_180.png Osoe]]. You know that something is '''wrong''' when a [[{{Gonk}} butt-ugly]] bear has [[MemeticMolester CUTE CHARM as its ability and Attract as its moves]]...
** On the subject of ''legitimate'' Pokemon games, Cubchoo averts this trope, as it's a polar bear cub with a giant SnotBubble. Its evo, Beartic, however, is the Unova Rape Bear.
* ''NaughtyBear'' wouldn't be the same game with some other animal.
* {{Shinobido}} has bears in some mission. And they're insanely powerful, veeery suspicious, move erratically and can take a lot of damage before dying. However, you can kill them istantly if they're distracted (usually a salmon will do the trick).
* ReturnToKrondor does not have any actual bears, but it has BigBad Bear. He is taller than everyone else. He has muscles to match his height. He is a mercenary and a pirate leader. He will kill men, women, and children who get in his way. In the game, one small-time pirate name Knute left him and was thrown in jail. Bear broke into the jail with an army of mercenaries, killing just about everyone they encountered. He personally went down to the cells where Knute was held in and ripped Knute's cell door right off its hinges and told Knute to follow him. Then he grabbed Knute by the throat and demanded to know "Where is it?" and "What had Knute done with it?" Knute just kept screaming that he did not do anything. Bear called Knute a liar and sliced him to pieces. When you finally fight Bear yourself, you will find that he wears the best armour and uses the best swords. Oh, and you will find that he is completely immune to your attacks. [[spoiler:He wears an amulet that makes him immune to your attacks.]]
* Parodied in ''VideoGame/CastleCrashers''. During the forest stage, you keep hearing vast thumping footsteps that cause various animals to [[BringMyBrownPants void their bowels in terror]]. About halfway through the stage, a huge bear emerges from the bushes, only to be scared off by the continued footsteps, which turn out to belong to [[spoiler:an enormous troll.]]
* In ''Videogame/JablessAdventure'', you encounter bears on the trip to TheLostWoods and they're one of the toughest enemies in the game. Then, UnderTheSea, you encounter the SCUBA bear, who's invincible. Finally, in [[LethalLavaLand a volcano]], you encounter a bear with a flamethrower, who's not only invincible but impossible to dodge (you have to find something fire-retardant to block him).
* ''DefenseOfTheAncients'' has Ursa, who is infamous for his instagibbing abilities in casual games, and Syllabear, who can summon a bear and turn into a bear as well. Given the right items and some levels, the latter can [[TheJuggernaut tank, dish out insane dps, permanently immobilize enemies and destroy towers in five seconds flat]].
* ''MegaManZero 2'' had Polar Kamrous, and she's just as "deadly" as her predecessor.
* Indie game ''Enviro Bear 2000'' and its iTunes retouch, ''Enviro Bear 2010'', prove this from the bear's perspective. You play a bear attempting to be more efficient at getting food for hibernation by driving around in a car. [[DrivesLikeCrazy Given the controls, that translates loosely into "smash up the forest in a car."]]
* The [[JustForPun Barren Room]] in ''ColossalCave''. [[spoiler:You can tame the bear. Then the Trope becomes active for the Troll.]]
* In ''LeagueOfLegends'', Annie summoned and a sealed a demon in her teddy bear. When she uses her Ultimate, she summon [[FluffyTheTerrible Tibbers]], a raging demon bear. That's on fire.
** There's also Volibear, the envoy of an entire [[ProudWarriorRaceGuy Proud Warrior Race]] of sentient, humanoid bears. He also [[ShockAndAwe harnesses lightning]] to further empower his already strong attacks.
** Volibear is based on the [[InJoke legendary 'armored bear']] from League beta. It has the 'Chronokeeper Hater' buff, a reference to Zilean the Chronokeeper and the Riot developer Zileas who was supposedly against armored bears.
* ''DefenseOfTheAncients'' has Syllabear, a druid who can shapeshift into a bear and has another bear as a minion. Both bears can buy and equip armor. This answers the question of what could possibly be worse than an armored bear character: a character that is ''two'' armored bears.
* One stage of ''KaoTheKangarooRound2'' involves running from a giant bear while avoiding falling into pits. "Exit, pursued by a bear" indeed.
* With the announcement of Kuma as part of the roster of the upcoming ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'', players will finally get to see [[HuskyRusskie Zanghief]] wrestling an actual bear.
* ''VideoGame/ThePerilsOfAkumos'': The whole space station is trying to kill you. What next? Oh. A bear attacks you.
* ''Mother 3'' has the [[LethalJokeItem Honey Shower]] which coats an enemy with honey, causing it to be stung repeatedly by bees for minimal damage. Oh, and sometimes a bear shows up, too. The bear ''doesn't'' inflict "minimal" damage.
* The Black Belt Demon's peat bear in ''RumbleRoses XX'' is unlockable.
* In ''{{Thief}}'', you can eavesdrop on a conversation between two guards about bear fighting as a blood sport. One of the guards laments that bears were ferocious when he was a kid, and the pit owners have to strap hooks and razor collars onto the bears to keep the fights interesting.
* ''VideoGame/AztecWars'' has war bears as one of the Russian units. They're fast and utterly devastating against infantry, but useless against buildings and vehicles.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Animation]]
* In episode 12 of ''UnforgottenRealms'', Roamin the Paladin rides to the scene of a big battle on the back of, not just a bear, but Ursa Arkadios, Archduke of the High Bears! Oh, and they're loaded with just about every sword in the rulebook.
* In ''HowToKillAMockingbird'', the pirates' [[LaserBlade laser-swords]] shoot bears that are [[IncendiaryExponent on fire]].
* [[http://www.thefucksociety.com/anim.php?id=bearhello&w=400&h=300 "No, you fool, only bears can have bear powers!"]]
* ''HappyTreeFriends'' has Flippy, a bear who, while on the surface [[CuteAndPsycho appears nice, goes insane now and then and brutally kills the entire cast]].
* The "Bear Holding a [[ThreateningShark Shark]]" from ''HomestarRunner''.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Webcomics]]
* ''Webcomic/TheAdventuresOfDrMcNinja'': [[http://drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=5&issue=9 Did someone mention robot bears]]?
** [[http://www.drmcninja.com/page.php?pageNum=48&issue=3 Grizzly bear with a midget trying to control it.]]
* {{Bearmageddon}} is essentially "Everything's Worse With Bears: The Webcomic".
* Robots and Bears are a very bad combination in ''BobTheAngryFlower'' since they are natural enemies and need only the slightest provocation to fight to the death.
* A storyline in ''GeneralProtectionFault'''s second year had a hike in the woods ruined by a bear. A [[http://www.gpf-comics.com/archive.php?d=20000414 talking]], [[http://www.gpf-comics.com/archive.php?d=20000421 poetry-writing]] bear.
* The female Jagermonster Jenka from ''Webcomic/GirlGenius'' [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/comic.php?date=20050606 rides a giant bear]]. This is how you know that [[DarkActionGirl she can kick your sorry ass]].
* The possible inspiration for Jenka and Fust can be found in one of Kaja Foglio's other comics, [[http://www.girlgeniusonline.com/stories/dovrefjell/dovrefjell_01.php ''The Cat On The Dovrefjell'']] which was apparently based on a folk tale and involves a bunch of trolls experiencing this trope first hand.
* In ''TheInexplicableAdventuresOfBob'', [[GhibliHills Pitcheresk Forest]] is very beautiful and hanging out there causes CharacterDevelopment... but it also invites [[http://bobadventures.comicgenesis.com/d/20080401.html bear attacks.]]
* Combined with ThreateningShark in ''{{Nedroid}}'': [[http://nedroid.com/2009/07/doorway-to-your-inner-self/ I CAN NEVER STOP SCREAMING]].
* Inverted in ''Webcomic/OrderOfTheStick'', regarding the owlbear: [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0322.html "Why would anyone crossbreed a perfectly serviceable bear with an owl?"]]
** How does a druid who focuses on spellcasting prepare for melee combat? That's right, by [[http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0353.html becoming a dire bear]].
* ''PennyArcade'': "We've secretly replaced Gabe's Xbox controller with an ''eight hundred pound grizzly bear''. [[http://penny-arcade.com/comic/2002/03/25 Let's see if he notices.]]"
** "Did you order one of those smaller controllers or something? I think I like it better."
* [[http://www.questionablecontent.net/view.php?comic=1285 One of the most bizarre moodkillers of all time]] appears in ''QuestionableContent'', courtesy of a bear.
* [[MacHall Matt Boyd and Ian Mc Conville]], authors of MacHall and ThreePanelSoul, remind you that this trope also applies to [[http://machall.com/view.php?date=2003-08-18 Morrowind]] and [[http://threepanelsoul.com/view.php?date=2008-05-19 Quebec]].
* As photoshopped by SomethingAwful: [[http://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/bears_online.jpg 1 in 5 children online gets eaten by rabid bears]].
* [[TheNonAdventuresOfWonderella Wonderella]] + ThePowerOfRock + [[http://nonadventures.com/2006/10/07/the-500-bearable-lightness-of-being/ 500 Bears]].
* [[http://www.shreddedmoose.com/comic/comic_arc.php?comicID=132 This]] strip of ''ShreddedMoose'' shows that sex is also Worse With Bears.
* In DeadOfSummer, the BigBad attacks our heroes with a zombie grizzly bear. However, since they're CrazyAwesome, they dispatch it pretty quickly.
* Parodied in ''BeaverAndSteve'', where it's taken to [[http://www.beaverandsteve.com/index.php?comic=25 the next level]]
* ''SaturdayMorningBreakfastCereal'' gives us [[http://www.smbc-comics.com/index.php?db=comics&id=1488#comic this]].
* ''CtrlAltDel'' Sillies feature Faildruid, the worst noob in WorldOfWarcraft who also happens to be a bear (and at one point an owl-bear).
* Radic from Webcomic/MurphysLaw occasionally wildshapes into a bear.
* ''CyanideAndHappiness'' warns [[http://www.explosm.net/comics/1365/ bike enthusiasts]]. Also, there's [[http://www.explosm.net/comics/1313/ one creature much worse than an owlbear]].
* The bears in ''YuMeDream'' are enforcers for a fascist dictatorship ruling the dreamworld.
* [[http://i.imgur.com/6tQaU.jpg This anonymous MS Paint comic.]]
* [[http://www.egscomics.com/sketchbook/?date=2011-02-08 This]] ''Webcomic/ElGoonishShive'' filler.
** A bear, with a accordion, on a pogo stick! My greatest fear!
* ''{{Roza}}'' [[http://www.junglestudio.com/roza/?date=2009-09-14 Just what you want to interrupt your fight.]]
* In ''BirdBoy'', after you [[ForbiddenFruit go into the]] LostWoods and stumble on the AbandonedArea, [[http://bird-boy.com/volume-1-page-20 naturally you get a bear]].
* [[LookingForGroup I'm a]] [[http://www.lfgcomic.com/page/134 bearlock now.]]
* In ''SamuraiPrincess'' when pondering what is inside a treasure chest, Jacquline says it could be a bear. Cue imagination spot.
* In ''Webcomic/NoRestForTheWicked'', [[http://www.forthewicked.net/archive/04-27.html Perrault climbs a tree and November feigns fainting]], and even the bear's nice manners can't induce them not to fear this trope.
* In ''OurLittleAdventure'', [[http://danielscreations.com/ola/comics/ep0237.html scouting the woods turns up bears, which is noted.]]
* In ''Webcomic/LaserFeet'', a bear stars in the test pattern used when the creator is unable to upload that week's comic, for whatever reason, as seen [[http://www.thelaserfeet.com/comic/003/ here]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Web Original]]
* There's the MemeticMutation image that illustrates this page... [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/Bear_cavalry which gets some responses]].
* The ''GlobalGuardiansPBEMUniverse'' has several examples of this trope:
** Render is an animalistic, bear-like [[AxeCrazy psycho-villain]] who likes the taste of human blood.
** ''Coach Bear'', the gym teacher at the [[SuperheroSchool Hyperion Academy]], used to be the superhero known as "Kodiak".
** Ursa is a Russian superhero who can turn into a polar bear.
* In ''More TalesOfMU'', bears are the only animal that the [[CantArgueWithElves typically arrogant elves]] will not hunt:
-->'''Iason:''' And did nobody ever think to teach you anything about bears?\\
'''Jamie:''' Not to mess with them.\\
'''Iason:''' That will do for a beginning.
* [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qfNU7AgSVQM Violated by Bears Man]]'s origin.
* That's not important. Let's focus on [[http://jerslater.blogspot.com/2006/06/on-follow-up-calls.html RAPEBEAR]].
** And [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/pedobear#.Tc2ZEc0Zwno Pedobear.]]
* What's more terrifying than a Vampire riding a zombie Dragon? [[http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/5677925/ VAMPIRE BEARS RIDING ZOMBIE DRAGONS!]]
* But...[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loyuW_nYGIc what if there's bears?]]
* Fan Fiction: [[http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4988255/1/Halflife_Fulllife_Consequences_Free_Man John Freeman]] got quiet then dropped weapon and said "I have to kill fast and bullets too slow" and started killing Combines with [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ULWgEnnmcv4 bear hands.]]
* There is a common joke among ''SurvivalOfTheFittest'' handlers that inactive characters are killed and eaten by an "Inactivity Bear". Also, in her first post, version 4 character Maria Graham has a dream where she was actually "Robo-Bear 5000", which was, of course, a robotic bear disguised as a student and was going to avenge its kidnapping.
** Of course, when Version 4's [[spoiler:Megan Nelson]] went [[SureWhyNot inactive]]...
* College Humor reminds us that [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1940966 Cartoon Bears are still bears.]]
* The Russian Internet meme [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/preved-medved Preved Medved (Hello Bear).]]
* [[http://puns.icanhascheezburger.com/2010/10/01/funny-puns-grizzly-violence/ Bears]] [[GearsOfWar of War]].
** The newest [[BadHumorTruck Good Humor flavor]]: [[http://cheezburger.com/View/3600008704 StrawBEARies and SCREAM!]]
* There is such thing as a ''[[http://www.collegehumor.com/article:1809479 Bear Attack Flowchart]]''.
* WhateleyUniverse: the Mediwhila native American tribe just off the grounds of [[SuperheroSchool Whateley Academy]] are Weres. But the leader's boyfriend is a Werebear. Do not mess with this guy.
* This is a running joke in the online web series LoadingReadyRun where Kathleen, one of the people in comedy group, has what she describes as a "completely rational fear" of bears.
* This [[http://s3.amazonaws.com/kym-assets/entries/icons/original/000/001/075/AUCrI.png?1255529734 Picture sums up the worst of the worst.]]
* CerberusDailyNews has Brizzly, a sapient, biotic grizzly.
* [[http://s74.photobucket.com/albums/i260/Galixgun/Demotivation%20Posters/?action=view¤t=BEARtrap.png The Bear Trap]]. It's not one of those usual {{Bear Trap}}s -- it's a ''Bear'' trap.
* An episode of ''WhatTheFuckIsWrongWithYou'' featured a story about a man who wanted to find a bear, kill a bear, wear the bear's skin, and then maul his ex-girlfriend to death to make it look like some sort of freak bear attack. Nash was quick to point out the flaws in this plan.
--> '''Nash''': Number one, it's a bear. Number two, it's a bear. Number three, and probably most important... HOLY SHIT, YOU FUCKING IDIOT! IT'S A GODDAMNED BEAR!
* The SCPFoundation currently maintains three "ursine"-tagged subjects: [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1549 SCP-549]], which would be a normal grizzly if it weren't 17 centimetres long; [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1048 SCP-1048]], a sapient teddy bear that can use any material to make more of itself; and [[http://scp-wiki.wikidot.com/scp-1055 "Bugsy,"]] a grizzly that gets bigger and more aggressive the [[YourMindMakesItReal more people know about it]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Western Animation]]
* The bear who fights the title character and his daughter in the ''WesternAnimation/{{Balto}}'' sequel. Thanks to his embodiment of an animal totem, he comes across as more of a spirit guide, but he's still fairly menacing and seems to believe ScareEmStraight is the best way to guide them.
** The first movie had a fight with a bear near the beginning of Balto's journey to find the medicine, and the bear was portrayed as outright ''demonic''.
** Even though they are cubs and thus good the polar bears Muk and Luk pretty much spell this trope for their babysitter, [[MorallyAmbiguousDucktorate "Uncle" Boris]] (who at one point says "I hate bears!"). Good thing that they apparently are stuck as cubs forever (if the time between the movie and sequels is of any indication)
* Parodied in ''TheSimpsons'', where a bear wandering around Springfield, not even getting angry once, causes enough of a panic to lead to an extensive (and costly) bear watch program.
** In a more straightforward example, Homer is traumatized by a bear attack, and even has nightmares of being attacked by vicious teddy bears.
-->'''Homer:''' Are you a Care Bear?\\
'''Care Bear:''' (takes out a crowbar and starts tapping it) I'm an Intensive Care Bear.\\
'''Homer:''' Why does a bear need a crowbar?\\
'''Care Bear:'''...I don't like to get my hands dirty.
** There was also a bear with a ''chainsaw''. {{Chainsaw| Good}} ''[[ChainsawGood bad]]''. In the episode where Mr. Burns and the Rich Texan were destroying the environment. Kent Brockman announced that "Smokey the Bear" is now "Choppy the Lumberjack". Cut to a bear in a lumberjack get-up cutting a tree with a chainsaw, while an activist protested to his actions behind him. Choppy backhanded him angrily and revved up his chainsaw.
** In another episode, Bart and Lisa are stuck in a forest fire. Homer arrives in a helicopter, and let down a rope ladder. Before the kids can climb it, a bear shoulders them aside and climbs the ladder himself (only being stopped from reaching the chopper by Homer cutting the rope).
** One of Homer's dream sequences involves him as "Homey the Bear", a WesternAnimation/YogiBear parody in both appearance and animation style. Not so bad, until Homey proceeds to brutally maul Ranger Ned (Flanders).
** Kent Brockman reported in season 7 about a bear who stowed away on a space shuttle that is now terrorizing the astronauts.
** One of the most infamous cases of this trope took place in the episode, "Homer vs. Dignity." While pulling a prank for Mr. Burns that was an in-universe example of PandaingToTheAudience, a male panda mistook a panda costume-clad Homer for a female and implicitly raped him.
* A RunningGag among many 11-minute AdultSwim animated comedies; the ones that happen to be related to each other by same way (usually creative staff). It started with an episode of ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'' with Space Ghost brawling a bear; then became a prominent character in ''PerfectHairForever'' and spread from there.
-->'''[[{{Squidbillies}} Granny]]:''' And then the Lord made bears. Lots of bears... Too many bears. Should've dialed back on the bears... And so, he dialed back on the bears!
* ''{{Catscratch}}'' has a bear for a recurring character. His most basic purpose is to make the cats' lives suck.
* ''ClerksTheAnimatedSeries'': Who is driving? Oh my god, bear is driving! How can that be?"
* ''DannyPhantom'' just couldn't do with a regular bear, they had to make it a ''mutated ghostly one with four arms!''.
* ''FamilyGuy'': OH MY GOD, THERE'S A BEAR IN MY OATMEAL!
* The climax of ''Disney/TheFoxAndTheHound''. Where a bear is portrayed as some demonic beast spawned from the depths of Hell.
* In ''HarveyBirdmanAttorneyAtLaw'' Birdman is tasked with defending Boo Boo Bear, or as he's also known, "[[MadBomber the Unibooboo]]".
-->'''Phil Ken Sebben:''' He's a bear! Buster Brown and his Hairy Hollyknockers! Have you ever tried to bring one down?
** May be an example of an ActorAllusion, as Phil's voice actor is Stephen Colbert.
** Averted with ... the bear, who mostly stands around, and usually leads the OhCisco moment at the end of the shows.
*** In one episode, "[[ActorAllusion Phil belives the Bear is pure evil and stealing from him]]."
* Grier in ''{{Huntik}}'' has a bear Titan named [[MeaningfulName Breaker]]. With [[MultiArmedAndDangerous four arms]] and SpikesOfVillainy. Yeah, Grier's a pretty {{badass}} AntiVillain.
* An episode of ''JohnnyBravo'' has Johnny run into a talking bear who claimed to be '''''[[LargeHam Chronos, Master of All Time!!]]'''''
* In the ChristmasEpisode of ''KimPossible'', [[{{Sidekick}} Ron]] and [[HarmlessVillain Dr. Drakken]] are stuck in the Arctic. So how do you top that? You add a vicious polar bear.
* In the second season finale of ''WesternAnimation/MoralOrel'', Orel's father Clay gets drunk, accidentally shoots Orel, and promptly passes out after Orel [[CallingTheOldManOut calls him out]]. It is only ''then'' that a grizzly appears and begins sniffing around the camp. When Clay's drunken sleep-muttering attracts the bear's attention to them, Orel reluctantly empties the revolver he has to kill the bear and save his father.
* One ''RobotChicken'' sketch [[SugarApocalypse featured the Care Bears brutally massacring the non-bear Care Bear Cousins]].
* In ''WesternAnimation/TeenTitans'', Raven spends much of the episode "Hide and Seek" in disbelief that Melvin's imaginary friend Bobby is real, instead believing Melvin is telekinetic and won't admit it. Then Monsieur Mallah kidnaps Melvin and the other kids, and we learn that Bobby is not only real, he's a nightmarish teddy bear with super-strength. Beatdown ensues.
** Beast Boy also tends to turn into a bear (among other ferocious creatures) when he's angry enough.
* ''[[ScoobyDoo Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo]]'' featured an episode titled "The Hairy Scare of the Devil Bear", which is [[NothingIsScarier about]] [[HellIsThatNoise this]] [[PrimalFear trope]]! Quite scary.
* ''SpongebobSquarepants'' has Squidward running afoul of an [[HairTriggerTemper easily-provoked]] Seabear in "The Camping Episode": "DON'T RUN, SEABEARS HATE THAT!"
-->'''Squidward:''' What'd I do that time?!\\
'''Spongebob:''' I don't know! Maybe he just doesn't like you!
* ''BeavisAndButthead'': On a camping trip, a bear mauls Mr. Van Driesen, and cuts his song about men's feelings to an abrupt halt -- and it's the high point of the trip for Beavis, Butthead, and even Stuart.
* ''CloudyWithAChanceOfMeatballs'' has living gummy bears trying to take out a FlyingCar gremlin style, until being stopped by a gummy bear loving [[EverythingsBetterWithMonkeys monkey]].
* Seemingly played straight in ''BrotherBear'', when the main character sees bears as irritations at first and goes on to full-blown hatred towards them after one inadvertently caused his brother's death. Subverted when he turns into one and finds out that bears actually aren't so terrible.
* ''WesternAnimation/{{Dilbert}}'': Dogbert hosts a TV financial round-table. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXKqR2VXHYY With 3 financial specialists and one drunken bear.]]
* Subverted in ''[[SouthPark]]'' when a MamaBear carries off several [[ItMakesSenseInContext Jewish Cub Scouts]]...to be guests at a birthday party for her cub.
** In the battle of the YouTube stars, Sneezing Panda kills three of his opponents.
* One of the bears that appeared in Season 1 of ''WesternAnimation/TotalDramaIsland'' mauled Cody to the point where he had to wear a body cast.
** In the third season, ItGetsWorse: the bear learns how to use [[ChainsawGood the chainsaw]].
* In ''SpaceGhostCoastToCoast'', there's an episode that Space Ghost is attacked by a bear, because there's a shark in the set. According to his [[ArtisticLicenseBiology educational documentary]] sharks like to walk along with bear, so the shark, named "Kentucky Nightame", attracts him.
* Supposedly played straight in ''AlphaAndOmega'', but ultimately a subversion; if such bears can be defeated by wolves with anime hair, then they clearly don't pose a threat at all (wolves are far too weak to even scratch a grizzly, so...).
** Though [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gray_wolf#Enemies_and_competitors this]] proves otherwise.
* ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' crosses over this trope with (arguably, due to the nature of this trope) ArsonMurderAndJaywalking. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxkoCKRgHv8 In song.]]
-->''Billy! He's the greatest warrior ever, a hero of renown! Who slayed an evil ocean, who cast the Lich King down! [...] Also...'' '''''He fought a bear!'''''
* In Hero108, [[TheBigBad High Roller]]'s henchmen (other than the [[MinionWithAnFInEvil Zebra twins]]) are an army of bears! They are seen as his henchmen. Especially their king being [[TheDragon High Roller's sidekick in evil]].
* In ''TheVentureBrothers'', the Revenge Society is recruiting new members, and during the TerribleIntervieweesMontage, one of the interviewees is a bear. Or possibly a guy in a bear costume. Either way, it's covered in blood, looks freaky as hell, and just stands there, not speaking or doing anything. Phantom Limb, Professor Impossible, and Baron Underbeit, experienced supervillains, are scared shitless. And then it pulls out a knife.
** In another episode, Brock fights a team of Vatican Swiss Guard bears.
** And in another episode The Monarch forces a prostitute into a deathtrap gauntlet. Featuring the polar bear from Lost.
* On ''{{Jimmy Two-Shoes}}'', Lucius punishes [[YesMan Samy]] with a bear on a stick. It eats him, chews him up, and spits him out.
* In an episode of ''WesternAnimation/AmericanDad'', Stan has both his legs ripped off by a vicious polar bear, after being pushed in by the bear's tank by Roger, who wanted to save Stan and pretend to be a hero, so he'd let him move back in with him.
* ''WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic'', "Boast Busters" sees Twilight Sparkle forced to deal with an Ursa Major, a huge, terrifying blue bear as big as a house and ''[[EldritchAbomination made of stars]]'', thanks to two none-too-bright pony boys who wanted to see [[MilesGloriosus boastful magician]] Trixie take one on. [[spoiler:It turns out that was only an Ursa Minor, merely a cranky baby. The real Ursa Major, its mother, is bigger, scarier, [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking and purple]].]]
* Joe Bear in the [[TexAveryMGMCartoons Tex Avery-directed cartoon]], "Rock-a-Bye Bear".
* There was an animated BeastFable adaptation of TomSawyer where Injun' Joe (or just Joe) was portrayed as a bear.
* In ''WesternAnimation/TheLegendOfKorra'', the larger of the two [[TeamPet team pets]] is Naga, a [[MixAndMatchCritters Polar]] [[EverythingsWorseWithBears Bear]] [[CanineCompanion Dog]]. Korra is distinct in that she's the first to be able to [[FluffyTamer tame such a beast]]. Korra can and does use Naga as an intimidation tool, and Naga is fiercely protective of Korra.
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Other]]
* {{Radiohead}}'s album Kid A's marketing campaign told a vague but disturbing story about genetically modified bears killing everyone. The "Radiohead Bear" has remained the band's logo ever since.
* They're learning ''[[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ghgg_fukbvU&feature=related Kung Fu]]'' [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rVjAQqZrGcg now]]. We're all gonna die.
* These [[http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=11925074644#!/group.php?gid=11925074644&v=photos traditional American values]]
* Preying on public fear and stereotypes, the following hoax[[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2026914/Mum-bear-eating--Final-phone-calls-woman-19-eaten-alive-brown-bear-cubs.html]] describes a 19-year old Russian girl and her stepfather get eaten alive by a literal MamaBear and cubs.
* Several sports teams such as the Memphis (originally Vancouver) Grizzlies (basketball), the Chicago Cubs (baseball), the Chicago Bears (football), and the Boston Bruins (hockey).
** In AustralianRulesFootball, the Brisbane Bears failed at this, by having a koala as their mascot. [[ArtisticLicenseBiology Koalas are not bears]].
[[/folder]]
[[folder:Real Life]]
* The Nazis probably felt this way about [[http://www.badassoftheweek.com/voytek.html Voytek]]. A bear... [[DarkerAndEdgier that drinks, smokes, fights, and carries ammo]].
* Try to read all the way through [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_fatal_bear_attacks_in_North_America this page]] without getting the chills. Some standout incidents include:
** The woman who climbed onto her roof when the bear broke into her cabin. It ''[[SuperPersistentPredator followed her onto the roof]]'' and killed her. Nowhere is safe...
** The one where a bear broke the necks of two campers, dragged them off, and ate part of them. When police found the bear five days later...it was ''guarding and protecting their corpses''. Somehow the [[{{Yandere}} really disturbing implications]] of that last bit make this one even creepier.
** The bear who apparently ripped the door off of a trailer to get to the man inside.
** The bear who dragged a five-month-old ''off of the porch of her house'' and killed her.
** And of course the one where [[NothingIsScarier the only information they give us]] is that "his/her partially consumed remains were found." Especially scary is the guy whose half-eaten body was found ''in a campground'' when people woke up the next morning, or the one where "days later, searchers found his campsite with his bare skeleton, one intact hand, and both feet, still booted."
** And then there's the guy who managed to drag himself 1.5 miles to a meadow to die after being mauled and partially eaten.
* The Russian animal symbol is the bear. This trope was used in an American political ad during the Cold War asking, "If there's a bear in the woods, what are you going to do about it?" more or less.
* You know the scientific name for the grizzly bear? ''Ursus arctos horribilis''.
* The English from the time ''Literature/{{Beowulf}}'' was written avoided even naming the bear. In several languages (including French, English, German, Finnish, and Russian), there was a taboo about even saying "bear" for fear that [[SpeakOfTheDevil it would summon one]]. Thus, there's usually at least one euphemism that survives to this day for them to keep that from happening (in English, the most common one is "bruin", literally "brown one"). In medieval Russia, the word ''medved'' (honey-eater), which is itself an euphemism for the now-lost original word for "bear", itself got tabooed. Instead of naming the animal directly, people would refer to it with nicknames, either endearingly-pejorative ("the hairy one", "the clumsy one") or respectful ("the master"); a common practice was to give it a similar-sounding human name ("Mikhail [[{{Patronymic}} Potapych]]", "Misha").
* There's a ''reason'' the expression "loaded for bear" pretty much means "carrying the biggest damn gun you can get your hands on." In the muzzle-loading days, it meant cramming in extra powder. It takes quite a lot to put a bear down and there's a lot of TakingYouWithMe potential if you don't get it right.
* Campgrounds in the more remote areas of Canada typically offer literature and even lectures by the park ranger on proper bear safety. Despite this, examples abound of tourists failing to take rules like "don't keep food in the tent" and "don't get between a mother bear and her cubs" seriously and paying a heavy price.
* As depicted in ''Film/GrizzlyMan'', Timothy Treadwell had been hanging around bears for a long long time and filming them until two finally ate him and his girlfriend. Before that he apparently had such a way that he could get close to cubs without hitting the momma's BerserkButton. Guess it doesn't matter how much a strong connection you have to nature when there's a food shortage...
* StephenColbert puts bears in the Threat Down for a very good reason. (See page quote, also Phil Ken Sebben's dislike of bears.) WordOfGod says his fear of them is partly based on a recurring dream, and partly on the movie ''[[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067388/ Man in the Wilderness]]''. Also partly because his father, who was a doctor, used a hypothetical bear-mauling as an example of the kind of thing you can brush off with ease with the aid of modern medicine. Which explains the FridgeBrilliance of his referring to pundit BillOReilly as 'papa bear'. Bears are the number one threat to America, and Billo [[TropeCodifier is largely responsible for]] the modern TV personality Colbert professes to parody. Therefore, ''He's the greatest of the greatest threats to America''.
* When the Stock Market goes down, it's said to be in a ''bear'' market. It's said to be a reference to the way they attack; they swipe ''down'' with their paw.
* Legendary NFL linebacker Dick Butkus was dubbed "The Most Feared Man in the Game." Who did he play for? That's right, the Chicago Bears.
* A Russian circus manager was killed by [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vNsqkmHxpEE an ice skating bear.]]
* A group of armed militants in Kashmir [[http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/8339549.stm stopped to have some pudding in a cave hideway...shared by a bear]]. The bear killed two and severely injured a third.
** To clarify, the cave was shared, not the pudding.
*** Note: This may be why the bear attacked.
* In Finnish, an infuriated person is said to be "mad as a bear shot in the arse".
* Gold Rush miners used to pit bears against everything. The bear always won so they got bored and imported some lions. The lion would roar and charge, the bear would crush their skull with one blow.
* The Lewis and Clark expedition experienced Grizzly bears for the first time when they were exploring the west. "Experienced" here meaning "coming across a creature so incredibly strong they were unable to kill it with all of their guns and had to hide up trees until it left." Note that climbing a tree is not a foolproof solution to bears. Bears, even grizzlies, have been known to climb trees, too. And even standing on the ground, a big bear can reach as much as 10 feet into a tree.
* [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sankebetsu_brown_bear_incident The Sankebetsu brown bear incident]]. Not at all a page to read before going to bed.
* Bear-hunting was a favourite pastime of medieval Russian princes. Subverted in that, with armed retainers, clever tactics, and special-issue anti-bear spears (special ''rogatina''s with oak handles and silver heads), it actually wasn't all that difficult to kill a bear. Pseudo-Demetrius I, the wacky early 17th century impostor that threw the country into bloody infighting, was very popular with the commoners of Moscow because of his badass stunt where he used his freakish strength to not only stop a bear in mid-pounce with his rogatina (that was standard practice), but also ''throw it backwards over his head''. So if bears wrote TVTropes, they would have to make a trope for "Everything Is Worse With Russian Princes and Political Opportunists That Pretend To Be Such".
* Berserkers. Norse warriors who, among other rituals, went into battle wearing bearskins. The Norse were scary enough, but God help you if you were attacked by a berserker.
* Sort of a weird example, but [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLykQrCLKE8 this]] is SFW, yet so...bizarre.
* Water bears. That [[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1054351/Tiny-water-bears-creatures-survive-space.html cannot be killed by the harsh vacuum or cosmic radiation of space]], or much of anything else.
* In 2006 a brown bear nicknamed "Bruno" by the press became something of a ''cause célèbre'' when it wandered into southern UsefulNotes/{{Germany}} from UsefulNotes/{{Austria}}. Bruno was extremely large and aggressive, showing a particular fondness for killing (but not eating) domestic animals. The fumbling attempts of the [[TheSixteenLandsOfDeutschland Bavarian]] government to deal with him (particularly Minister-President [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWcIimwhkr8 Edmund Stoiber's description]] of him as a "''Problembär''" ("problem bear")) attracted a great amount of derision. Bruno was finally shot to death by government marksmen.
* And now they're joyriding in [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-10753021 your car]]
* Subversion: Recently there was a drug bust of a Marijuana farm guarded [[NoKillLikeOverkill by 10 black bears]]. They were so docile and domesticated that all that happened was that one of them sat on a cop car's hood for an hour, and then they just watched everything.
* For the prehistoric giant cave bear this was inverted. For them everything was worse with [[HumansAreBastards humans]]. [[http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-11096945 We pushed them out of their living space and then hunted them to extinction]].
** While that was going on in Eurasia, Paleo-Indians had to deal with [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctodus Giant Short-Faced Bears]], 1800-pound brutes that were twice as tall as humans when standing upright.
* As if WorldWarIII wouldn't be bad enough, consider the fact it was almost started [[http://io9.com/5664390/5-times-we-almost-nuked-ourselves-by-accident by a bear]].
* Despite their cute appearance, pandas are still bears, and they will [[http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/drunk-man-mauled-by-panda/story-e6frg6uo-1111112247263 maul you for hugging them]] unless they've been [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CH_xFEWvyu4 trained for that.]]
* Most large carnivores attempt to avoid contact with humans unless they learn that humans are an easy source of food (either scavenging human refuse or hunting humans). Polar bears don't make any effort to avoid humans and appear to consider them to be exactly the same as everything else that's not another polar bear: food.
** There is an old Inuit story of a woman who went to live among strange people. She became a burden, and so they placed her in a boat, took her out to sea and cast her overboard. She struggled to regain the side of the boat, but they cut off her fingers to keep her away. As she died in the water, she became Sedna, the godess of the sea and mother of all beasts. Her fingers became the walrus and seals and whales that the people would hunt to eat. But her middle finger became the white bear. When the other animals see a man, they try to run away. But when the white bear sees a man, he is filled with revenge and tries to kill the person who he believes murdered the woman from whose finger he was born. Wise Inuit stay away from the white bear...
* Subverted with [[http://www.collegehumor.com/video:1890462 this]] video. Apparently, they make hockey better.
* The [[http://www.nonstopsnow.com/blog/stuff-we-like/svalbard-ski-marathon/ Svalbard Ski Marathon]]: probably the only annual sporting event where the entire track has to be surveilled by armed guards to stop polar bears from eating the competitors.
* Everything's worse with a bear market, despite financial advisors' [[https://www.edwardjones.com/groups/ejw_content/@ejw/@us/@graphics/documents/web_content/web034039.pdf attempts to subvert the trope]].
* TheBigShow currently uses a bear as his logo.
* One of the knights who killed Thomas Becket was Reginald [=fitsUrse=], "son of the bear".
[[/folder]]
----
--> ''[[{{Shakespeare}} Exit]], [[Theatre/TheWintersTale pursued by a bear.]]''
