The Only Man In The World Who Can Swim With A Polar Bear

Mark Abbot Dumas is a professional animal trainer so don’t try this one the next time you visit your local zoo. The fearless animal trainer has spent years domesticating Agee and has trained the bear from infancy.

Man with grizzly fur Mark Dumas, 60, is the world’s only man who has ever ᴛᴏᴜᴄʜᴇᴅ a polar bear. The daring bear handler from Abbotsford, bristish Columbia, even goes for a swim in his pool, where he and 16-year-old polar bear Agee enjoy an aquatic snuggle together, as these ᴀsᴛᴏɴɪsʜing photos show. Mark and wife Dawn, 60, train the 60-stone (800lb) friendly beast – the world’s largest land ᴘʀᴇᴅᴀᴛᴏʀ – to star in high-budget TV adverts.

She has even appeared in films as young as a few weeks old, such as ‘Alaska’ in 1995. Mark wrestles Agee on the grass, loves her, puts his head in her big jaws, and even bear hugs her as she rears up to nearly seven feet. Mark and Dawn have owned Agee since she was six weeks old and the colossal mammal even lived in their home as a cub where she played with the family dogs and was bottle fed.

A celebrity in her own right, Agee has appeared in television and movies. Seen here, she goes for dip in a swimming pool with her trainer Mark. The now 16-year-old 7 foot polar bear enjoy a watery ᴄᴜᴅᴅʟᴇ while swimming in the pool.

‘Anyone else who tried this would end up as Agee’s dinner,’ Mark said.

‘I and my wife are the only people she likes in the entire world.’

I’ve been working with bear for over 40 years, so I can read Agee’s body language and know how to interact with her securely. “

‘Agee has rules and we are always working inside those.’

She lived inside our home for the first few weeks and we hand-reared her,’ said Mark.

‘Eventually a time came when she was so big we had to move her outside into her own enclosure.’

Now Agee spends her time living in her new enclosure on rented land near Mark and Dawn’s home in Abbotsford, and on the road working on TV and film sets. At home, Mark enjoys ‘play time’ with her.

‘Earlier in the morning she’s more playful and relaxed and she lets me roll around with her.”

‘We wrestle for fun and sometimes we fall asleep on her grassy lawn together. It’s a great way to unwind after a ʙᴀᴅ day.” Mark added.