Polar bears are outrageously cute as babies and unbelievably beautiful animals as adults.

Also will kill and eat you without a second thought if hungry.

But cutely

fuck this, i'm quitting vet school and moving to alaska to watch polar bear gopro livestreams all day every day

https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2018/02/what-scientists-learned-from-strapping-a-camera-to-a-polar-bear/552083/

https://www.usgs.gov/media/videos/polar-bears-film-their-own-sea-ice-world

That Atlantic article...

But this:

"One bear was throwing chunks of ice in the water," Pagano said. The animal seemed to lift up a piece of ice above its head, stand on its hind legs, and chuck it into the water. "She did this repeatedly," he told me. "It's not clear why that individual was doing that."

Baiting seals?

Splishy splashing because why not.

or beating fish with ice

Splishy splashing because why not.

That's pretty much what I was thinking.

It is International Polar Bear Day, so enjoy this video of a mama bear and her cubs sliding around:

https://twitter.com/aastha_dass/status/968428887871930370

Literally smarter than your average bear...

However, legislation against shooting mothers with cubs has provided a loophole of sorts - and the bears seem to have noticed, according to a team of international researchers who have spent decades studying Scandinavian brown bears.
In their study, published in the journal Nature Communications, the researchers conclude that females appear to have learned to protect themselves by sticking with their cubs for longer. Some have extended their time with cubs from 18 months to 30, increasing survival rates for both mom and offspring.
In the decade between 2005 and 2015, the number of mothers keeping their young with them for an extra year increased from seven percent to 36 percent.

https://www.treehugger.com/animals/how-mother-bears-sweden-our-outsmarting-hunters.html

"In an evolutionary perspective, this would not be beneficial," Swenson says. "The animals with the most offspring [are the most successful]."

I don't know - the moms who stay longer with their cubs survive to have more cubs.

Yes, but human laws are fickle and can change much faster than the bears could develop new behaviours. Too many bears and Sweden could institute a limited mother kill/hunt.