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This Polar Bear Petting A Sled-Dog Is A Lot More Sinister Than It Seems

Sometimes, no matter how cute we want it to be, nature takes its course.
David de Meulles

It was some of the loveliest vision to emerge on the internet for some time -- a polar bear petting a chained-up sled dog in the icy Canadian wilderness.

Sadly, it turns out there's a pretty horrific backstory, with revelations that polar bears in the same area, potentially including the bear featured, have been devouring sled dogs.

It looked like a standard cute animal story to begin with when Ontario-based David de Meulles -- reportedly the person who captured the friendly moment between the polar bear and sled dog -- described the vision as "mind blowing".

Meulles told CBC News he had no idea what was going to happen between the polar bear and dog, but was charmed when the big predator sat down alongside the dog.

"I just so happened to catch the video of a lifetime," he's quoted as saying, adding that it was a "beautiful sight to see".

However, the nightmare twist is that Canadian authorities are said to have confirmed that three polar bears, possibly including the bear featured in the video, were taken from the same area because they were slaughtering dogs.

According to the Nine Network, it's not known whether the dog featured in the viral vision was the victim of the deadly attack.

Experts say that it's unwise to keep dogs chained up in the region due to the risk of polar bear attacks.

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