Joey, the fakest bear in the world
The fictional story of an albino brown bear relocated to the North Pole has resurfaced, causing a stir on social networks. Not without consequences for the discourse of experts and the public’s opinion of the work of wildlife conservation specialists.
Once upon a time there was Joey, an albino brown bear living happily in the vast Canadian forests. One day, a group of animal activists discovered him and mistook him for a lost polar bear. In no time at all, Joey is anesthetized and wakes up at the North Pole. With his spring fur still on his back, this poor plantigrade is having trouble acclimatizing to this icy world. Fortunately, the error is discovered and the bear is returned to his forest, where he finds his salmon and a less hostile climate. Happy, Joey doesn’t know that his destiny is about to change again. The same activists spot him again. The rest is history: a dart, a chopper and a wake-up call at the North Pole.
But Joey has gained experience since his first trip to the 90th parallel. So, he sets off south. On his way, he is spotted by motorists who alert the authorities. Captured, Joey is taken to a zoo. Once again misidentified, he is forced to share an enclosure with polar bears who bully him. Finally recognized as a brown bear, our brave Joey’s misery comes to an end when he is placed in the same enclosure as his fellow bears.
This bizarre story, known as “Joey, the world’s unluckiest bear”, has been circulating on social networks for several years now. According to Snopes, an online news site specializing in verifying hoaxes and rumors circulating on the Internet, the story dates back to at least 2021 and has been resurfacing regularly on the Internet and social networks ever since. Shared as videos, the story has accumulated over 4 million views on TikTok within the span of fifteen months.
Made-up from scratch, the story nonetheless passes for real to an uninformed public unfamiliar with bears and the Arctic, which is not without consequences. “While seemingly a spoof that gained traction, it ultimately gives the public a false sense of the realities of translocating wildlife broadly and polar bears specifically.”, states Geoff York, Senior Director of Research and Policy at Polar Bears International. “For some audiences, it may raise the unrealistic expectation that an animal in a real-life situation that has wandered out of its usual range or one who finds trouble near a community can be simply snatched up and moved quickly. This is rarely the case.”
The result of teamwork involving both scientists and authorities, as well as volunteers and members of emergency services, relocation is generally carried out to keep bears away from communities. The operation requires a great deal of coordination, as well as financial resources. Occasionally, relocation outside national borders may be necessary, requiring international cooperation. Such cases are rare, however, and never involve the North Pole.
Another problem is the impact such stories can have on the general public’s opinion of experts and scientists. “Joey” features some not-so-smart activists and some not-so-savvy bear specialists. While a bear with a whitish coat could be mistaken for a polar bear in the eyes of the layman, it’s impossible for a specialist to be mistaken. “I think it […] denigrates the professionals working in conservation in the assumption that we could not discern the difference between two quite unique species.”, says Geoff York.
An exaggerated claim? Not really. Reading the comments following Joey’s story, the competence of such professionals is indeed widely questioned, with some comments not hesitating to use terms like “abuse” to denounce what is perceived as animal mistreatment.
Often attributable to the emotion provoked by this far-fetched story, the credit given to Joey is reminiscent of another case that caused a strong reaction on the Internet. In 2017, a video shot in Svalbard by renowned photographer Paul Nicklen caused a stir. It showed a starving polar bear, skin and bones, dragging itself painfully along the ground. In no time at all, the images, combined with other photos of skeletal polar bears, were used to denounce the effects of climate change, creating a direct causal link.
Asked to comment on the images, biologists and polar bear experts had to explain that an emaciated bear is not necessarily attributable to global warming. Injury, illness, old age or inexperience in hunting are also the fate of these animals, which can die of starvation. However, it was difficult for the experts to find their way through the emotional cacophony provoked by these images.
Or when sensationalistic stories and graphic images circulate among the general public, replacing the rational, scientific and factual discourse that is so essential today.
Mirjana Binggeli, Polar Journal AG
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