馬克·杜馬斯：我的游泳池里有只北極熊

Some people dream of swimming with dolphins， while others have nightmares about swimming with sharks. But bear trainer Mark Dumas likes nothing more than to go for dip in a swimming pool where he and a 60 stone predator enjoy a watery cuddle together.

Marks unusual best friend is Agee， a full-size adult polar bear who stands at over seven feet when on her hind legs.

And when the wrestling has tired both the animal expert and huge Agee out， they both enjoy a nap together inside Agees enclosure and Agee clamp her huge jaws around Marks head.

It may seem like bear trainer Mark Dumas is risking his life by living with polar bear Agee， but the two share an incredibly intimate bond. Mark has been in the bizarre industry of bear-training for the past 40 years and is an expert at reading Agees body language.

Mark， 60， and wife Dawn， 49， from Abbotsford， British Columbia （BC）， Canada， train the polar bear—the worlds largest land predator—to star in high-budget TV adverts. Agee even appeared in movies like Alaska in 1995 when she was just a few weeks old. With their incredibly intimate bond Agee even bear hugs owner Mark as she rears up on her hind legs to over seven feet.

“If anyone else tried this they would end up as Agees dinner，” said Mark，“The only people in the whole world she likes are me and my wife. I have worked with bears in this way for over 40 years， so I can read Agees body language and know how to behave safely around her. But Agee is the boss and its her rules that count.”

Mark and Dawn took Agee on when she was just eight weeks old. With links to Hollywood through previous work with animals， Mark was approached by director Fraser Heston—the son of screen legend Charlton—16 years ago. Heston needed a polar bear cub for his forthcoming film Alaska and Mark found Agee—a surplus cub at Kolmarden Zoo， Sweden. Mark and Dawn went through a lengthy application to show they had the facilities to care for her. After being approved they transported the tiny cub—seen here at their old family home in Mission， BC， just after her arrival—to Canada.

“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 Dawns 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 shes 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. Its a great way to unwind after a bad day. I feel pretty privileged to be able to nap with my head resting on a fully-grown polar bear.”

Later in the day—when they are preparing for filming—Mark “works” her， training Agee for the requested script requirements. Agee performs a variety of commands in exchange for her favourite treats—steak， cookies， salmon and chocolates.

On cue from Mark， she rears up on her hind legs and will even pretend shes roaring when instructed to “smile”.“She doesnt actually roar but she makes the action，” said animal handler Dawn. “Film crews will later add in the sound of the roar if thats what they need for their production.”Agee will also lie down， crawl and sit up in return for reward foods.

Agee licks Marks face as they play around on the grass. “She loves her work，” said Mark. “They are extremely intelligent animals and you can see she gets enjoyment out of being stimulated through her work. She could never have lived wild so its important to us that we keep her active and thinking. Thats why I like swimming with her and playing on the lawn.”

In the evenings Agee is fed on mountains of proteinrich salmon， chicken or other meats， along with carbohydrates she gets from high-quality dog food and vitamin supplements.“In the wild she would be eating seal but we cant buy that so we have to try and replicate a fat-rich diet，” said Mark.“Because they scavenge in the summer—when they are off the sea ice and on dry land—they have very adaptable diets.

Amazingly， Agee seems to have favourites between men and women. “She gets very jealous of other women talking to Mark，” said Dawn. “Shes happy with me doing it but if any other women are around she gets very possessive of him.”

This is exactly what its like to share your life with a polar bear.

有人夢想與海豚同游，也有人做過與鯊共泳的噩夢。但馴熊師馬克·杜馬斯最愛和一只60英石重的食肉動物一起泡在游泳池里，享受在水中依偎的感覺。

馬克與眾不同的摯友艾吉是一只完全長成的雌性成年北極熊，她用后腿站立時超過七英尺高。

當這位動物專家和大塊頭的艾吉在水中嬉鬧較勁得累壞以后，艾吉會用她的巨大爪子環抱著馬克的頭，他們一起在艾吉的圍場里享受午覺。

馴熊師馬克·杜馬斯似乎在拿自己的生命和北極熊艾吉同居，但其實他們的關系親密得令人難以置信。馬克在非同尋常的馴熊業從業已有40年，他對艾吉的身體語言了如指掌。

60歲的馬克及其49歲的妻子唐恩來自加拿大不列顛哥倫比亞?。ê喎Q卑詩?。┌⒉母５?，他們共同馴養這世界上最大的陸地食肉動物——北極熊，使其出演高成本電視廣告。甚至在1995年的《阿拉斯加》這樣的電影里也有艾吉的身影，當年她才幾周大。由于艾吉和主人馬克的親密關系，七英尺多高的艾吉甚至會用后腿直立起來給馬克來個熊抱。

“其他人如果嘗試這個舉動，他們最終會淪為艾吉的晚餐?！瘪R克說，“這個世界上艾吉只喜歡我和我妻子。我和熊像這樣共處已經40多年了，所以我能讀懂艾吉的身體語言，知道在她身邊什么行為是安全的。但艾吉是老大，她‘說了算?！?/p>

艾吉八周大的時候，馬克和唐恩就開始飼養她。由于馬克先前有過為好萊塢作品訓練動物的經驗，16年前，銀幕傳奇人物查爾頓的兒子弗雷澤·赫斯頓導演聯系了馬克。赫斯頓的新電影《阿拉斯加》需要一只北極熊幼崽，而馬克在瑞典的科爾馬爾登動物園找到了一只多出來的幼崽艾吉。歷經了冗長的申請流程，馬克和唐恩證明了自己有條件照顧艾吉。申請通過以后，他們把這只幼崽送到加拿大——剛抵達就送到馬克的老家，卑詩省的米遜。

“最初幾周她住在我們家里，我們親手把她帶大?！瘪R克說，“最終她長得太大了，我們只好讓她搬出去住在她自己的圍場里?！爆F在馬克和唐恩在阿伯茨福德的家旁邊租了一塊地，建了新圍場，艾吉生活在這里，并在參與影視劇作的拍攝。

在家時，馬克很享受和艾吉一起的“玩耍時光”?！霸缟系臅r候她更加愛玩和放松，她還讓我和她一起打滾?！?/p>

“我們玩摔跤，有時候我們會在她的草坪上一起入睡。如果經歷了不愉快的一天，這是很棒的放松方式。能把頭靠在一只成年的北極熊身上打盹，對此我感到挺榮幸的?！?/p>

午后——當他們為拍電影做準備時——馬克會“逗”她，訓練她達到電影劇本的要求。艾吉執行各種各樣的指令來換取她最喜歡的食物——牛排、小甜餅、三文魚和巧克力。

根據馬克的提示，艾吉會用后腿站起來，甚至會在被命令“微笑”時假裝咆哮?！八皇钦娴呐叵?，只是做個假動作?！瘪Z獸師唐恩說?！叭绻破枰脑?，電影劇組后期制作時會加上咆哮音效?！背粤霜剟畹氖澄?，艾吉也會相應地做躺下、爬行和端坐的動作作為回饋。

馬克和艾吉在草地上玩耍時，艾吉會舔他的臉?！鞍獝鬯墓ぷ??！瘪R克說道?！氨睒O熊是高智商的動物，你會發現她在工作的時候很享受被激勵的感覺。她從不曾有機會過原始的生活，所以我們讓她保持活躍、保持思考很重要。這就是我喜歡和她游泳和在草坪上玩耍的原因?！?/p>

晚上他們給艾吉喂大量的高蛋白質三文魚、雞肉或者其他肉類，連同高質量的狗糧一起，讓她補充碳水化合物，還有維生素增補劑?！霸谝巴馍娴脑捤龝院１?，但我們買不到，所以只能嘗試復制高脂肪的食譜?！瘪R克說道?！耙驗橄奶毂睒O熊離開冰面上陸地的時候以腐肉為食，所以他們的飲食習慣適應性很強?！?/p>

令人驚訝的是艾吉對人類似乎有性別偏好?！八龝芏始善渌撕婉R克說話?！碧贫髡f道?！八龢芬饪吹轿液婉R克說話，但要是有其他女人在，她對馬克的占有欲就變得很強了?！?/p>

這就是和一只北極熊共同生活的體驗。