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PICK OF THE DAY

MEET THE BEARS BBC2, 9pm

WE HUMANS are pretty obsessed with bears, it turns out. And it seems it starts quite young, almost subliminally. Our first toys as babies are often teddies, there are fairy tales such as Goldilocks and The Three Bears, they’re all over our books and cartoons – Winnie the Pooh, Baloo, Rupert, Yogi, Bungle, and, of course, Paddington.

They’re everywhere and they’re all cuddly and lovable.

Whoever does the PR for bears is doing a great job.

So this documentary seems almost superfluous, but it’s also the perfect excuse to show these remarkable animals in action and make us fall in love all over again.

It can also teach us a whole load of fascinating facts. Like there are actually only eight species of bear, but their huge and vastly different habitats means they’re spread out all over the globe.

From the polar bears who roam the frozen north to the spectacled bears of sub-tropical South America, the grizzly brown bears of north American forests to the Asiatic mountain bears, or the Giant Pandas who chew bamboo in China.

These guys are seriously diverse, and have undergone some quite impressive adaptations to enable them to live and thrive in these often extreme conditions.

Plus they’re seriously cute – especially the cubs. Although the mama sloth bear, who has her three wee ones hanging off her, probably doesn’t think that.

But when you’ve got a tiger or a leopard on your tail and you’re too little to defend yourself, what else can you do?

A sloth bear cub clings to its mother for safety, while this little black bear cub, right, seems more adventurous as it climbs a tree... is that a smile for the camera? Baby it’s cold outside: A mother Polar bear watches over her cub