One of the animals I love the most happens to be one of the animals I feel the most sorry for, and that’s polar bears. Polar bears are one of the world’s most beautiful and fascinating creatures, and tragically, due to global warming and climate change, their population has been dwindling.

Since polar bears’ icy habitats are falling apart and melting due to higher temperatures, they’re starting to rely on alternative environments and sources for food.

Some polar bear populations closer to human civilization, like those in Canada and Alaska, are starting to wander closer to people’s neighborhoods and homes in search of food.

While that idea terrifies some people, one town in Canada is embracing the intense reality and taking crucial steps to ensure local polar bears and humans can co-exist peacefully and safely.

The town of Churchill, located in Manitoba, Canada, is smack dab in the middle of “polar bear country.” Every year, around July, when the local ice starts melting, it gets harder for polar bears to hunt for food in the wild. So, they begin wandering into Churchill, getting dangerously close to people and their homes in search of a snack.

While they may look cuddly, polar bears can be extremely dangerous to humans. But the town of Churchill doesn’t want to euthanize any bears that wander into town, so they came up with a solution – a polar bear jail.

When a polar bear wanders into Churchill and gets close to people or their homes, members of the Polar Bear Alert program coerce the bear into spending time in their polar bear holding facility, where they are placed in cells until they can be released back into the wild during the colder months.

The polar bear jail was once an army base and provides a safe place for polar bears to hang tight until the cooler months arrive. They hang out in air conditioning and receive water and snow to play around with.

However, because residents of Churchill don’t want polar bears to associate the human experience with free food, the bears are not fed in the holding facility. They are expected to fast, which is normal, as during the hotter months, they lose a certain amount of weight due to scarce hunting.

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Essentially, the bears are taught that if they wander into town and interact with the people of Churchill, they’ll be faced with a boring experience inside a cell.

The bears usually stay in their ‘jail’ for 30 days, or however long it takes for nearby water to freeze again.

Once they’re ready, the ‘imprisoned’ bears are released back into the wild, eagerly going toward the wild food they’re meant to catch on their own.

While the concept of a ‘polar bear jail’ may sound cruel, it’s actually a fascinating and incredibly clever concept that assists the beautiful polar bears’ populations while keeping humans safe.

Today, people can contact the town of Churchill to take polar bear tours and look at the magnificent creatures in their natural habitat.