Bear suit

Bear suits are a type of costumed character or creature suit resembling a bear. The first bear suits worn by humans were used in shamanic ritual practices by native peoples. In the modern day, they are a popular choice of mascot, and both stylized and realistic bear suits are commonly used in film and on stage, due to the bear's prominent role in the arts and entertainment. Specific types of bear suits are also used in activism, such as polar bear suits to draw attention to the threat of global warming. Bear suits are also commonplace in the furry community.

Masked bearskin costumes were used by shamans in ritual dances by native peoples of the Pacific Northwest, such as the Tlingit, alongside those of other animals.^[1]

In Romania, dancers wearing real bearskins are a pre-Christian tradition that is meant to drive away evil spirits.^[2]

Bear suits are common as mascots for sports teams, such as Cornell University's Touchdown the Bear, which replaced an actual bear cub that was used up until the 1930s.^[3]

Realistic and sometimes animatronic bear suits of all types are typically used in film, or as costumed characters.^[4] For the nature film Born in China, the filmmakers themselves were required to wear panda suits in order to get close to pandas that had never seen a human before.^[5]

A realistic two-person polar bear suit was created for the 2011 play Greenland by the Royal National Theatre, and was later purchased by Greenpeace for £4,000 via a donation campaign.^[6] It was named Paula, and was used in short films and as a costumed character to draw public attention to global warming.^[7]

In the Chessington World of Adventures amusement park, one show uses actors wearing animatronic panda suits created by Millennium FX.^[8]

Los trajes de oso también se han utilizado en la ciencia, ya que los investigadores usaron uno para estudiar la respuesta de las cabras a los depredadores tanto dentro como fuera de áreas pobladas, ^{[ 9 ]} y para estudiar los efectos de la creciente presencia de osos polares en los bueyes almizcleros debido al calentamiento global. ^{[ 10 ]} En la Reserva Natural Nacional de Wolong en China , los cuidadores usan trajes de panda para interactuar con los cachorros y enseñarles a vivir en la naturaleza sin depender de los humanos. ^{[ 11 ]}

Los disfraces de oso se utilizan en la producción de varias series de televisión infantiles , como Bear in the Big Blue House . En Disneyland , los personajes Kenai y Koda de Brother Bear (2003) son interpretados por artistas disfrazados de oso. La película Brigsby Bear (2017) gira en torno a un programa de televisión infantil ficticio que presenta a un artista disfrazado de oso, el cual el personaje principal usa posteriormente en un intento por crear una película. ^{[ 12 ]}

Un segmento recurrente en Late Show with David Letterman presentaba a un "tipo disfrazado de oso" interpretado por Donick Cary , quien intentaba realizar tareas mundanas como parar un taxi con fines cómicos. ^{[ 13 ]}

El personaje de Smokey Bear suele ser representado mediante un disfraz de oso para concienciar sobre los incendios forestales.

Según Wikifur , los osos también son una especie común para los fursonas en el fandom furry . A menudo se eligen por atributos relacionados con su glotonería o fuerza.

• Personaje disfrazado
• Traje de criatura
• Traje de dinosaurio
• Traje de gorila
• Fursuit