What do reindeer do when a polar bear turns out to be a scientist?
Response behaviors of Svalbard reindeer towards humans and humans disguised as polar bears on Edgeøya
A researcher in a polar bear costume walked up to Arctic reindeer to see if they treated him differently from a hiker.
Ig Nobel 2014
On a remote Arctic island, researchers approached wild Svalbard reindeer either as ordinary people in dark hiking clothes or with one of them dressed as a polar bear. They noted when the reindeer looked up, when they started to flee and how far they ran.
The “polar bear” got noticed sooner and made reindeer run about 2.3 times further. The reindeer clearly know what a bear looks like, even when it is a scientist in a very committed outfit.
Ten out of ten costume. The reindeer were not fooled into staying.