Fig. 1: Polar Bear Dog with Avatar (to scale)

--- Philip

	Philip J. Moyer Contributing Writer, Editor and Artist (and Moderator) -- Eyrie Productions, Unlimited CEO of MTS, High Poobah Of Artwork, and High Priest Of the Church Of Aerianne -- Magnetic Terrapin Studios "Insert Pithy Comment Here"

*professor spectacles on: Making shit up commencing.*

The Polar Bear-dog (Canursus maritimus) is a native predator of the south pole of Diqiu, where it feeds mostly upon other predators like Tiger Seals and sharks. It is quite a good swimmer, and extremely powerful, able to in some cases carry an Avatar and her three closest friends. Few in history have tamed these savage beasts-a fact that may be hard to believe in light of their apparent affability and curiosity. This is because there is little they have reason to fear or avoid aside from other Polar Bear-dogs. While they may seem friendly, they are more interested in how you might taste.

Korra raised Naga from a puppy, and she is, as far as I know, the only extant tamed member of her species. More traditionally, they might be hunted as a rite of passage, because their flesh is mildly toxic-and their livers are deadly. Hides and bones are still of some value, but often difficult to recover since a wounded bear-dog may retreat into the water and die where it cannot be found-if it does not fly into a rage and attack the hunters. Since killing them is therefor a waste of time and effort that is likely to end with someone dead or in the need of a healer's services, it is not a task for any but the foolhardy and brave.

“Navigare Necesse Est”-'Get me out of here!'

This is so, canonically; in UF there have been several generations of Naga's descendents in Korra's care (or possibly she's been in theirs) - as we've seen, quite a pack of them have accumulated in the Spirit World. What's more, she's had to find homes for the rest of the puppies, so some of her relatives, friends back in Senna Village, and so forth have adopted them over the years. By 2410, the extended clan represents a fairly well-domesticated branch of the species, even if everybody else at the South Pole does think the kids in Senna are crazy. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

That... has probably happened, yes. Avatar Kuruk's spirit is ever so jealous.

We know the names of six, but it's fairly strongly implied that there are more.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Actually, I'd go with six or seven. That's a good number; it means Korra replaces one about twenty years or so, which would be on the low side for a polar bear that has someone to care for it in it's infirmity but on the high side for a dog, so it evens out.

Any more than that would imply there were periods when there was some... fairly rapid turnover. Which is okay, but it may be a can of worms you don't want to open.

Although I suppose Korra could have adopted some as full adults rather than puppies... but seriously, who is gonna pass up the chance for puppy?

-Merc
Keep Rat

"On my way to the station this morning, I found a strange man on a swing suspiciously close to the dog park that we are not supposed to know about. This man was wearing a blazer and a bowtie, which he informed me was “cool”. He is in the studio right now, trying to force a fez onto my head. He looks human, but it is painstakingly obvious he has, in fact, two hearts."

I have no intention of allowing this to turn into a conference about the mathematics of polar bear dog generations, but I will just note that there is sometimes overlap. She only has one right now, but that doesn't necessarily mean it's always the case.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

(Seriously, do that math on that. It is CREEPY.)

-Merc
Keep Rat

"A large pyramid has appeared in the center of the Beatrix Loman Memorial meditation zone, destroying over half of the zone's state-of-the-art meditation equipment and paraphernalia. Experts have been contacted as to what could cause sudden pyramid existence."

Ehhhn, I would be leery of this too-they are large and probably dangerous animals-domestication doesn't happen overnight, and unless there has been a concerted effort to shrink their flight-distance, it's more a subject of random walks and who has or hasn't been put down for chewing off the neighbor kid's head. It's like having a tiger for a pet-even if it was bred from captive stock for five generations, that's still a tiger, and still fundamentally a wild animal. I'm not ruling out something like the Siberian fox program, I just don't think that's terribly in character for Korra.

Even if they don't intend to, they could do a lot of damage, especially to children and the elderly. And then there is the cost of feeding them-nothing to sneeze at since they may weigh more than the rest of the igloo combined and likely turn up their noses at stewed sea-prunes. I'm not saying it can't be done. I'm just saying that it sounds like a lot of trouble.

“Navigare Necesse Est”-'Get me out of here!'

It's the Avatars village. Deal with it :)

More seriously, most animals on that planet are already smarter then they let on, so I suspect it's less domestication, and more 'giving them family members that are small and don't have fur.'

Matrix Dragon, J. Random Nutter

I was going to engage with this, and then I remembered that you're the guy who started the colossal pissing match about whether or not the Canadians could have secretly developed a starfighter, so you know what, the hell with it. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

(As a semi-professional Internet Arguer, I take my responsibilities very seriously.)

-Merc
Keep Rat

"New billboards have appeared all over town, bearing the image of a turkey sandwich and the single word, “HARLOT”, in large, block letters."

[ M-x yoda ] That... is why you fail.

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Hey man, this time is different. I'm not saying it's impossible-just that if the neighbors start breeding tigers or polar bears, I'm leaving town before there's an accident. And my father would probably move to another state, province or district to get away from this kind of thing. He's kinda skittish when it comes to large animals.

I guess we can put this down to a generation gap or fundamentally different perspectives on storytelling. Because we definitely have major miss-matches in our expectations.

“Navigare Necesse Est”-'Get me out of here!'

Okay, how about you tell the people who air the show this?

Peter Eng
--
Insert humorous comment here.

I read this as Korra being the only extant tamed member of her species.

I really need to get some sleep.

Jeanne

	Jeanne Hedge http://www.jhedge.com
"Never give up, never surrender!"

That's wrong on several levels. :)

--G.
-><-
Benjamin D. Hutchins, Co-Founder, Editor-in-Chief, & Forum Mod
Eyrie Productions, Unlimited http://www.eyrie-productions.com/
zgryphon at that email service Google has
Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam.

Polar Bear Dog: Naga! Girl I heard you got a human!
Naga: Yeah, named her Korra, she's a bit troublesome at times but it's kind of like a pup.
PBG: Well be careful, thouse humans are shifty creatures. They want to fight anything.