I bought a bear- now what?

[Nephythys]

I have always wanted a bear skin rug- and now I have one. A neighbor is moving and they had one- a polar bear no less, and I got him for a great deal.

He's not in perfect shape-he has some tears in his pelt. His head is in excellent condition all things considered but needs some TLC. I am going to need to take off the lining and make a new one.

Does anyone know anything about cleaning these type of thing? Or anything pertaining to caring for a animal pelt?

Thanks for any advice.

[CoasterMatt]

wow... the only pelts I have are bunny wabbits, I clean them ocassionally with Febreze

[cirquelover]

Wow, a polar bear rug! That's not something you see every day.

I'm sorry I have no idea how to take care of one. I just thought it was wild that you have one!

[Name]

And as I read the first few lines, I was thinking this was going to be a request for ideas for activities to perform on the rug. :evil: But that is just my sick mind at work. :evil:

[blueerica]

HAHAHAHA!!!

You know, my family used to have a bear skin rug (with head)... but I don't recollect how to take care of it. I'll make a point to ask my mom how they did it, and I'll get back as soon as I have the info.

[Betty]

One word: ew.

[€uroMeinke]

I thought all one needed to do with such things is to lie naked in it?

[Matterhorn Fan]

You have to put it in front of a fireplace first, then you lie naked on it.

[€uroMeinke]

You have to put it in front of a fireplace first, then you lie naked on it.

Does the fireplace have to b working?

[Matterhorn Fan]

If it doesn't, you might have to find a way to keep warm.

[tracilicious]

How sad.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

How sad.You have no problem with wearing leather and eating steak dinners, right? :)

Me, it's not exactly my style choice, but what a unique item! Makes me think of the original Pink Panther. There's this great scene with a hot chick rolling around on a bearskin rug. :)

[Prudence]

I would love a bearskin rug! I'm so jealous!

You know what REALLY feels good? Sea otter pelt. Boy that stuff is nice. It's endangered, so you can't have one. We went to the aquarium last weekend. One of my friends volunteers there and does the lecture part while other volunteers feed the seals and otters. And you get to feel samples of the different pelts. Sea otter is the plushest, softest, nicest bit of fur I've ever had the pleasure of fondling. I guess that's why they're endangered.

[SacTown Chronic]

Now you wear it as a coat and crash a PETA meeting. Spray paint their clothes while screaming, "Hemp is murder!".

[blueerica]

Now you wear it as a coat and crash a PETA meeting. Spray paint their clothes while screaming, "Hemp is murder!".

Now THAT would be funny... LOL!

[Eliza Hodgkins 1812]

I feel about this rug pretty much how I feel about fur coats. If they're vintage, they're guilt free and fine by me. Love 'em. I'm a hypocrite, though. I admit, seeing a new fur coat bends my nose out of joint. But I'm a meat eater and I wear leather. I guess it's the notion that the animal is wasted only for its pelt. I don't know. Hypocrite, like I said. If I were a vegetarian who wore vinyl shoes insteado of leather, I might have more of a leg to stand on.

But the bear skin rug is second hand. Even if you were someone who thought it was gross, why would you want to see it trashed and wasted? The bear died a long time ago. Of course, this is coming from someone who wants to purchase an entire cat skeleton from the Necromancer store on Melrose, because I think bones are pretty.

So, in short, I concur with Chris. Once you find a way to deodorize it and clean it up a bit, find a nice open space for it, and declothe yourself. I bet it'll feel like quite the luxary.

You might want to get a quote from a dry cleaners, but I bet they're expensive.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

I guess it's the notion that the animal is wasted only for its pelt.

<snip>

I bet it'll feel like quite the luxary. Only, eh? ;)

[tracilicious]

You have no problem with wearing leather and eating steak dinners, right? :)

Me, it's not exactly my style choice, but what a unique item! Makes me think of the original Pink Panther. There's this great scene with a hot chick rolling around on a bearskin rug. :)

It's not that it's made of animal skin. It's just that it's polar bear. I really like polar bears. Any other bear (if it's vintage of course) and I would roll around on it naked. I'd probably cry if I saw a polar bear rug. Are they endangered? I had a friend as a kid that had kangaroo skin rugs. Now, I know that kangaroos are hopping around aplenty in Australia, but I love those hoppy guys. I could never own one of their skins.

I use beacoup (sp?) animal products, and I suppose eating a horse is no different than eating a cow when it comes down to it, but I just couldn't do it. If I were starving on an icy summit I'd eat my dog, though. We've talked about it, and she would do the same.

[Cadaverous Pallor]

It's not that it's made of animal skin. It's just that it's polar bear. I really like polar bears. Ah, I understand.

FYI, from this story (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&u=/latimests/20050217/ts_latimes/endangeredstatussoughtforpolarbears):
Whether polar bears are worthy of Endangered Species Act listing is certain to be a subject of fierce debate.


The estimated worldwide polar bear population has actually increased in recent decades to around 25,000 to 30,000. But those gains are attributed mainly to a 1973 pact among the United States, Canada, Norway, Denmark and the Soviet Union that restricted hunting of the animals.


More recent studies indicate that at least some of the world's 20 polar bear populations have been affected by warming trends in arctic regions. Most notably, research in Canada's Hudson Bay has demonstrated that the sea-ice season has been shortened by about 2 1/2 weeks, limiting the time polar bears have to prey on seals for sustenance. When bears are forced from the ice back to land, they typically fast for months, making the length of the ice season critical to their survival.


The listing petition by the Center for Biological Diversity cites a number of threats to polar bears, but calls global warming the chief one. Other threats cited include the accumulation of industrial pollutants such as PCBs in the bodies of polar bears and continued over-hunting of the bears in parts of Canada, Greenland and Russia. So the answer is yes and no.

[UvaGirl]

LOL. I keep thinking this thread is about Build A Bear....:p

Nothing to add, I'm afraid. Move along.

[Motorboat Cruiser]

When I saw the thread title, I immediately thought of Lashbear.

Nice of Nephy to give him a new home. ;)

[Baileykat]

I had to post..everytime I read the thread I read..."I bought a BEER..now what do I do with it?"


I think I need a bearskin rug on which to lay my tired, weary, over-laundry doing body!

[Matterhorn Fan]

http://www.shag.com/Holidaysonice/Bearrug.html