Children go swimming inches from polar bears

[Laur]

Don't worry, this girl is not really in danger of being ripped limb from limb by a polar bear -- there's a screen of two-inch thick Plexiglass separating them.

The optical illusion is created at a Canadian holiday resort where children are encouraged to swim with the world's largest land predator.

Bosses at Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat near Ontario installed between their polar bear enclosure and wading pool to give people a unique experience.

And it certainly is… though you might want to double check the glass hasn't been removed for maintenance before you get in.

A spokesman for the centre said: "Staring into the eyes of an immense polar bear, while swimming only inches away from him, is to be remembered!

"You can do that, because our wading pool is separated from the bears' pool by five centimetres, shatterproof glass, with good optical qualities.

"Photographs make it appear that the swimmer is actually in the water, with the bear."