This is one of the most mysterious mysteries in Lost: Where did polar bears come from?

Spoilers – “Warning, the article below contains potential spoilers, if you do not wish to know its content, please do not read the following…”

The polar bears of Lost made many fans tear their hair out during the six years that the show from Jeffrey Lieber, JJ Abrams and Damon Lindelof ran. where did they come from What were they doing on a tropical island? On this International Polar Bear Day, it seemed natural to honor them and finally answer these pressing questions.

First meetings

From the second episode of the first season, Syd, Sawyer, Charlie, Boone, Shannon and Kate encounter a bear on the island where they have just stayed. Sawyer kills him with a revolver before Keith makes a strange observation: “It’s not just a bear, it’s a polar bear”. Since then, one of the series’ most surprising mysteries has been: What is a polar bear doing on a tropical island? And we’ll have to wait a very long time before we know more.

Later this season, Michael, Locke, and Walt encounter the bear again (proof that the first animal was not an isolated incident) and stab it several times without killing it. During Season 2, we learn in a roundabout way (a message on the blast door of Dharma Station that the Lost found) that these bears were the subject of a genetic and climate experiment.

regular instructions

During the first season, Harley reads a comic book about polar bears. Over the course of the seasons, we’ll see that young Walt owns a stuffed polar bear, that the animal is featured in a painting of Charles Widmore’s office, or that Pierre Chang reads the story of polar bears to his son. We will also find the animal in the DHARMA Initiative orientation film.

These sequences allowed the screenwriter to continue the existence of polar animals in the rainforest rather mysteriously, each fan came up with his own theory. The most popular talked about genetic experiments aimed at adapting polar bears to a tropical climate or the need to turn the frozen wheel seen by these bears in season 4. But what is it really?

So what was this polar bear?

Polar bears were indeed brought to the island by the DHARMA initiative. Evidence of this can be seen in Season 3, in which certain characters are locked in bear cages at Hydra Station. During Season 6, astrophysicist Pierre Chang (seen in the DHARMA orientation films) explains that, thanks to their considerable memory and certain adaptations, polar bears are interesting subjects for research on electromagnetism.

Kate and Sawyer in polar bear cages:

We also learn that certain bears were sent through space-time thanks to the Frozen Wheel, which explains why Charlotte’s character finds a polar bear skeleton in the middle of the Tunisian desert in Season 4. After a battle between the Others and the Dharma Initiative, the bears were released onto the island, which is why we see them wandering throughout the season and the heroes wandering around.

Moreover, if the bears die on the island, the black smoke can engulf them and force them to move and act. This is where one of the beasts from the series pilot appeared, which Sawyer killed with a few bullets.

When the Lost return/reboot comes – and it will – will polar bears be included? Participating in questions about the identity of the series and its fans would be a shame if it were otherwise. So, JJ, if you read us…