Fan Casting Bears Are Bad News in Sort by Tropes

Want to make a bad situation worse? Add a bear! Just as monkeys and penguins are used to make something funnier or cuter, bears have a knack for scaring the crap out of everyone. Polar and brown bears are the largest extant land-based predators in the world, with a penchant for aggressive behavior, so it's easy to see why. Because of this, throwing a bear into a scene is the best way to let the audience know that our heroes have gone beyond rock bottom and are now totally screwed.