This was a sight that train passengers, as well as walkers in Hampstead Heath Park in north London, were not expecting: a polar bear of frightening size, strolling freely for its pleasure within touching distance of them.
But passengers can rest assured: it's just a giant puppet operated by an internal mechanism, as part of a promotion for a British television series.
The producers of the series about the polar bear chose to embark on a creative marketing move: the doll from the film will reach people on the street before they reach it.
Did the creative idea succeed, or did some people develop a reluctance to any future contact with 'White Bear'? The series' producers will know the answers this summer, when the series will be released for broadcast.