Gyptians

This is a list of fictional races and creatures in the His Dark Materials series by Philip Pullman.

The panserbjørne are sentient polar bear-like creatures that have opposable thumbs on their front paws. Despite their large digits and immense strength they have remarkable dexterity. This, together with an innate gift for metallurgy, makes them exceptional metalsmiths, and they are capable of creating and repairing metal items far beyond the capabilities of human smiths.

While they mainly speak English, they are shown to be able to speak other languages.

Bears are very difficult to deceive. One exception is Iofur Raknison, the bear-king emulates humans by drinking spirits, wearing opulent clothes, and wanting a dæmon. His gullibility is attributed to his failing to act like a bear.

Bears' livers are poisonous – as in real life – due to a high concentration of retinol (Vitamin A).

The word "panserbjørne" means "armour-bears" in Danish. The Danish pronunciation of the word "panserbjørn" (singular) is [pʰanˀsɐˈb̥jœ̞ɐ̯ˀn], but the pronunciation used in the radio plays and the audio book readings of the trilogy (by Pullman himself) is /ˈpænsəˌbjɜːrnə/. In the 2007 film, The Golden Compass, they are also known as "ice bears."

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