Mark Dumas shares his swimming pool and his BED with a polar bear

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Mark Dumas, in British Columbia, takes regular naps with polar bear Agee
The full-size adult female stands at over seven feet when on her hind legs
Bear trainer Dumas has spent more than 40 years in the bizarre industry
New documentary follows the amazing lives of people who live with bears

By Imogen Calderwood and Flora Drury For Mailonline

Published: 11:31 EST, 10 September 2015 | Updated: 02:01 EST, 11 September 2015

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Some people dream of swimming with dolphins, while others have nightmares about swimming with sharks.

But bear trainer Mark Dumas likes nothing more than to share his pool and his bed with a 60 stone polar bear.

Mark's unusual best friend is Agee, a full-size adult polar bear who stands at over seven feet when on her hind legs.

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Dicing with death: It may seem like bear trainer Mark Dumas, from British Columbia, is risking his life by living with polar bear Agee, but the two share a remarkable bond

Experience: Mark has been in the bizarre industry of bear-training for the past 40 years and is an expert at reading Agee's body language

The pair share an incredibly intimate bond, which even extends to bear hugs.

And when the wrestling has tired both the animal expert and his amazing pet out, they both take a nap together inside Agee's enclosure.

'If anyone else tried this they would end up as Agee's dinner,' added Mark, from British Columbia.

'The only people in the whole world she likes are my wife and I.

'I have worked with bears in this way for over 40 years so I can read Agee's body language and know how to behave safely around her.

'But Agee is the boss and it's her rules that count.'

Best friends: The two regularly take a dip together during the day, and when they're tired out they nap together inside Agee's enclosure

Bizarre lives: Mark and Agee are just two of the eccentric characters featured in a new documentary, made by Barcroft Original

Mark and Agee are just two of the eccentric characters featured in a new documentary, by Barcroft Original, about people who live with the world's largest land predators.

From a family who train the huge animals for the movies to a couple of surfing cubs, documentary 'There's a Polar Bear in my pool' shows exactly what it's like to share your life with a bear.

Elsewhere, Johnny Welde and his family raise and wrestle 13 of the huge mammals at their Florida home, with some weighing a staggering 900lbs and standing at 8ft tall.

Johnny's family have been raising bears for the movie industry for almost 90 years and he even enlisted the help of his son, Johnny Junior, who has been handling the bears since he was three-years-old.

Johnny's wife, Monica, said: 'We knew what these animals were capable of and we could read them - we would never put our children in danger.

Family bond: Johnny Welde (right) and his family raise and wrestle 13 of the huge mammals at their Florida home, with some weighing a staggering 900lbs and standing at 8ft tall

Intimidating: Johnny Welde with Bruno the bear at the Bearadise Ranch, in Sarasota, Florida. The family train their bears to do different tricks based on their personalities and the movements they like to do

'In the wild, bears can be dangerous animals - but the relationship we have with them is built up over years of living with them, 365 days a year.

'We live and breathe these animals, we love them and they are a part of us.

'The Welde bears have been in the Beverly Hillbillies show, The Lucy Show, Petticoat Junction, Two Little Bears with Eddie Albert and various Disney movies.'

The family train the bears to do different tricks based on their personalities and the movements they like to do.

But not all of the pet bears are quite so fearsome - Carl Bovard shares his Florida home with two baby bears, Bruiser and Honey, who love nothing more than to swim and surf in the garden.

Cuddly pals: Carl Bovard shares his Florida home with two baby bears Bruiser and Honey who love nothing more than to swim and surf in the garden

Little troublemakers: While Carl's babies may not pack the same punch as Mark and Johnny's, Honey and Bruiser can still cause trouble

While Carl's babies may not pack the same punch as Mark and Johnny's, they can still cause trouble.

Carl added: 'Some people may think it's fun to feed baby bears but you can get some nasty scratches.

'These guys go through six or seven bottles a day and we keep them on the formula - which is expensive - for as long as we can as it's part of the bonding process.

'Once they're finished with this then they like to cool off in the pool and even have a surf.'

The documentary is available online for free here.