Fictional bears, again

You may remember past entries in which Sam said confidently that bears are not real. Here's a new twist:

On the way to Montessori this morning, Sam had a lively discussion with Max. He loves to reassure Max that he shouldn't be afraid in the "jungle." Today he pointed out that there aren't any monsters in the world, and also no bears in the world. Nor dinosaurs, which are extinct (he chose the word, even, and defined it correctly when asked), nor mastadons, which we agreed was a shame, since, as he told Max, they look "cuddly."

Bears are also extinct. I didn't bother disabusing him of this notion. When asked about the polar bear at the zoo (which apparently isn't extinct) he said that bear liked to hide because he's afraid of monsters. I wonder how much of his motivation in asserting the extinction and fictionality of monsters and scary beasts is to reassure Max, who is habitually nervous about the jungle. For instance, when Max asked about alligators, he was told that they only live in lakes and wide rivers. He allowed as there might be snakes, but not the kind that hiss.