Paws?

A polar bear went to a bar and said, "I'll have a gin and... tonic." When the bartender asked, Why the big pause?", the polar bear replied, "I don't know, I've always had them."

なんでジンとトニックに間を入れたの？って聞いたのに、自分の足の事と勘違いした白クマさんでした。

This joke is a play on words. When the bartender asks "why the big pause?" he is making a pun on the word "pause," which sounds like "paws," the plural form of "paw," which is a bear's foot. The bear then responds with a literal interpretation of the question, saying "oh, I've always had them," as if the bartender had asked about the bear's long paws. This creates humor through the unexpected and clever wordplay.