Today is World Polar Bear Day.

[MoonRiver]

Some facts about Polar Bears. Although polar bears look white, their fur is actually colorless, their skin is black, and their tongues are a dark blue-purple color. Polar bears can run up to 25 miles per hour and jump up to 6 feet in the air. Polar bears are extremely strong swimmers – they can swim for up to a week and have been spotted paddling along as far as 200 miles from land. Polar bears are the largest land carnivores on Earth. Polar bear cubs weigh just one pound and measure just 12 inches long at birth but they grow quickly on a diet of their mother's rich milk. The thick, black soles of polar bears' furry feet are covered with small, soft bumps known as papillae that help them grab the ice and keep from slipping. The tufts of fur between their toes may help give them better traction, along with their claws. Polar bears have incredibly powerful noses – they can smell a seal (their favorite food) up to half a mile away, even under the ice. Male polar bears are TWICE as big as females. Adult males can weigh up to 1,400 pounds while females weigh up to 650 pounds. But this size disparity does not stop a mother from defending her cubs whenever a male crosses their path.

[woo me with science]

1. I'll rec this.

I like polar bears.

Apparently our politicians aren't so enamored, though...

[MoonRiver]

3. It's very depressing.

[valerief]

2. Wow, colorless fur. Very interesting. nt

[raven mad]

15. It's neat to see.

On my last trip up to the North Slope, there was one near a very blue ice berg. So was the bear. (They're not really bears, but that's another science lecture). He/She was blue, too! Very overcast day, gorgeous really, and warm (about 40 above). Nobody who saw it could believe it.

Blue bears. Who'da thunk it? Alaska Wildlife Conservation is currently building a habitat for abandoned/unhomed polar bears. http://www.alaskawildlife.org/bears-at-awcc/

[MO_Moderate]

4. I wonder if they know how good they really have it

[MoonRiver]

5. Huh?

They don't really have it so good.

[MO_Moderate]

6. Sure they do

nobody really cares about all those other bears.

[MoonRiver]

7. Nobody really cares about polar bears either.

If we did, humanity would make serious efforts to curb global warming, which is destroying the polar bears' habitat, and resulting in huge numbers of them starving to death or drowning. Do you really need a link to inform you about this phenomenon?

[MO_Moderate]

8. So you are saying

that they too are mistreated and suffer, even though they are Polar bears? That all Polar bears aren't treated better than those other bears simply because they are Polar bears?

[MoonRiver]

9. Most animal species are horribly mistreated by humans.

I don't know what kind of quantitative evidence you are asking for regarding the degrees of mistreatment among bear populations. Polar bears are apex predators, and yes even enjoy the occasional human for dinner. BUT, they are in grave danger of extinction due to the very specific nature of their habitat, which is disappearing due to global warming.

[MO_Moderate]

14. So the mistreatment is what's important, not which bear

And your concern and posting of Polar bears does NOT mean you do not understand or care about the mistreatment of those other bears.

Thank you for your thoughtful responses. It was a privilege.

[sabrina 1]

13. Well if losing your natural environment which you need to survive, is 'having it good'

then who would argue with you over that?

Perhaps the reason why attention is being paid to them, finally, is because they are having difficulty surviving, not just individually, but as a species. And the effort to keep them from extinction isn't all that intense, but at least there is finally an awareness of the real possibility of the extinction of Polar Bears, and that is a start.

[Auntie Bush]

10. What a coincidence...I painted that exact same picture for my granddaughter 2 years ago.

I just love Polar Bears and try to donate when I can.

[joeybee12]

11. I'm still haunted by video of thin, thin bears swimming from ice floe

to ice floe, smaller and smaller ice floes trying to hunt for food but global warming is making it ridiculously difficult.

[MoonRiver]

12. It's one of the most horrifying in-your-face examples of this global disaster.

Breaks my heart too.

[redqueen]

16. K&R