Polar Bears Aren’t White interesing storie

Polar Bears Aren’t White

Sure, polar bears look white, but as the old adage goes, looks can be deceiving. The bear’s outer hairs (called guard hairs) are actually see-through, and its undercoat is really colorless. So why do polar bears look white? Well, inside each guard hair is a hollow pocket of air. When sunlight hits a polar bear’s outer coat, all of the wavelengths of light bounce off these air pockets, causing the polar bear to appear white. But even this classic look can change. Depending on the time of year and the position of the sun, polar bears can look yellow as well as brown. Sometimes the ones in captivity even turn green thanks to algae growing inside their guard hairs (but that wouldn’t look so good on a soda can).

However, if you shave away all that fur (something I strongly advise against), you’ll discover the polar bear’s true color. Under that shaggy, colorless coat, the polar bear’s skin is actually black. This black skin absorbs heat from the sun, which keeps the bear warm in the cold Arctic climate. So the next time you see a polar bear’s nose, remember: That’s his true color.

9They Can Swim Nonstop For Over A Week

Polar bears have some serious swimming skills that put Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte to shame. Their huge, webbed paws are perfect for cutting through the ocean at 10 kph (6 mph). Compare that to measly Olympic swimmers who, at best, clock in at 7 kph (4.5 mph). It doesn’t matter how many gold medals you have, you’ll still end up as polar bear brunch.

In addition to high speeds, polar bears on average can swim nonstop for 100 kilometers (62 miles). And while some polar bears have been recorded as far as 321 kilometers (200 miles) away from shore, the ultimate record for long-distance swimming was set in 2011. Due to melting ice, which is their natural hunting ground, a mother polar bear and her cub set out across the Beaufort Sea to find a new home. The mother bear swam 680 kilometers (426 miles) over nine days, which is like you taking a little stroll from Washington, D.C. to Boston. Sadly, her cub died along the way, and when she finally reached land, she’d lost 22 percent of her body weight. It was an impressive feat and a testament to polar bear awesomeness, but it was also a sad reminder of the challenges these creatures face.

8They’re Turning To Cannibalism

Polar bears aren’t picky, but if given a choice between a seal and pretty much anything else, they’re going to choose the seal. However, the Arctic menu has been dramatically altered in recent years due to the intensity of climate change. More and more sea ice has been melting, depriving the polar bears of their happy hunting grounds. As catching seals becomes increasingly difficult, the bears have started to look for other food sources, including raiding birds’ nests, but a few eggs aren’t going to do the trick. So bears have turned to a much more disturbing option: cannibalism.

Bear-on-bear crime isn’t new. There have always been a few furry Jeffrey Dahmers prowling the ice, and a mother polar bear might eat her cubs if they’re sick. However, in recent years, polar bear experts have noticed a rise in cannibalistic activity, especially among bears that are trapped on dry land. In 2009, eight males were reported eating cubs around Manitoba, and in July 2010, photographer Jenny Ross captured several disturbing images of a fully grown adult devouring a younger polar bear. As the ice continues to melt, more bears may be forced to eat their kin, with or without the fava beans.

7Polar Bears Are Invisible To Infrared Cameras

In addition to being mighty hunters, polar bears also have the magical power of invisibility, at least when it comes to being spotted by infrared cameras. Scientists discovered this fascinating phenomenon while flying over the Arctic in order to check up on the bear population. At first, the scientists were having trouble spotting the bears because they were blending in with their white surroundings. Thinking they were clever, the scientists decided to use infrared cameras, but to their surprise, they found the bears had vanished. Only the nose, eyes, and breath were visible to the camera.

Scientists wondered if perhaps the bears’ blubber and fur were hiding their heat signatures. However, a young Berkeley undergraduate named Jessica Preciado decided to dig a little deeper. Using advanced technology from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Preciado was able to solve the mystery of polar bear invisibility. Not only do infrared cameras detect surface temperature, but they also detect the radiation emanating from their targets. As Preciado discovered, the radiative properties of polar bear hair are exactly the same as those of snow, allowing the bear to turn invisible under infrared light. This ability might come in handy if the Predator ever decides to land in the Arctic.

6There Are Polar Bear–Grizzly Hybrids

In 2006, an American hunter set out into the Arctic, hoping to bag himself a polar bear. He was successful, sort of. The hunter noticed that the bear was a bit weird-looking, and after a DNA analysis, scientists determined that the creature was actually part polar bear, part grizzly bear.

This was the first time a polar-grizzly hybrid had been found in the wild. However, scientists had seen this Frankensteinian creature before at theOsnabruck Zoo in Germany, where a polar and grizzly had shared an enclosure and become very, very good friends. As of 2010, there were 17 confirmed polar-grizzly hybrids, most of which were living in Osnabruck. So scientists had assumed that these creatures were breeding in the wild as well. But, in 2010, the scientific community was shocked when an Invuvialut hunter shot what turned out to be the offspring of a grizzly and a polar-grizzly hybrid. It turns out that, unlike other creatures that are products of interspecies crossbreeding (such as mules), polar-grizzly hybrids are fertile.

These awesome bears have been nicknamed “grolars,” “pizzlies,” and “Nanulaks,” which is a portmanteau of the Inuit words for polar bear (Nanuk) and grizzly (Aklak). Scientists surmise that their parents probably hooked up thanks to construction and mining in Canada, which has driven the grizzlies farther north, and climate change’s effects on Arctic ice, which has forced the polar bears farther south. Their grolar bear offspring shares characteristics with both mom and dad. Grolars’ necks are longish, and they have visible tails a la the polar bear, but their heads, shoulders, and claws more closely resemble the grizzly, and their coats are a kind of messy combination of both bears. However, grolars are at a bit of a disadvantage in the wild because they can’t swim as well as polar bears, and their grizzly claws aren’t suited for the ice. But as of 2012, there have been five reported sightings of hybrids in the wild, so perhaps one day the grolars will become a permanent part of the North American ecosystem.

5They’re Revered By The Inuit People

While many people might think of the polar bear as cute and cuddly, the Inuit people give it a little more respect. They consider the Nanuk (polar bear) to be a mystical, almost human creature, which deserves reverence even after death. After a successful kill, an Inuit hunter would honor the polar bear by hanging its skin in his home for several days. Along with the hide, the hunter would also hang up tools as an offering to the bear’s spirit. For male bears, the Inuit would give knives and bow-drills, and for females, he would offer gifts such as skin-scrapers and needle cases. It was believed that the polar bear needed the souls of these tools in the next life, and if the hunter treated the bear with respect, the Nanuk would tell other bears about the hunter’s kindness. Then the other bears would offer themselves to the hunter to be killed in exchange for tools. Everybody wins.

However, if a hunter mistreated the Nanuk’s soul, he would never be able to kill another polar bear. The same goes for the hunter’s wife. If she disrespected the bear, her husband would never again be a great hunter. This was especially problematic for women if their husbands died. Chances were pretty good that they’d remain single because no Inuit hunter wanted to marry into the Nanuk’s curse.