| ||
Gawd it's hot today. What will I do? Yep, lie down again. I'm not called Loafer for nothing.
|
 |
| And out of the bushes came ..... |
| Brown bear paw impression (R). Polar bear paw (L) |
 |
Big thrill - Loafer and I.
"The polar bear, more than any other animal, symbolises the Arctic. People all around the world who will never see one knows what they look like. Like the vastness of the polar sea ice it has evolved to be at home on, the sheer size of an adult polar bear is impressive. It's pristine whiteness matches the backdrop of snow and ice we all associate with the Arctic." Ian Stirling polar bear researcher for more than three decades.
Don't ask me why but I'm fascinated by the big bears and polar bears are the biggest. I went to Churchill hoping to see some a learn about them and that I did. Researchers think that polar bears evolved from brown bears about 120 000 years ago and then spread across the polar regions of the Arctic. They are highly specialised animals perfectly adapted to their environment. The males are the biggest and can weigh up to 650kg and females up to 250kg. They feed mostly on ring seals and only when on the sea ice . They spend the summer months in a kind of walking hibernation and are very hungry by this time of the year as they wait for the sea to ice over again and, hence, they can begin hunting and eating once again. They evolved to be large animals as an efficient way of conserving energy. It is estimated that they need to eat at least one seal a week during the winter to ensure they have sufficient reserves to see through the summer on land . And so they congregate near where the sea ices over first and wait for it to happen. One such place is Churchill and life in Churchill is dominated by polar bears at this time of the year and they roam through the town looking for food.
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment