More Doom for the Polar Bear

For so many reasons, I love Polar Bears. I mean, they are the only fully carnivorous bears and one of two mammals (that this author is aware of) that hunt humans. Bad. Ass. So when I read this article, it added a whole new layer of panic to my worry for the Polar Bear.

Side note before we dive in: I was in Iceland once (you might remember Iceland for f**king up European air travel for a while) and my guide told me that sometimes P-Bears float over to Iceland on ice and since they aren't native to the island and don't have much - other than humans - to hunt, are shot on sight. Feels like Iceland is the place where we should be parking all of our endangered species, not the place where we murder them. Just trying to give Iceland something other than geysers, volcanoes and Bjork to be known for.

Anyway, the other (of many actually) side effect of global warming on Polar Bears is that they're now going to be sharing their territory with Grizzly Bears. The Atlantic points out why this is not good:

Polar bears are the only fully carnivorous bear, and the unique structure of their skull and teeth make them ill-prepared to start incorporating plants into their diet. This evolutionary disadvantage will give grizzlies the upper-hand as the two species move into habitats with limited food sources. The result will be an increasing speed of extinction for the polar bear subspecies.

via @micahmoreau. Thanks Slim.

Polar Bears are fast

According to my sources, a Polar Bear plies the earth at an average of about 3.5 mph, but can reach speeds of up to 40 mph when hunting down some prey. So, a Polar Bear should either be able to walk a marathon in 7.5 hours or run it in 39 minutes. Coming in somewhere in between this past weekend at the Chicago Marathon was Bowdoin College graduate and Olympic Gold Medalist Joan Benoit Samuelson. The 53 year old Polar Bear finished the course in 2:47:50 to set a new record for her age group (50-54). She came within a minute and 50 seconds of qualifying for the Olympic trials. She also set this most recent record 25 yeas to the day when she set the fastest time for a woman at the Chicago Marathon of 2:21:21. Not too shabby.

Thanks to avid reader and fan Karen H for this alma mater intel.

Nature photo of the day