I have saved the best for the beary last . To the top of the world . Who among us is not enthralled by the most majestic of all bears and one of the most feared ...the polar bear . No worries . This endangered species does not reside in Timmins but much farther north than I . Although a small northern community Cochrane about one hour away , boasts a polar habitat that has become one of the town's most popular tourist attractions and I encourage you to see the exhibit for yourself if you are ever up this way .http://www.polarbearhabitat.ca/
The polar bear does not hibernate but wanders around the snow and ice constantly on the lookout for its next meal .
Polar bears feed mostly on seals although a beluga whale can be a tasty appetizer as well . The biggest threat to the extinction of these beautiful beasts , besides you , is climate change . Losing the glaciers means losing the polar bears . Powerful swimmers with a thick coat of dense white fur makes the polar bear the king of the Arctic .
Of course for every king there is a clown . My MNR friend had a co worker stationed in Churchill who sent him the following REAL pictures of a playful and perhaps lonely and for sure, very full polar bear who just wanted to have some fun with the sled huskies at his camp . Just goes to show you that some of the biggest mammals on earth can also be some of the biggest goofs .
Thank you to Glen of the Ministry of Natural Resources for sending me these amazing photographs ( one of which is now my screen saver . )
Hope you have enjoyed my ramblings on the bear facts as much as I have enjoyed writing about them . As much as we may fear these great creatures they have just as much right to be here as we do , maybe not on our patios and balconies but to live out their lives in commune with nature . Our subdivisions have infringed on their forests and hunger being the primal instinct to survival they have become modern day pests that we dread meeting face to face .
Working together and using common sense and compassion is the answer .
3 comments:
I can vouch for the Polar Bear Habitat in Cochrane. It's awesome. I brought my niece there a couple summers ago. You can actually swim with the polar bears! Okay, there's a two-inch sheet of plexiglass between you and them, but it's still pretty neat and makes for great photos.
JB, give Liam and Morgan a couple of years, and they would love a visit to the habitat. Maria, your kids would get a kick out of it now.
First, NGB - speaking of Liam and Morgan (and do they ever love animals!), we're taking them to meet some horses belonging to a friend of ours on a weekend very soon. Pictures will be posted!
Second, Ma - I saw these pictures and read this story a while ago, and I absolutely love them. Thanks for posting them here! I especially love the one where the Husky is nuzzling under the bear's chin. Awesome stuff.
In this case, shouldn't that be "We have nothing to fear but Bear itself"?
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