Other Correspondence

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Saturday 4 June 2011

Polar Bears

Pretty cute little guy eh? I just heard from a friend that polar bears are one of the only animals in the world that will actively hunt human beings. What does this look like? Well some accounts include so called 'stalking' where a polar bear and her cubs will actually wait outside the dwelling of a family or person until he or she exits... You can guess what happens from there. So the predation of polar bears is what has spurred this post.

Polar bear mothers typically give to twin cubs. At birth, the little fellas are completely dependant on their mother for warmth and food and weigh as little as a pound. But their minuscule size quickly dissipates after birth... With sufficient food polar bears can grow up 1200 lbs in size and be over 9 feet tall when standing. The largest recorded size of a polar is 2209 lbs! Talk about big. Their favourite meal is ringed seal, but have also been known to hunt foxes, ravens and younger bears (yeaup, that makes them cannibals!) in extreme food shortages. According to Wikipedia, when polar bears do attack humans they are much less likely to leave the victim alive (like brown bears) and are almost always fatal. I guess that bodes nicely for the attackee.

In a recent email from my contact in Arviat, I asked what the terrain was like for running in the summer. She said that by mid summer most snow and mud is dried, but that I "should be careful of bears (seriously)." Hmmmmmmm. Not quite as friendly as the pictures alludes.

PD

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