This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | → | Archive 5 |
Some facts I'm planning to massage into this article:
- UtherSRG 17:19, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I've also heard somewhere that polar bears are the only animals except humans that kill for fun/sport. Can anyone verify that? -- Aramgutang 02:46, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Polar bears are not aggressive animals by nature. Believe it or not, a Russian naturalist has survived some 500 encounters with this species without carrying a gun. He runs off a polar bear once just with a long stick. His book : Living with the polar bear. You can look for it on amazon.com. Do not rely on online sources too much for wild life information, some, if not many, provide biased information, sometimes based solely on word of mouth and personal opinion.
In the article it says that the polar bear's fur can absorb light? Does this mean if they got hit by a laser designed to hurt humans they wouldn't take damage from it? What would happen? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.79.168.160 ( talk • contribs)
I've been thinking of weird questions lately and I've wondered if there is such thing as an albino Polar Bear? Could somone please verify this for me? Greyhead 15:21, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
My grand father told me that a pink nose is the only way to tell a true albino bear. He said that a lot of them have pink dots as well. The only way to confirm a albino is the pink or red eyes.
I was wondering about the Spirit bear - an interesting parallel, though I assume it is much more recent. Does anyone know? And should there be a link? -- GwydionM 18:31, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
In their spare time they do fun stuff. They slide on their bellies, box with eachother, dunk eachother, and more. When the female makes her den she makes it on a hillside so her cubs can slide down the hill on their bottomes.
I can't confirm or deny this but it seems a bit unlikely? The cubs do seem to 'play' in this way. I strongly doubt that the location of the den is decided in this fashion though. Does anyone have any data for this? akaDruid 15:01, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I had the impression from somewhere that polar bears aren't actually "bears" - that is, although morphologically they certainly look like bears, immunogenetic and/or skeletal analysis showed that they're far more closely related to weasels than they are to other bears. Does anyone know anything about this? DS 13:37, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I believe you have Pandas confused with Polar Bears.
NEVER MIND, I just read the Panda article and through recent genetic testing Panda's are infact bears.
As polar bears are capable of producing fertile hybrids with brown bears, they must be very similar genetically.
There is a type of bear we Inuit call a weasel bear it is when the bear gets over 12'. other than the build differance it is the same bear. Maybe you herd this and got it confused.
Does the fact that George Bush said that they are endangered mean it holds a hidden question for the white race?
I have read an article that environmentalists are petitioning to have the polar bear listed as endangered because they feel that this will protect polar bears from becoming extinct. The arctic sea ice is disappearing Sandy June 02:19, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
That is what is going on: polar bears are "excellent swimmers" and they can swim up to 100 miles to reach the ice packs, but they are not designed to swim 200 or more. They are not swimming in a nice, quiet, backyard pool either-- add rough seas to the picture and the concept of polar bears drowning is not too hard to grasp.
It is hard to believe this scince I have seen and herd from my Inuit elders that bears can sleep in water if tired. After a bear gets so big they become to big to hold their weight on ice for very long. Most bears never touch land agian after they are born. These bears must of died of hunger no ice means that they cannot hunt seals. Which like to sun on ice. People have allwas been trying to put them on the list for as long as i can remember. Now they are even trying to put the ringed seal on the list cause the bear hunts them. Even though the warmer seasons are helping the seals mortality rate. Go Figure! I am all in for conservation but people need to make informed dicisions before they go to far.
Is it true that all Polar Bears are left-handed? Ahkayah cuarenta y siete 21:13, 10 September 2005 (UTC)
No this is not true Most bears are right-handed not all though. I was tought that when my Grandfathers father hunted them with dogs and a spear he would look for this. They run with thier stronger foot first this is their "handedness". When charged by a bear that this is their one weakness they cannot turn very fast to their oppisite hand. To think that animals do not share our traits is very... jaded. Sorry! The mystic and respect for the polar bear is one that none can share.
I remember hearing somewhere that a giant male was exhibited in 1962 at the Seattle world Fair. It's mounted height was 11 ft 2 inches and it had an estimated original weight of 2,200 lbs.
That's right. But, becareful, that is an estimate. A male polar bear stands about 2.2m - 3m on its hind legs and weighs 350kg - 600kg. I have been trying to verify this figure for a year now.Thanks for your figure, I can now quite assure that the bear in question weighs perhaps about 650kg-720kg, not that heavy( bigger than even a large bison bull). When you compare the size among specimens, you wil figure out it is impossible for a polar bear to weigh that heavy with this size. One thing that could make the bear heavier is the last time it feeds before being killed. A polar bear of this size can put in about 60kg of food. So, at peak, this guy weighs 700kg-780kg with a full stomach. Thanks again for the figure.
One more thing, when talking about the weight of a Kodiak bear: Before it goes into its winter den, it puts on up to 180kg of fat. So, if you hear that Kodiak bear is very heavy, that's also deceptive. The best way to measure the "working weight" of a brownbear is at the time it's active during the year. tht is truly the real weight, the weight based on which you can measure the corresponding strenght of a bear. So, with regards to some Kodiak bears which can measure 680kg in the wild, I suspect that those are shot in winter. In summer, they are about 500kg-540kg.
I hope this clear the doubt about which is the really biggest bear. Polar bear is the "biggest bear species". Only some exceptionally large Kodiak bear in winter can match the size of a large Polar bear. The sources claiming that brown bear weighing 1000kg or more is unbelievable. To reach that size, a bear would need to be at least 5m tall, or else it won't be able to move, let alone feeding itself, much like obesity in human. A bison averages twice the weight of a brown Kodiak bear, a bison can grow up to 1100kg, how can some creature half its bulk can surpass it? It is just unreasonable, especially in the wild, where every one fights for food, and every one can starve, now and again.
"Bears of the world" has a reasonable discussion on the size of all bear species. You can have a look.
When I was 12 I went to the muesum in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory they had a 13'9" on display it is a giant to behold! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.99.204.126 ( talk • contribs) 10:05, 17 November 2005
"Climate Change" was a propaganda term pushed into popular usage by Frank Luntz. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/interviews/luntz.html
Copied the following from User talk:Keenan Pepper and User talk:Wsiegmund. -- Walter Siegmund (talk) 04:02, 29 December 2005 (UTC)
Hi Keenan! I wonder if you are aware that capitalization of terms like polar bear is controversial? "Whether the common names of species should start with a capital letter has been hotly debated in the past and has remained unresolved. As a matter of truce both styles are acceptable (except for proper names), but a redirect should be created from the alternative form." See WP:MOS. Earlier, the MOS advises "do not enforce American rules on pages about Commonwealth topics". Since polar bears live in both America (Alaska) and Canada (as well as other non-English countries), their nationality may be disputed.
The article was started in October 2001 with polar bear uncapitalized. [2] It was changed in March 2004. However, most of the edits have occurred since the latter date. It is possible that other changes occurred; my search was not exhaustive. I think the article history is sufficiently checkered that neither side can claim significant support from it. [3]
I have little interest in this argument since it affects the content not at all. Moreover, it seems to me to be one of the delights of editing Wikipedea to learn about this sort of thing. But, I thought some background on this matter might be helpful to you, in case you were unaware of it. Best wishes, Walter Siegmund (talk) 06:26, 18 December 2005 (UTC)
i'm seriously considering making some changes here to line this article up with the standards in use by
WikiProject Mammals. note that this would include, among other things, capitalization of the the common names of all mentioned species as well as proper citation of much of the uncited material. please see that project page and associated projects for details. discuss. -
Metanoid
03:18, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Anybody knows why polar bears (more generally polar mamals), got so much vitamine A in their liver? Probably an adaptation for the extreme cold, but how does it work ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.228.135.57 ( talk • contribs) 17:22, 30 December 2005
I removed "The Polar Bears are one of the biggest carnivores and it is the biggest bear", just now. The first point is already in the article. The second is implicit in the second sentence of the article. Walter Siegmund (talk) 01:23, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
Why not include the name "Nanook" which is the traditional name of polar bears used by the Inuit? They are the people who have the most history and stongest connection with these bears.
Polar Bear-baiting If u have more information, citations, images or other, please do not hesitate to post it to the articles discussion page. Thank you SirIsaacBrock 02:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
Surely the first line should read "The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus), aka purple bear aka north-east-western bear aka puddle bear, is a large bear native to the Arctic" (not "Antarctic" as it read on Mar 1).
"There have been no proposals to date to transplant the species to some other environment, such as Antarctica." If there have been no proposals, why is this line even in the entry? Is there any source for the notion that this would even be a viable idea?
Good first draft, but: "For example, when a Polar Bear sits and waits by a seal's breathing hole, it covers its nose with its paws. This is because a Polar Bear's nose is the only non-white colored part of their body, and a seal could see it through the surface of the water."
This is a rubbish myth and it is compounded 2 pars later with the even more rubbishy myth about hand preference.
"Almost every polar bear is left handed. When stalking prey on the ice, a polar bear draws his right paw across his black nose, hiding his primary dark body part, the better to successfully sneak up on his next meal. (Some polar bears also squeeze their eyes almost closed, for even more complete camouflage.) Then, the bear batters his lunch to death with his stronger, dominant, left paw."
I've edited both references out. Plus I've removed the external reference http://www.wildanimalsonline.com/mammals/polarbear.php which not only appears to be a source (there are thousands more all over the net, of course) of the handednes/hunting story but is also a commercial sucker site, baited with pop-ups that are just ready to trap kids who may be looking for homework references.
Any chance of getting a little more rigorous with fact through the entire article? Thedarky 16:28, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
It is true polar bears have been observed to cover their noses when hunting and while sleeping to improve heat retention. When they are studied by reseachers they put the paw on the nose to keep them warm until they revive. Once agian all animals share alot of our traits to think that they are stupid or not like us is IDIOTIC and should have no place in the sensitive balance of our ecosystem.
Is there a reason why nearly every time the species' common name appears in the text, both words are capitalized? This does not seem standard to me... Radagast 20:47, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
My school-aged daughter came home today with a very POV (anti-hunting) article on polar bear hunting (i.e. hunting of polar bears by humans). Since I knew nothing about it, I checked Wikipedia and to my dismay there seems to be nothing on it. A quick google reveals about 500 are hunted per year, about 1/5 by Inuit, the rest by hunters who pay a hefty license fee. Anyone knowledgable want to write something up? Otherwise I'll add a very terse section myself. It seems to me far more relevant than Polar Bear-baiting, which has its own article. Rocksong 10:00, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
I've added Polar bear hunting article, and will add a link from this article shortly. Rocksong 02:14, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
Hello I am happy to wade into this issue with you and your daughter. I am a Inuit Hunter I have also been on a few sporthunts. do you have any specific questions I will be happy to answer any questions.
I'm certainly no expert, but is it correct to say, as this article does in its first paragraph, that polar bears have blubber? I thought blubber was limited to marine mammals and was physiologically different from fat. Could someone who knows more than I about adipose tissue and polar bears please weigh in on this and correct the article if I'm right? Do polar bears have fat or blubber? — CKA3KA (Skazka) 07:54, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
Polar Bears Are conciderd as marine mammals. It looks and tastes like blubber also.
On 18 April 2006 an anonomous editor added information on exceptional size sourcing "Guinness world of records" (undated). [8] I wasn't able to verify this but replaced it with a number from a web source that I cited, but didn't necessarily view as a WP:RS. On 06:30, 22 April 2006 an anon (probably the same one) left me a nice note on my talk page, [9] and restored the information citing "Guinness World of records 2006". [10] This complies with my understanding of the guidelines for reliable sources, and I think it should stand. I've added the complete citation. While I was at it, I converted the footnotes to the Cite.php form. See WP:FN. The web footnotes need to be fleshed out and I will do that if no one else beats me to it. -- Walter Siegmund (talk) 09:11, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
Do Polar Bears Hibernate?
Hibernation in its true sense does not apply to polar bears. True hibernators experience a large drop in heart rate and a body temperature that drops to circa O° C (32° F). Brown and black bears are also not true hibernators. Though their heart rate slows, their body temperature does not decline to this extent. Bears do not enter a state of deep hibernation because they need a higher body temperature in order to meet the demands of pregnancy, birth, and the nursing of young. Though brown and black bears hibernate in winter, all polar bears do not. Only pregnant female polar bears hole up in a den. Pregnant female polar bears den up from August/September to March/April. Some polar bears also enter a state of hibernation due to the lack of food. Because they don't den, scientists have dubbed the condition "walking hibernation." Polar bears appear to have the ability to control their hibernation. A study done on a group of Hudson Bay polar bears that fed at a garbage dump during the autumn "lean period" revealed that the animals were not in a state of hibernation. Those bears, however, that steered clear of the dump were. (source : http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/)
The part about eating grease and motor oil, that's from an issue of either Equinox or Canadian Geographic that I read when I was at my parents' house. I'll see about finding the specific bibliographic data. DS 21:14, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
This page is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
This is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |
Archive 1 | Archive 2 | Archive 3 | → | Archive 5 |
Some facts I'm planning to massage into this article:
- UtherSRG 17:19, 12 Mar 2004 (UTC)
I've also heard somewhere that polar bears are the only animals except humans that kill for fun/sport. Can anyone verify that? -- Aramgutang 02:46, 15 Aug 2004 (UTC)
Polar bears are not aggressive animals by nature. Believe it or not, a Russian naturalist has survived some 500 encounters with this species without carrying a gun. He runs off a polar bear once just with a long stick. His book : Living with the polar bear. You can look for it on amazon.com. Do not rely on online sources too much for wild life information, some, if not many, provide biased information, sometimes based solely on word of mouth and personal opinion.
In the article it says that the polar bear's fur can absorb light? Does this mean if they got hit by a laser designed to hurt humans they wouldn't take damage from it? What would happen? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 199.79.168.160 ( talk • contribs)
I've been thinking of weird questions lately and I've wondered if there is such thing as an albino Polar Bear? Could somone please verify this for me? Greyhead 15:21, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
My grand father told me that a pink nose is the only way to tell a true albino bear. He said that a lot of them have pink dots as well. The only way to confirm a albino is the pink or red eyes.
I was wondering about the Spirit bear - an interesting parallel, though I assume it is much more recent. Does anyone know? And should there be a link? -- GwydionM 18:31, 9 February 2006 (UTC)
In their spare time they do fun stuff. They slide on their bellies, box with eachother, dunk eachother, and more. When the female makes her den she makes it on a hillside so her cubs can slide down the hill on their bottomes.
I can't confirm or deny this but it seems a bit unlikely? The cubs do seem to 'play' in this way. I strongly doubt that the location of the den is decided in this fashion though. Does anyone have any data for this? akaDruid 15:01, 8 Mar 2005 (UTC)
I had the impression from somewhere that polar bears aren't actually "bears" - that is, although morphologically they certainly look like bears, immunogenetic and/or skeletal analysis showed that they're far more closely related to weasels than they are to other bears. Does anyone know anything about this? DS 13:37, 11 Jun 2005 (UTC)
I believe you have Pandas confused with Polar Bears.
NEVER MIND, I just read the Panda article and through recent genetic testing Panda's are infact bears.
As polar bears are capable of producing fertile hybrids with brown bears, they must be very similar genetically.
There is a type of bear we Inuit call a weasel bear it is when the bear gets over 12'. other than the build differance it is the same bear. Maybe you herd this and got it confused.
Does the fact that George Bush said that they are endangered mean it holds a hidden question for the white race?
I have read an article that environmentalists are petitioning to have the polar bear listed as endangered because they feel that this will protect polar bears from becoming extinct. The arctic sea ice is disappearing Sandy June 02:19, 16 December 2005 (UTC)
That is what is going on: polar bears are "excellent swimmers" and they can swim up to 100 miles to reach the ice packs, but they are not designed to swim 200 or more. They are not swimming in a nice, quiet, backyard pool either-- add rough seas to the picture and the concept of polar bears drowning is not too hard to grasp.
It is hard to believe this scince I have seen and herd from my Inuit elders that bears can sleep in water if tired. After a bear gets so big they become to big to hold their weight on ice for very long. Most bears never touch land agian after they are born. These bears must of died of hunger no ice means that they cannot hunt seals. Which like to sun on ice. People have allwas been trying to put them on the list for as long as i can remember. Now they are even trying to put the ringed seal on the list cause the bear hunts them. Even though the warmer seasons are helping the seals mortality rate. Go Figure! I am all in for conservation but people need to make informed dicisions before they go to far.
Is it true that all Polar Bears are left-handed? Ahkayah cuarenta y siete 21:13, 10 September 2005 (UTC)
No this is not true Most bears are right-handed not all though. I was tought that when my Grandfathers father hunted them with dogs and a spear he would look for this. They run with thier stronger foot first this is their "handedness". When charged by a bear that this is their one weakness they cannot turn very fast to their oppisite hand. To think that animals do not share our traits is very... jaded. Sorry! The mystic and respect for the polar bear is one that none can share.
I remember hearing somewhere that a giant male was exhibited in 1962 at the Seattle world Fair. It's mounted height was 11 ft 2 inches and it had an estimated original weight of 2,200 lbs.
That's right. But, becareful, that is an estimate. A male polar bear stands about 2.2m - 3m on its hind legs and weighs 350kg - 600kg. I have been trying to verify this figure for a year now.Thanks for your figure, I can now quite assure that the bear in question weighs perhaps about 650kg-720kg, not that heavy( bigger than even a large bison bull). When you compare the size among specimens, you wil figure out it is impossible for a polar bear to weigh that heavy with this size. One thing that could make the bear heavier is the last time it feeds before being killed. A polar bear of this size can put in about 60kg of food. So, at peak, this guy weighs 700kg-780kg with a full stomach. Thanks again for the figure.
One more thing, when talking about the weight of a Kodiak bear: Before it goes into its winter den, it puts on up to 180kg of fat. So, if you hear that Kodiak bear is very heavy, that's also deceptive. The best way to measure the "working weight" of a brownbear is at the time it's active during the year. tht is truly the real weight, the weight based on which you can measure the corresponding strenght of a bear. So, with regards to some Kodiak bears which can measure 680kg in the wild, I suspect that those are shot in winter. In summer, they are about 500kg-540kg.
I hope this clear the doubt about which is the really biggest bear. Polar bear is the "biggest bear species". Only some exceptionally large Kodiak bear in winter can match the size of a large Polar bear. The sources claiming that brown bear weighing 1000kg or more is unbelievable. To reach that size, a bear would need to be at least 5m tall, or else it won't be able to move, let alone feeding itself, much like obesity in human. A bison averages twice the weight of a brown Kodiak bear, a bison can grow up to 1100kg, how can some creature half its bulk can surpass it? It is just unreasonable, especially in the wild, where every one fights for food, and every one can starve, now and again.
"Bears of the world" has a reasonable discussion on the size of all bear species. You can have a look.
When I was 12 I went to the muesum in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory they had a 13'9" on display it is a giant to behold! —Preceding unsigned comment added by 216.99.204.126 ( talk • contribs) 10:05, 17 November 2005
"Climate Change" was a propaganda term pushed into popular usage by Frank Luntz. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/persuaders/interviews/luntz.html
Copied the following from User talk:Keenan Pepper and User talk:Wsiegmund. -- Walter Siegmund (talk) 04:02, 29 December 2005 (UTC)
Hi Keenan! I wonder if you are aware that capitalization of terms like polar bear is controversial? "Whether the common names of species should start with a capital letter has been hotly debated in the past and has remained unresolved. As a matter of truce both styles are acceptable (except for proper names), but a redirect should be created from the alternative form." See WP:MOS. Earlier, the MOS advises "do not enforce American rules on pages about Commonwealth topics". Since polar bears live in both America (Alaska) and Canada (as well as other non-English countries), their nationality may be disputed.
The article was started in October 2001 with polar bear uncapitalized. [2] It was changed in March 2004. However, most of the edits have occurred since the latter date. It is possible that other changes occurred; my search was not exhaustive. I think the article history is sufficiently checkered that neither side can claim significant support from it. [3]
I have little interest in this argument since it affects the content not at all. Moreover, it seems to me to be one of the delights of editing Wikipedea to learn about this sort of thing. But, I thought some background on this matter might be helpful to you, in case you were unaware of it. Best wishes, Walter Siegmund (talk) 06:26, 18 December 2005 (UTC)
i'm seriously considering making some changes here to line this article up with the standards in use by
WikiProject Mammals. note that this would include, among other things, capitalization of the the common names of all mentioned species as well as proper citation of much of the uncited material. please see that project page and associated projects for details. discuss. -
Metanoid
03:18, 30 January 2007 (UTC)
Anybody knows why polar bears (more generally polar mamals), got so much vitamine A in their liver? Probably an adaptation for the extreme cold, but how does it work ? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 83.228.135.57 ( talk • contribs) 17:22, 30 December 2005
I removed "The Polar Bears are one of the biggest carnivores and it is the biggest bear", just now. The first point is already in the article. The second is implicit in the second sentence of the article. Walter Siegmund (talk) 01:23, 7 January 2006 (UTC)
Why not include the name "Nanook" which is the traditional name of polar bears used by the Inuit? They are the people who have the most history and stongest connection with these bears.
Polar Bear-baiting If u have more information, citations, images or other, please do not hesitate to post it to the articles discussion page. Thank you SirIsaacBrock 02:19, 15 January 2006 (UTC)
Surely the first line should read "The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus), aka purple bear aka north-east-western bear aka puddle bear, is a large bear native to the Arctic" (not "Antarctic" as it read on Mar 1).
"There have been no proposals to date to transplant the species to some other environment, such as Antarctica." If there have been no proposals, why is this line even in the entry? Is there any source for the notion that this would even be a viable idea?
Good first draft, but: "For example, when a Polar Bear sits and waits by a seal's breathing hole, it covers its nose with its paws. This is because a Polar Bear's nose is the only non-white colored part of their body, and a seal could see it through the surface of the water."
This is a rubbish myth and it is compounded 2 pars later with the even more rubbishy myth about hand preference.
"Almost every polar bear is left handed. When stalking prey on the ice, a polar bear draws his right paw across his black nose, hiding his primary dark body part, the better to successfully sneak up on his next meal. (Some polar bears also squeeze their eyes almost closed, for even more complete camouflage.) Then, the bear batters his lunch to death with his stronger, dominant, left paw."
I've edited both references out. Plus I've removed the external reference http://www.wildanimalsonline.com/mammals/polarbear.php which not only appears to be a source (there are thousands more all over the net, of course) of the handednes/hunting story but is also a commercial sucker site, baited with pop-ups that are just ready to trap kids who may be looking for homework references.
Any chance of getting a little more rigorous with fact through the entire article? Thedarky 16:28, 17 March 2006 (UTC)
It is true polar bears have been observed to cover their noses when hunting and while sleeping to improve heat retention. When they are studied by reseachers they put the paw on the nose to keep them warm until they revive. Once agian all animals share alot of our traits to think that they are stupid or not like us is IDIOTIC and should have no place in the sensitive balance of our ecosystem.
Is there a reason why nearly every time the species' common name appears in the text, both words are capitalized? This does not seem standard to me... Radagast 20:47, 31 March 2006 (UTC)
My school-aged daughter came home today with a very POV (anti-hunting) article on polar bear hunting (i.e. hunting of polar bears by humans). Since I knew nothing about it, I checked Wikipedia and to my dismay there seems to be nothing on it. A quick google reveals about 500 are hunted per year, about 1/5 by Inuit, the rest by hunters who pay a hefty license fee. Anyone knowledgable want to write something up? Otherwise I'll add a very terse section myself. It seems to me far more relevant than Polar Bear-baiting, which has its own article. Rocksong 10:00, 3 April 2006 (UTC)
I've added Polar bear hunting article, and will add a link from this article shortly. Rocksong 02:14, 4 April 2006 (UTC)
Hello I am happy to wade into this issue with you and your daughter. I am a Inuit Hunter I have also been on a few sporthunts. do you have any specific questions I will be happy to answer any questions.
I'm certainly no expert, but is it correct to say, as this article does in its first paragraph, that polar bears have blubber? I thought blubber was limited to marine mammals and was physiologically different from fat. Could someone who knows more than I about adipose tissue and polar bears please weigh in on this and correct the article if I'm right? Do polar bears have fat or blubber? — CKA3KA (Skazka) 07:54, 20 April 2006 (UTC)
Polar Bears Are conciderd as marine mammals. It looks and tastes like blubber also.
On 18 April 2006 an anonomous editor added information on exceptional size sourcing "Guinness world of records" (undated). [8] I wasn't able to verify this but replaced it with a number from a web source that I cited, but didn't necessarily view as a WP:RS. On 06:30, 22 April 2006 an anon (probably the same one) left me a nice note on my talk page, [9] and restored the information citing "Guinness World of records 2006". [10] This complies with my understanding of the guidelines for reliable sources, and I think it should stand. I've added the complete citation. While I was at it, I converted the footnotes to the Cite.php form. See WP:FN. The web footnotes need to be fleshed out and I will do that if no one else beats me to it. -- Walter Siegmund (talk) 09:11, 22 April 2006 (UTC)
Do Polar Bears Hibernate?
Hibernation in its true sense does not apply to polar bears. True hibernators experience a large drop in heart rate and a body temperature that drops to circa O° C (32° F). Brown and black bears are also not true hibernators. Though their heart rate slows, their body temperature does not decline to this extent. Bears do not enter a state of deep hibernation because they need a higher body temperature in order to meet the demands of pregnancy, birth, and the nursing of young. Though brown and black bears hibernate in winter, all polar bears do not. Only pregnant female polar bears hole up in a den. Pregnant female polar bears den up from August/September to March/April. Some polar bears also enter a state of hibernation due to the lack of food. Because they don't den, scientists have dubbed the condition "walking hibernation." Polar bears appear to have the ability to control their hibernation. A study done on a group of Hudson Bay polar bears that fed at a garbage dump during the autumn "lean period" revealed that the animals were not in a state of hibernation. Those bears, however, that steered clear of the dump were. (source : http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/)
The part about eating grease and motor oil, that's from an issue of either Equinox or Canadian Geographic that I read when I was at my parents' house. I'll see about finding the specific bibliographic data. DS 21:14, 3 May 2006 (UTC)
This page is an archive of past discussions. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page. |