Rolling on the Tundra: A Polar Bear Adventure

My students are very excited about joining the video conference tomorrow.

What is the range of latitude for polar bears?

From the scientists in Tundra Buggy One:

The range of latitude for polar bears is approximately between 58 degrees north to 90 degrees north.

Below are questions that were submitted by e-mail during Tuesday’s webcast followed by answers from the scientists on Tundra Buggy One:

Q: What birds are there hanging around with the polar bears?

A: We have seen snowy owls, ptarmigans, gyrfalcons, common eider (look up “eider down”), ravens, snow buntings, and common redpoll. The snowy owls eat lemmings and ptarmigans, and the gyrfalcons are eating other birds (like ptarmigan).

Q. Some say that polar bear fur have fiber-optic qualities. Is this true?

A. This is a myth. Polar bear fur is clear, and lots of fur filaments held together look white in daylight (you can try this at home with a group of clear drinking straws — a single straw is easy to look through, but a whole group should appear to be white). The notion was that these hairs would lead to the bears’ black skin and would allow sunlight to penetrate through the hairs and down to the skin where it would warm the skin. But think about this — the bears would most need this ability in the winter when it is minus 60 degrees! In the winter, it’s dark in the Arctic, there is no sun. The theory not only makes no common sense, but this wouldn’t work in terms of the physics.