Did you know that polar bears aren't actually white?
Fact. Their color is determined by lighting and the climate of their surroundings. Polar bears can come in all types of colors: yellow, gray, orange, and even green. That's because polar bear fur is transparent and hollow, so when light strikes the outer fur some of it is absorbed while the rest is deflected. Consequently, the fur can appear as different colors under different lighting. Normally, polar bears look white. That's because their fur is scattering sunlight, which is also white. But on a cloudy day, the bears can look slightly gray. At sunset, they can even appear reddish-orange.
Polar bears in zoos have even been known to turn green. This happens when concrete floors in their pens scrape against the fur and the abrasions create small holes in their hairs, opening a means for algae to live and breed inside. In the Arctic, temperatures are too cold for algae. But wild polar bear fur can even change color to yellow due to oils from their prey that stain their fur.
The most surprising thing about polar bears is that underneath all that hair, their skin is actually black. Black skin readily absorbs sunlight to keep the bear warm.
Polar bears aren't just the ambassadors of the North Pole. *They're masters at manipulating color to survive.
(source http://www.businessinsider.com/what-color-is-polar-bear-fur-2017-12)
Photo taken at the St. Louis Zoo, one of the only free zoos in the USA.
!steemitworldmap 38.64 lat -90.29 long St. Louis Zoo St.Louis, MO d3scr
Images taken with Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
© 2018 Nina Haskin. All rights reserved
Wow so interesting!! I am shocked that that have black skin, I would never have guessed! Great article.
Thank you! @kylaki I was intrigued by this information too. I spent a lot of time at the zoo growing up and thought this info might come in handy at a trivia game night or whatever.
I bet it would come in handy, no one would suspect that those bears have black skin! I always feel so sad for the Polar Bears in the zoo, they are so big and I bet they like to wander far and wide catching seals and doing their thing. I have seen a lot about them loosing their habitat up north due to all the ice melting. I even saw a photo of one on a chunk of ice lost at sea.
I hope they survive, they are such beautiful bears!
You share the same thoughts as me about animals being in captivity. I too wish they could be in their natural environment but also understand about the global changes occurring and the need to make sure species don't disappear entirely...
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Love the black and white aspect to this shot :) Great to see another animal photographer on here!
Thank you! I checked out yiur blog and upvoted a couple of your outdoor posts!
Thanks a lot :)
I thought it is only chameleon that has different colour. I never knew bears could manipulate colours too.
Chameleons change colors to camouflage themselves and hide, while the color fur on polar bears depends on the different things mentioned in the post. Thanks for your comment!
I never knew these things and polar bears are my favorite bears! Thanks for this information I'm glad I know about this now, great picture!!❤️❤️
You're welcome, Ceci! Fun facts for animal lovers♡
very interesting post!
Thank you, my artist friend! @protosun
Yes I did know that fact about polar bears! I have a "White" dog that also turns different colors!
You and @awesomemike are animal lovers - I'm not a bit surprised you knew! @deadgrlsuppastar As for white dogs...mine "changes" colors too!
That is actually fascinating, I though Polar Bears were always white - super explanation and I love the photo. Quite a noble beast, and I certainly would not argue with it!
#thealliance
Way to leave a personalized comment, with a cool portrait pic! @c0ff33a Thank you! I remember when I first heard the explanation about polar bears on National Geographic thinking how ironic it was
The wonderful @bridget.art drew that for me, she is an amazing talent every one of her art posts are a joy to view.
Yes, she is and I saw that she's the artist! I left some love on her blog last night💯
This is an interesting fact about polar bears. Never knew their colors could change. I'd love to see an orange one.
Thanks, Ryan! Better hope you're not in the wild if you see an orange polar bear because that would mean it's close to nighttime. The orange would be the color of the setting sun reflecting on the bear's fur @watersnake101 Hope all's well with you!
Not a good idea as it might eat me lol. Been really busy lately as everyone in the family is joining on our daily shoot. Hope we could get a chance to chat more. I'm at work and sneaking out a message.
Comment when you get a chance - don't get in trouble at work though!
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