Land Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

May 1, 2012

Polar Bears Swim Hundreds of Miles in One Go

Polar bears can swim for days, covering hundreds of miles of open water at a time, accoding to new GPS tracking data. These long swims appear to be a response to declining summer sea ice in the Arctic, the researchers suggest. Sea ice provides crucial habitat for polar bears, which...

May 7, 2012

New Polar Bear Pals Getting Along Swimmingly

Two young male polar bears at a Scotland zoo have become fast friends, and keepers recently allowed the youngsters to become roommates. The two bears, four-year-old Arktos and three-year-old Walker, were first introduced in early April. Yet after only a month of hang time the furry pair couldn't bear to...

May 30, 2012

Polar Bear Pals Enjoy Frozen Treat

With the arrival of warm weather in the Scottish highlands, the polar bears at the Highland Wildlife Park have been finding ways to beat the heat. Arktos and Walker, both males, have been alternating between catching some rays and then jumping in their pool to cool off and splash around....

Aug 16, 2012

Mysterious Polar Bear Death Linked to Zebra Herpes

In 2010 at the Wuppertal Zoo in Germany, brain inflammation killed one female polar bear, Jerka, and sickened her male companion, Lars, whom veterinarians were able to save. Brain-swelling disease, or encephalitis, can be caused by many pathogens. But after investigating samples from Jerka, Lars and nine other polar bears...

Oct 1, 2012

Polar Bear Scientist Cleared of Misconduct

This article was provided by AccuWeather.com. An investigation by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) into possible scientific misconduct by scientist Charles Monnett concluded that no misconduct occurred. The question of misconduct came about because of a report written in 2006 by Monnett, a wildlife researcher with BOEM and...

Oct 12, 2012

Polar Bear Video Shows Dark Side of Drinking Soda — Will It Change Habits?

A new video featuring a family of polar bears falling ill after too much soda might counter happy soda ads, but may fall short of getting people to cut the sugary stuff, experts say. In the online video, the bears start off happily guzzling bottles of caramel-colored soda. However, the...

Mar 7, 2013

Polar Bear Trade Ban Rejected

A bid to ban the international trade of polar bear pelts and other parts was rejected today (March 7) at a major meeting of conservationists in Bangkok. The proposal was submitted by the United States at the meeting of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna...

Mar 14, 2013

Polar Bears' Mysterious Origins Befuddle Scientists

Polar bears and brown bears diverged much longer ago than previously thought, new research suggests. Past estimates for this divergence came from brown bears living on the Admiralty, Baranof and Chichagof (ABC) Islands in Alaska. But according to a new study, ABC Island bears are actually the result of mating...

Mar 19, 2013

Melting Sea Ice Keeps Hungry Polar Bears on Land

Polar bears, the iconic victims of climate change, are shifting their migration patterns because of changes in sea ice. The bears are arriving on land earlier and departing later, a new study found, and it's threatening their access to food. A team of researchers studied the migration patterns of polar...

Mar 25, 2013

Orphaned Polar Bear Cub to Get New York Home

An orphaned polar bear cub found near Alaska's northwest coast is set to become a New Yorker. The 3-to-4-month-old male cub was rescued two weeks ago by hunters who say they unwittingly shot the bear's mother near Point Lay, Alaska, according to the Anchorage Daily News. The bear has been...

Apr 4, 2013

Orphaned Polar Bear Cub Gets New Home

Cue the squees: A little orphaned polar bear cub, thought to be about 3 to 4 months old, is settling in nicely at his new home at the Alaska Zoo. The cub, named Kali (pronounced Cully, the Inupiat name for Pt. Lay, Alaska, near where teh cub was found), was...

May 15, 2013

Orphaned Polar Bear Arrives in NY

Kali — the orphaned polar bear cub that was rescued in Alaska earlier this year — arrived safely at a new home in Buffalo, N.Y., early Wednesday (May 15) after a long trip aboard a UPS cargo plane. Back in March, the young bear was picked up by hunters who...

May 30, 2013

Polar Bear Video Shows Dark Side of Drinking Soda Will It Change Habits?

A new video featuring a family of polar bears falling ill after too much soda might counter happy soda ads, but may fall short of getting people to cut the sugary stuff out of their diets, experts say. In the online video, the bears start off happily guzzling bottles of...

Aug 1, 2013

Polar Bear's Collar Cam to Reveal Species' Secrets

A polar bear named Tasul at the Oregon Zoo has been wearing a collar cam that shows what the world looks like through the Arctic animal's eyes. Eventually, researchers will use data collected from Tasul's everyday movements to study the behavior of polar bears in their increasingly threatened and hard-to-reach...

Nov 5, 2013

Beagle Sniffs Out Polar Bear Pregnancies

When other pregnancy tests fall short, a poop-sniffing beagle named Elvis could reveal whether or not a polar bear has one on the way. At least that's what keepers at the Denver Zoo are hoping. The zoo's 11-year-old female Cranbeary may be expecting, but progesterone monitoring, ultrasound examination and other...