This is a silly looking, but common pose that polar bears go into. They may even snooze a bit when like this, or push themselves along the snow like a snowplow to clean their tummies. The pose has even been adopted in some Yoga circles as an effective position for pregnant women in labour.
This female bear and her two sub-adult cubs (two cubs in a litter is most common, although one and three are possible as well), were “lounging around” on the beach beside some logs, and I couldn’t help anthropomorphizing some captions for that photo based on the apparent pose…
- “Hey Good Lookin, why don’t ya pull up a log and join us here, the kids are a bit bored watching the beach pebbles erode”
- “I want you to draw me like one of your French girls”
- “Hallow Hansum Photographer Man – Is that a big telephoto lens you have, or are you just happy to see me?”
It’s always informative to look back at the historical context of how humans have treated and interacted with other species in the past. Unfortunately, it’s all too often horrendous. For your amusement or horror, it’s up to you. (https://www.vintag.es/2017/07/incredible-vintage-photos-showing.html)
Source of these images from the net, but they are pretty crazy given what these Russians did in the 1950’s-70’s to stage a photo or two, but polar bears have such a great sense of smell, I am sure the scent of the condensed milk was to them like catnip is to a feline!)
Now the Russian’s weren’t the only ones crazy about polar bears, in Germany from the 1920’s to 1960’s, it was a fad to pose with someone wearing a polar bear costume as one photograph collector (Jean-Marie Donat) discovered through a whole series of different images of people posing with costume “polar bears” in various locations, situations, and over that fourty year period.
Image: TEDDYBÄR, a series from the Jean-Marie Donat Collection, Innocences Publishing
Pre-dating the Selfie, I guess we could call it a PolarBear’ie
And finally, I always go back to my authoritative source for advice on safaris and animals, the great master Gary Larson and his Farside comic strip!
Of course, these two species inhabit different poles… but hey, it’s a cartoon!
Just a reminder that February 27th is International Polar Bear Day, so this is the last post in this series… but to recap:
A Naughty Polar Bear Cub “goofs” on its Patient Mom – watch the 3 minute video below!
Useful Links:
- Take small steps to go greener, see the slideshow from Prevention Magazine about 70 ways you can live greener
- Go big and try to go as carbon neutral as you can through buying carbon offsets through planting more trees
- Support Polar Bears International
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