While working as a naturalist on Antarctic cruises, I often had people asking if we would see polar bears. Wrong pole! You won’t see penguins in the arctic either.

I did have a chance to see a pair of polar bears who were having a lot of fun at L’Aquarium du Québec.

The Polar Bear range lies largely within the Arctic Circle. A male can weigh up to 1500 pounds.

 Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present.

Polar Bear

The Polar Bear never makes his bed;
He sleeps on a cake of ice instead.
He has no blanket, no quilt, no sheet
Except the rain and snow and sleet.
He drifts about on a white ice floe
While cold winds howl and blizzards blow
And the temperature drops to forty below.
The Polar Bear never makes his bed;
The blanket he pulls up over his head
Is lined with soft and feathery snow.
If ever he rose and turned on the light,
He would find a world of bathtub white,
And icebergs floating through the night. – William Jay Smith

Miles Hearn