Did you know a Polar Bear is actually black, not white? Shook! Flabbergasted! Surely not?! But alas, they are. Its fur is translucent and underneath it all, the skin is black.
Fun polar bears fact number one!
Here are a few more: polar bears can sniff out prey from over 16km away but only two percent of their hunt is successful, they can swim for days at a time, they leave DNA in their footprints and a male polar bear weighs as much as 10 men. Click here for more fun facts.
Now, here’s a sad fact: due to climate change, the number of these beautiful large creatures is expected to drop by 30 percent by 2050.
They’re vulnerable but organisations have stepped up to help give this wonderful species a better chance at survival while allowing tourists to see them in a safe environment.
Places such as Adventure World Travel, Natural Habitat and Lindblad Expeditions are working with World Animal Protection (WAP) and adhering to animal safety guidelines to provide these ethical opportunities, such as:
NATURAL HABITAT
Search for bears, and watch them roam, play and interact—often at close range.
Travellers can spot Polar Bears on ethical tours provided by various operators, including a seven-day Ultimate Churchill Adventure designed by Natural Habitat Adventures.
These trips also include helicopter rides in the bears’ denning area and an exploration of the frontier town of Churchill.
ADVENTURE WORLD TRAVEL
Guests will need to keep their eyes peeled as they travel to the tidal flats of Hudson Bay and Nanuk Polar Bear Lodge on Adventure World Travel’s seven-day Hudson Bay Odyssey.
Here guests will be situated at one of the best vantage points in the world to view the pristine beauty of the Canadian Arctic and its majestic polar bear inhabitants. The Mothers & Cubs safari takes guests to Nanuk where statistically they have the best possibilities on the planet to encounter polar bear mothers and their adorable cubs.
LINDBLAD EXPEDITIONS
Find and then observe polar bears, walrus’s, reindeer, elusive arctic foxes and fur seals in their natural habitat in Svalbard, Norway, on Lindblad Expeditions’ 10-day Land of the Ice Bears itinerary.
This trip focuses on polar bear and walrus sightings ensured by skilled veteran spotters, arctic wildlife & natural history learning, active daily exploration using kayaks, zodiacs, hiking & walking and more.
- READ: World’s first luxury ice breaking ship to go further in the polars
- READ: How this new polar cruise travel agency thrived
- READ: Peregrine Adventures returns to Antarctica