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BEAR WITH US – SEASONAL SNAPSHOT 16

Submitted by Editor on

A reader has kindly steered us towards this rather splendid polar bear which, during the run-up to Christmas, has been nodding agreeably in the window of Ian Smith Design on NW Circus Place 

As some readers will know already, the Spurtle is a world authority on polar bears, which were last covered in Aeneas McHaar’s in-depth study of the Canadian Arctic (Extras, 1.8.10). (Arctic comes from the Greek word for bear.) 

Below are a number of assertions about the creatures. Your job is to decide which ones are true and which false. Answers are in italics at the bottom of the page.

  1. Underneath their thick fur, polar bears have pink skin.
  2. On average, polar bears walk faster than they swim.
  3. All polar bears are right-pawed.
  4. Polar bears are infrequently preyed upon by orca (killer whales).
  5. Inuit people refuse to use the polar bear’s name (Nanuk, meaning respected one; or Pihoqahiak, meaning perpetual wanderer) for fear of causing it offence.
  6. Polar bear cubs are driven away by their mothers to fend for themselves after about 9 months.
  7. A fully grown male polar bear weighs about three times as much as Scottish rugby international and British Lion Richie Gray.
  8. Polar bears are only sexually attracted to other polar bears.
  9. Polar bears camouflage themselves by covering their noses with a paw when stalking prey.


All the assertions are false.
  1. It is black.
  2. They walk at around 5–6 km per hour, and swim at 10 km per hour.
  3. They are ambidextrous, or at least show no preference for either paw.
  4. No written record exists of such an occurrence, perhaps because polar bears have great difficulty using a biro.
  5. It is the Sami or Lapp people who prefer not to speak its name. Instead they refer to it as God’s dog or Old man in a fur cloak.
  6. They stay with their mothers for up to two-and-a-half-years.
  7. Richie Gray weighs a little over 20 stones. An adult, male polar bear may weigh in excess of 85 stones.
  8. Polar bears occasionally interbreed with grizzly bears and produce hybrids.
  9. In very exceptional circumstances, it is possible they may stalk seals by walking backwards.

To download more than you ever thought it was possible to know about polar bears, visit this link. 

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