Hunting the hunter
“In Russia hunting for polar bears has been outlawed since 1957, but thousands of them are killed every year in Canada, the United States and Greenland,” environmental expert Viktor Nikiforov told Sputnik.
He added that poachers were still taking their toll on Russia’s Arctic coast.
7 facts you didn’t know about polar bears
1. Polar bears are among the largest land mammals on Earth. Male bears can weigh up to a ton and stand an enormous three meters in height.
2. They can run at up to 40 kilometers an hour. They can’t run long distances though because they overheat.
3. Polar bears have an excellent sense of smell, sniffing their prey kilometers away.
4. Polar bears are great swimmers and can cover 60 miles without taking a rest.
5. Even though their fur looks white, the long outer hairs which protect their soft, thick undercoat, are mostly hollow and transparent. Their hair looks white because the air cavities in the hairs scatter light of all colors. When something reflects all of the visible wavelengths of light, the color white is seen.
6. A polar bear can devour 10 percent of its own weight in just an hour.
7. Not all polar bears go to sleep during the winter season. Only pregnant females do.
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