Did you know that polar bear cubs are born in a den deep under the snow? Just like the one above. Can you imagine that? I bet you think that it’d be really cold, but it wasn’t because mum is all furry and warm. Mum made a great big den deep in a snowdrift and sneaked in when nobody was looking, then she covered the entrance so that from the outside nobody knew that there was a huge polar bear underneath it.
After a week or so she gave birth to us and then we all stayed in the den together for three whole months. When mum was in the den with us she didn’t eat or drink anything at all and she didn’t have to go to the toilet. You’re probably thinking that’s impossible, but it isn’t. Mum says that female Polar Bears have a very special METABOLISM - we don’t really know what that word means, but whatever it is mum’s right, it must be VERY special.
We were very tiny when we were born. Much, much tinier than a human baby. We looked a bit like that photo above. We only weighed about 500 grams and we were blind to start with and couldn’t hear very well, but we soon started growing with the rich milk that mum fed us.
After about three months mum decided it was time to get out and find some food. By that time we were big enough to walk and play.
“By that time Snowball had got on my nerves SO MUCH I was DYING to get out.”
“ME? Getting on YOUR nerves? Listen everyone - Snowflake had been a pain too, she kept wanting to play ‘Eye-Spy’ and trust me there isn’t much to spy in a big white snow den - it was always something beginning with 'S' - boring....”
“It was better than noughts and crosses....”
What would happen if all the snow melted? Then mum polar bears wouldn’t be able to dig ice dens and they wouldn’t be able to have any more cubs. That would be a CATASTROPHE – We don’t really know what that word means, but mum uses it a lot.
INTERESTING FACT: Did you know that the word ‘Arctic’ comes from the Greek word ‘arktos’, which means bear?
After a week or so she gave birth to us and then we all stayed in the den together for three whole months. When mum was in the den with us she didn’t eat or drink anything at all and she didn’t have to go to the toilet. You’re probably thinking that’s impossible, but it isn’t. Mum says that female Polar Bears have a very special METABOLISM - we don’t really know what that word means, but whatever it is mum’s right, it must be VERY special.
We were very tiny when we were born. Much, much tinier than a human baby. We looked a bit like that photo above. We only weighed about 500 grams and we were blind to start with and couldn’t hear very well, but we soon started growing with the rich milk that mum fed us.
After about three months mum decided it was time to get out and find some food. By that time we were big enough to walk and play.
“By that time Snowball had got on my nerves SO MUCH I was DYING to get out.”
“ME? Getting on YOUR nerves? Listen everyone - Snowflake had been a pain too, she kept wanting to play ‘Eye-Spy’ and trust me there isn’t much to spy in a big white snow den - it was always something beginning with 'S' - boring....”
“It was better than noughts and crosses....”
What would happen if all the snow melted? Then mum polar bears wouldn’t be able to dig ice dens and they wouldn’t be able to have any more cubs. That would be a CATASTROPHE – We don’t really know what that word means, but mum uses it a lot.
INTERESTING FACT: Did you know that the word ‘Arctic’ comes from the Greek word ‘arktos’, which means bear?
Watch this great video about a mum polar bear emerging from her ice den with her two cubs - it could be us....
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