Chlidonias

polar bears, Auckland Zoo

about 1992?
Great photo, but is that polar bear in the background green? I suppose that it is the same syndrome that affects the Singapore Zoo bears...algae.
 
it certainly is green. For those who don't know, the individual hairs of a polar bear's coat are hollow and in zoos algae often grows inside the hairs turning the bear green or sometimes brown
 
Auckland always had huge problems with its bears... Many had to be euthanised due to "skin conditions"...
 
I've seen green polar bears in zoos all over the world, but the cleanest ones I ever saw were in Reid Park Zoo in Tuscon - they were sparkling white. Probably because when they get out of the water, they fur dries in the hot dry air very quickly and the algae hasn't a hope of getting established.
 

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