Submitted by Anonymous on Tue, 10/06/2009 - 09:12
Forums
Polar Bear Response to Sea Ice Loss

Ms. Galvan,

The Education Department at the Pink Palace Museum is following your journey - what an amazing experience you are having!!

We have a Polar Bear on display in our exhibit and have included information about your research project and PolarTREC - so hopefully you will have some Memphis area followers. While putting up this information, a museum guest asked a question about Polar Bear hair - I was hoping you could discuss some of the functions and myths of polar bear hair as it relates to your research.

Good luck

Alex Eilers and the Education Department of the Pink Palace Museum.

Tue, 10/06/2009 - 10:15

Cristina Galvan

Hi Alex!Thank you so much for your comments about the journal.
I'd love to hear some of the questions or myths about polar bear and I can
use that as a starting point.
Thanks!
Cristina

Tue, 10/06/2009 - 10:32

Guest

Questions from student visitors:Is Polar Bear hair white of clear?
Is Polar Bear hair tube-like?
What color is Polar Bear skin?

Wed, 10/07/2009 - 10:00

Cristina Galvan

Hi,Polar bear skin is actually black in color. You can see a little bit of
the skin in a photo from the 10/5 journal where the bear is being prepared
for the muscle sample surgery.
The fur is really interesting - it actually changes color a bit over the
course of the year. It appears more white and then throughout the year it
turns more of a yellowish color - from seal oils and the sun. However,
they shed their fur each year and grow new fur. They do this gradually
each summer.
The fur is translucent (sort of clear) more than it is white. Some of the
hair is tube-like.
One of the myths is that the hair acts like a fiber optic. The idea was
that the sunlight travels down the hair "tube" and is concentrated on the
skin of the bear (which is black) as a way to warm the bear.
However, this has not been proven. Actually, during the time of the year
when the bear would most need to be warmed (the winter) there is not much
sunlight at all - it's mostly dark. So this idea would not make as much
sense.
In a week or so, we will have a Native American observer on board the
ship. I am looking forward to asking him or her about any other types of
myths related to polar bears as well.
This was a really fun question because it sparked a lot of conversation
amongst the scientist on board and prompted me to look at the hair
underneath of a microscope!
Thanks,
Ms Galvan