Polar Bears Turn Green In Japan

TOKYO — Green polar bears are drawing questions from puzzled visitors at a Japanese zoo.

Three normally white polar bears at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan changed their color in July after swimming in a pond with an overgrowth of algae.

The sight of green polar bears has prompted many questions from visitors concerned about whether the animals are sick or carrying mold, zoo official Masami Kurobe said Sunday.

"Visitors seem to be shocked by the color, and we are asked every day why they are so green," he said.

High temperatures in July and August and less-frequent water changes because of the zoo's conservation efforts caused an algae growth in the bear pond and safety moat, Kurobe said.

Algae that enters hollow spaces in the bears' fur is hard to rinse off, he said.

The bears are expected to return to their natural color when the algae growth subsides in November, Kurobe said.

Comments

[DontBanMeBro]

I've been to the Tokyo Zoo, and the Polar Bear exhibit unfortunately is the worst animal enclosure I have ever seen. It's more of a narrow stage than a place to live. There is no place for the animals to "hide" and was designed primarily so that people could take photos of the bears. Nothing else.

The bears are insane. They just paced back and forth and back and forth. I was in shock to see such magnificent animals reduced to this. It was disturbing. Now they are GREEN?!?!?

Zoos are just circuses with better wrapping.

[dogbane]

This has happened in zoos before. Polar bear hair is hollow and crap can get inside. No biggie.

[StanTheManic]

slow news day????

[TheAlchemist]

Polar Bears say "GO GREEN!"

[CamJam]

I was thinking the same thing! :)

[moreupnorth]

Give the Republicans enough time and this will be the only place you get to see them.

[rwe]

High temperatures in July and August? Summer in Japan? And in the name of the globalphobia of conservation they did not change the water.... Polar bears live in salt water , Japan is an island in the ocean... the gangreen crowd have now greened the polar bears

[gifu]

They are like a living billboard exclaiming "Humans SUCK!"

[incfish]

Yes. I think that of all animals that we keep in zoos, the polar bears are probably the ones who suffers the most. They're made for roaming the wast expanses in the frozen north. Not for sitting in a hot little concrete hole in a zoo. And yet most big cities around the world, have a zoo with a captive polar bear, or two.

[Lion24]

Take them to Wasilla and let them go.

[Jon Raymond - Huffpost Blogger]

Yeah, Palin will need a few more to hunt down from her chopper.

[elcojonu]

Can't these people with all their technological prowess provide sufficient, algae free water to these magnificent animals ?
How would they like it if their skin turned green whenever they took a bath or a shower.
They Suck.

[walk0nwalls]

Well at least they're not drowning.

[FreedomCorpse]

The polar bears are reducing their carbon footprint by going green. They are very environmentally aware!

[mrryde]

Would Sarah Palin vote against considering green polar bears endangered too?

[Oilygarch]

Yo! Wassabi?

[Oilygarch]

Anthropomorphic Darwinian adaptation which serve as camouflage from that of white polar ice to that of more vegetated lands? ;-)

It's not easy being green!

[lvogt]

I'm sure it's good for the bears to drink too. Nice job guys.