Polar Bear Cubs — Germany Has Another one!

frankie — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:59:52 +0000

Yes, that’s right. Germany’s Stutgartt’s Zoo has another beautiful polar bear cub named Wilhelma. Here’s a wonderful picture of her playing in the water.

For videos of this young cub, click Wilhelma videos

For more pictures, click Wilhelma pictures

ENJOY!

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

High-Tech Bear Den–Watch Bear On Video

frankie — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 22:52:53 +0000

A young bear was released by Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks in Swan Valley into an artificial den with 4 video cameras.

The den is located in a cottonwood grove along Rumble Creek. The young cub was orphaned and the videos will allow a first-hand look at his progress. To see the live video feed, click live video feed And for the full story, click Missoulian bear story.

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Playing Tag With Polar Bears Video

frankie — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 16:18:12 +0000

Now, here’s a funny video of a polar bear playing tag with a human.

Enjoy!

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Debbie-Oldest Polar Bear Dying

frankie — Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:52:01 +0000

Debbie, who this year was entered into the Guinness Book of World Records as the world’s oldest bear, is in ill health. Officials at the Assiniboine Park Zoo in Winnipeg say she is showing signs of “advanced aging” and don’t expect her to live much longer.

Debbie, who is 41 years and 8 months old, came to the zoo in 1967 as a cub. She has since become the most popular animal at the zoo with over 18 million visitors recorded.

Here are a couple of pictures of Debbie:

Due to the conditions of the polar bear enclosure at the zoo, no replacement for Debbie is foreseen in the near future. Polar Bears International (PBI) who has wanted to build an interactive polar-bear facility at Assiniboine Park Zoo, wants to help raise the millions of dollars needed to build the facility. It could become a major tourist attraction as well as a teaching center for people to learn about polar bears.

I for one will miss reading about Debbie. I never got a chance to see her. If any of you did and would like to share your experience through a blog post or photos, please leave me a comment.

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Knut All Grown Up Yet Still A Cub

frankie — Fri, 01 Aug 2008 16:16:52 +0000

Knut, the famous polar bear cub in Germany, is now a pretty big fellow. And, since he’s not a cute little cub, he’s not drawing the crowd the way he used to. Let’s face it, people are fickle. They like baby animals, but big ones just don’t grab them. What’s up with that?

I find cubs cute and adorable, but the adult animals are very special in their own right. Since they don’t draw the crowds the babies do. That’s really a problem too. Many zoos in the world will keep baby animals to draw the crowds to increase their revenue, then when the baby grows up, they dump them.

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Polar Bear Photo Exhibit at Burke Museum

frankie — Tue, 29 Jul 2008 18:10:28 +0000

The Burke Museum is hosting a wildlife photography exhibit until December 31, 2008. The exhibit, which launched in Seattle, will be a national tour. It includes 40 large-scale images by acclaimed Seattle-based photographer Steven Kazlowski which documents the life cycle of the polar bear and visual representations of the Arctic’s shrinking ice pack.

Here’s one of the wonderful photos in the exhibit.

The exhibit will also premiere Alaskan filmmaker Arthur C. Smith’s Ice Bears of the Beaufort, a short documentary providing a portrait of wild polar bear behavior.

The Burke Museum is located on the University of Washington campus, at the corner of NE 45th St and 17th Ave NE. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm daily, and until 8 pm on first Thursdays. Admission: $8 general, $6.50 senior, $5 student/ youth. Admission is free to children 4 and under, Burke members, UW students, faculty, and staff. Admission is free to the public on the first Thursday of each month. Prorated parking fees are $11 and partially refundable upon exit if paid in cash. Call 206-543-5590 or visit www.burkemuseum.org.

On a personal note: I’m sorry to have been out of touch for a couple of weeks. Somebody broke into my source code on this blog and on my cat blog and website. They changed affiliate links and I had to move to another host, change passwords and all sorts of problems ensued. Hopefully that’s all behind me now!

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Spectacled (Andean) Bear Photo Caption Contest

frankie — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:04:02 +0000

I have a contest for a caption for this great picture of a Spectacled or Andean Bear.

Check it out and add your own caption at Caption Contest

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Knut On Stamps In Germany And Azerbijan

frankie — Sun, 13 Jul 2008 21:41:04 +0000

Yes, Knut’s image has been put on a stamp in both Germany and Azerbijan. The german stamp has the slogan: Preserve nature worldwide”.

Here’s a picture of the German stamp:

Picture courtesy of AP

To buy some of these German stamps, click Knut Stamps.

And here’s a picture of the stamp from Azerbijan:

For more stamps, visit Polar Bear Stamps. I love all of these stamps!

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

Polar Bear Playing Ball

frankie — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 15:20:30 +0000

Here’s a great photo of a polar bear in the Bronx Zoo playing ball — by himself. It showcases one of the things I love about polar bears — their sense of play.

Brian Switek took the photo during the Spring of this year. Thank you, Brian for letting me post it here.

Can you name the 8 bear species of the world?
And, NO brown bear, grizzly and Kodiak do NOT count as 3. Write down your answers then to see if you’re right, click BEARS: The 8 Wonders of the World for a photo and short recap of each of the 8 bear species.

Bear hugs, Frankie

Are You Polar Bear Aware?

Polar bear Cartoons

If you want to know what you can do to protect polar bears and other endangered species, contact The National Wildlife Federation (NWF) at National Wildlife Federation (NWF)

BEAR MAN of India — Saving Dancing Bears

frankie — Sat, 05 Jul 2008 00:19:21 +0000

I’m blown away by Kartick Satyanarayan, the “Bear Man” as he’s known by some in India. He risks life and limb in his efforts to save the Sloth Bear from the barbaric, centuries-old tradition of being enslaved and trained as Dancing Bears.

After a first-hand look at the tortuous lives these bears lead, he said, “It was shocking and we couldn’t accept those images. We thought we had to do something about it.” And do something he has. The picture below is of Kartick and a cub that was rescued from poachers.

Rescued sloth cub rides Kartick’s back

His dedication, determination and love for these battered bears is inspiring. Click BEAR MAN to see how he works through stories, photos and videos. You won’t be disappointed. He actually goes undercover to save sloth bear cubs from poachers and to rescue the battered dancing bears from their trainers (Kalandars - a nomadic tribe in India).

Along with Geeta Seshamani, Kartick Co-founded and is the Director of Wildlife S.O.S., where they are not only saving the bears, but other animals AND changing the culture through education and by retraining the Kalandars. The story is inspirational.

Pass this info on. The more people who are aware of the ways animals are treated — and how they can be saved while changing the world FOREVER, the better.

Bear hugs, Frankie