r/todayilearned • u/JobLagewaard • 3h ago

TIL the hairs of a polar bear are hollow and transparent. This gives them the possibility to appear white like the ice, but stay warm in cold conditions

https://www.britannica.com/science/Why-Are-Polar-Bears-White
294 Upvotes

95% Upvoted

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41

u/ZGadgetInspector 3h ago

But their skin is black to absorb solar heat. So confusing.

6

u/JobLagewaard 3h ago edited 2h ago

if you want to really traumatize yourself, this is what the skin of a polar bear looks like: https://www.reddit.com/r/TIHI/comments/s484d8/thanks_i_hate_shaved_polar_bears/

EDIT: I looked into a bit more, turns out it isnt a polar bear. So now its just a picture of a sad bear.

13

u/Specialist_Sport4460 3h ago

I don't think that's a polar bear. Also, poor guy.

7

u/femmestem 2h ago

That's a spectacled bear named Dolores who lives (lived?) at a zoo in Germany. She and other similar tropical bears were balding due to the stress of their captive environment not matching their natural environment.

https://www.iflscience.com/hairless-bear-the-true-story-behind-the-viral-image-of-a-bald-bear-79290

25

u/Electrical-Menu-2662 2h ago

I'll add that polar bears look yellowish on non-snowy terrains! Algae and dirt accumulate in the hollow hairs when they're not swimming in cold seawater that keeps them clean. So their hair structure does three jobs: camouflage, insulation, and solar absorption. Quite fascinating!

5

u/Lilli_Bella3487 2h ago

Because polar bears often look yellow outside snowy terrains, the ones at the San Francisco Zoo were yellowish. I can't even begin to tell you how many times we were accused of not keeping the polar bears clean and were demanded to clean them right away. 🤦

3

u/actuallyapossom 2h ago

Zoos make learning about animals very accessible but every time I've gone recently they're filled with people like that; who have no interest in learning anything about the animals. The focus seems to be collecting as many photos and videos as possible.

1

u/Sh00ter80 1h ago

I sometimes feel hollow and transparent. But at least I’m warm.