Animal researchers seeking to track the movements of polar bears, or Ursus maritimus, as they hunt for food were shocked by a recent discovery.  One of the bears they fitted with a tracking collar has undertaken an epic journey in search of food.  This particular female bear swam for 9 days straight, covering a distance of 426 miles in freezing water to search for food.  The article will be coming out in an upcoming edition of Polar Biology.

“This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through waters that were 2-6 degrees C,” says research zoologist George M. Durner from the US Geological Survey.  ”We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold.  It is truly an amazing feat.”

Unfortunately for the bear, the feat came at a high cost.  Not only did the polar bear lose 22 percent of its stored fat during the perilous 9-day journey, she also lost her yearling cub along the way.  The baby bear simply could not survive the swim across the increasingly perilous Beaufort Sea in Alaska.  Polar bears swim from ice floe to ice floe in search of delicious ringed seals, but the warming global temperature has made the journey a bit harder.

Tags: Ursus maritimus, unusual animals, polar bears, polar bear swims 426 miles in 9 days, polar bear swims 9 days straight, polar bear swims 426 miles, polar bear swims for 9 whole days searching for ice, polar ice caps, George M. Durner, polar bear swims for 232 hours straight, polar bear swims for 687 kilometers, Beaufort Sea, Polar Biology, US Geological Survey

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