Sunday, September 5, 2010

How does a polar bear know what apples is?



Disregarding the grammatical implications of the question, I've always pondered this. At first glance, it is an attempt to question how a bear would understand that a object that does not exist naturally in their native environment is, in fact, food that should be consumed. One would assume, accurately, that the bear's extremely acute sense of smell gives away the sweet aroma of apples. But let us disregard for a moment the sense of smell, since perhaps "sweet" is not even a natural smell/taste that would exist in the Arctic, nor perhaps be equated to food.

What this is alluding to is the fact that bear can SEE the red of the apples, possibly equating it to a freshly slain ringed or bearded seal. Tests have shown bears (not just polar bears) to have not only the ability to differentiate bright and dark colors, but actually discriminate between varying hues of multiple colors acurately, quickly and consistently. This would show that bears actually use their ability to see colors as part of their everyday existence. As an aside, this article here also shows that the tests performed on the bear's color senses indicated a learning ability that exceeded that of dogs and even chimpanzees! This being the case, implying one is "smarter than your average bear" is a high compliment indeed.

13 comments:

  1. that's amazing. how could POLAR bears know this?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Didn't know bears could see in colour

    ReplyDelete
  3. Interesting didnt really questions that myself.

    ReplyDelete
  4. That's why they're the number one threat to America.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Probably due to captivity? Dunnor 0.o.. food is food maybe? :D

    ReplyDelete
  6. the next thing you know it, you see mr. polar bear here trot his way to mc donalds >_>

    ReplyDelete
  7. Just showing some support.
    Show some back please! ^^

    http://checkoutbro.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  8. Very interesting! Following and supporting!

    buffgamer.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  9. Maybe just the way we know that japanese food can be consumed by watching it. Haha nevermind, I don't know.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Supporting you daily

    http://neopentyl.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete