'Hello, Tundra!'

"My favorite animal is a polar bear. They're going extinct, and I really don't want that to happen."  -- Quvenzhane Wallis

By Alex P. Vidal

BRONX, New York City -- My meeting with Tundra was accidental.
In the first place, I never knew Tundra was a superstar. I had no idea he was once a Youtube sensation.
Tundra made headlines in the past for having defied his species' median life expectancy. He was supposed to be dead at 20, but I learned he was 24 years old.
The respected conservation group Polar Bears International notes the lifespan of wild polar bears to be only 15-18 years. 
Yes, fellas, Tundra is a wild polar bear living in the Bronx Zoo. It was my first time to see a wild polar bear. The three kids watching Tundra while the polar bear was coming out from the rock cliffs were chanting, "Tundra, Tundra, hello!"
I joined the chorus. With mixed emotions, I shouted, "Hello, Tundra" while taking some photos. Tundra was moving gracefully, and it was not hard to notice a mammoth marine mammal going to a spacious pool because of its unique size and color.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) estimates that there are between 20,000-25,000 polar bears in the world.

CARNIVORE

Polar bears like Tundra are the largest land carnivores in the world, rivaled only by the Kodiak brown bears of southwestern Alaska. 
They sit at the top of the food chain in the biologically rich Arctic. The most carnivorous of the bear species, polar bears feed primarily on the fat of ice-dependent seals. 
The remains of these seals provide food for many other Arctic wildlife species, giving polar bears a vital role in their ecosystem, according to Defenders of Wildlife.
According to Jim Breheny, director of the Bronx Zoo, Tundra was born at the Bronx Zoo.
Tundra became the talk of the town after a recent online article stated that Tundra was suffering from exposure to extreme heat, thus it has heightened some people’s concerns.
Breheny assured the fans of Tundra that the bear "has experienced many New York summers and has never had any heat-related health issues. "
Tundra's exhibit is well shaded by rock cliffs and large pine trees as the sun moves from east to west over the course of the day, added Breheny.

SWIM

The polar bear exhibit has a large pool, where Tundra can swim and submerge or just sit and rest in the water on shallow shelves at the pool’s edge. 
The pool’s temperature is kept cool with a constant flow of 55 °F water. Tundra’s keepers record the pool’s temperature on a daily basis, and during the week that the recent article was published citing 91  °F air temperatures, the pool ranged from 60-62 °F.
Breheny explained further: "The article has several images of Tundra sleeping beside his pool. Polar bears are intelligent and adaptable. The fact that he was photographed relaxed, choosing to sleep in the sun and not the shade, or not laying in shallow water or swimming in the pool is indicative that the sun and air temperature were not bothering Tundra as the article charged.  
"There was also reference to the fact that Tundra is alone in his exhibit, deprived of companionship. A basic knowledge of the biology and behavior of polar bears shows, with the exception of females with young cubs or during the breeding season, adult polar bears are solitary animals. This is especially true of adult males. It is quite normal for male polar bears to be alone. But this does not mean he has no interaction."