"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
MY meeting with Tundra in Bronx 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.
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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.
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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."
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HEAT WAVE. Extensive triple digit heat, broken temperature records and oppressive humidity piled up into a steaming mess as the heat dome crushing the Eastern half of the nation sizzled to what should be its worst Tuesday.
NBC New York reported that New York City’s John F. Kennedy Airport hit 100 degrees Fahrenheit a little after noon, the first time since 2013. More than 150 million people woke up to heat warnings and forecasters at the National Weather Service expected dozens of places to tie or set new daily high temperature records Tuesday.
“Every East Coast state today from Maine to Florida has a chance of 100 degree actual temperature,” said private meteorologist Ryan Maue, a former National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration chief scientist. “Getting Maine to 100 degrees is infrequent.”
If Central Park hits 100, it would be the earliest day in the year ever that the mercury hit that mark in the park.
Tuesday’s heat came on top of 39 new or tied heat records Monday. But just as dangerous as triple digit heat is the lack of cooling at night, driven by the humidity.
(The author, who is now based in New York City, used to be the editor-in-chief of two leading daily newspapers in Iloilo, Philippines.—Ed)
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