when I read the title i was like 'omg I hope they're ok" i mean when you hear about bears turning green its pretty weird and your first instinct is to think oh crap another chemical spill.
When i saw this was on yahoo i actually laughed.
Its obvious that the panda bear is not sick and the green is algae...dont people learn that in like 2nd grade science
This news article is actually slightly inaccurate. The first 'green' polar bear was spotted in Iceland (which isn't very ice-y really). Although the sighter was disbelieved by the local community, a group of scientists later found grea polar bear swimming not far off shore. They knocked it out, and, upon examining it, it was found that the colour was caused by algal blooms [i]inside[/i] the bears fur.
See, polar bears have hollow tube hairs to insulate them against the cold and provide protection against freezing water. What the scientists actually found was that the algae was growing inside the hollow hairs and was therefor very difficult to wash off or remove.
I reckon thats pretty cool
I saw that on the news the other day. I thought it was pretty weird, but when you think about it it makes perfect sense. I mean, I know that when people with blond hair swim in pools a lot the chlorine turns their hair a little green. Why would it be different with polar bears and their white fur?