What's for tea? Amazing pictures of the polar bear who took an interest in the menu on Arctic ship
Last updated at 12:37 AM on 6th October 2009
A group of wildlife enthusiasts were looking forward to their lunch during an expedition to the Arctic island of Svalbard.
But they soon discovered a hungry polar bear was also rather keen to try their cauliflower soup.
The giant predator poked his head through the open porthole into the kitchen of the ship, which had weighed anchor so the passengers could enjoy the fabulous icy landscape.
Anybody home? A polar bear pokes his head through the ship's kitchen window during a lunch stop by Svalbard
Polar bears are the largest land based carnivores and treat all animals as potential prey
Defeated: The polar bear wanders away after failing to secure a quick and easy lunch
Peckish: The bear gets a whiff of the cauliflower soup cooking in the galley
He stayed by the boat for another couple of hours and even stood on his hind legs to better investigate any scavenging potential.
The incredible shots were taken by wildlife photographer Andy Rouse, who led an expedition on the M/S Stockholm.
'We saw 40 polar bears, had an incredible walrus encounter and saw the most beautiful pack ice that you could ever wish to encounter,' he wrote on his blog.
'Truly Svalbard is a wonderful wilderness.'
Polar bears are the largest living land carnivores and males can grow up to 10ft in length and weigh up to 1,700lbs. They are extremely dangerous as they assume anything they encounter to be potential prey.
The bears primarily eat seals, which they kill by crushing their heads with their jaws. But they will also target any unfortunate humans if they are hungry.
Polar bears are very well adapted to their environment. The adults are strong swimmers using their front paws to propel themselves and their back legs to steer.
They have a layer of fat to keep them insulated from the freezing temperatures and their paw pads have rough surfaces that stop them slipping on the ice.
There are around 20,000 polar bears in the wild. However, scientists predict that, if current warming trends continue in the Arctic, two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear by 2050.
The U.S, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Russia signed an agreement in 1973 to protect polar bears.
I can imagine it now... 'Make me a cupper' says one guy. 'Yeah alright' sighs the other. Just imagine the look on his face when he walked into that kitchen lol! Quite scary though but what a fantastic animal, i hope they fed her.
- Richard, UK, 09/10/2009 03:11
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