The cold, lonely world of the Arctic is the polar bear’s home. This massive bear has been created by God just right for its surroundings. He shelters it from the cold with a layer of fat three to five inches thick under its six-inch-long double layer of fur. Its fur looks white but it is actually clear and hollow, which helps to focus the sun’s warmth onto the bear’s black skin. The polar bear has thick fur on its paws to keep its feet warm. Its hairless paw pads have extra deep papillae (bumps similar to your bumpy taste buds), to give them extra traction on ice and snow ... like deep tire treads on snow tires. Its feet are very wide ... almost 12 inches across. This helps it walk on thin ice without breaking through. God has also given it partially webbed feet that help make it a very good swimmer.
While its sight and hearing are poor, the polar bear’s sense of smell is extremely good ... about 100 times better than ours. It can smell prey as much as 20 or even 40 miles away. When the sun shines on snow and ice, we have to be careful to avoid painful snow-blindness. But the polar bear has a third eyelid, called a nictitating eyelid, which protects its eyes against ultraviolet light, as well as giving them protection underwater.
In a cozy but icy den between November and January, the female gives birth to two or three cubs, which only weigh about a pound each. Four months later, they weigh 25 to 30 pounds when she takes them out of the den and begins their two- to three-year training. All that time in the den (about eight months), she has had nothing to eat and has nursed her hungry cubs. Now she has a long trek to get to the ocean to find food for herself and her cubs. She is a devoted mother and will even protect her cubs from hungry male polar bears, which can be two to three times larger than she is.
Polar bears eat mostly seals. The bear sits on the thick ice, patiently waiting for a seal to pop up at a breathing hole. Or, it might swim to the edge of the ice where a seal is sunning to catch it. They also eat fish and vegetation, including kelp, among other things. They even try for walruses at times. They need a lot of fat in their diet to maintain their important layer of fat.
We see in a mother bear’s desire to protect her cubs a little picture of how much the Lord loves each one of you children. Whether or not your mother protects and loves you like a mother bear does, the Lord Jesus gave His own life in order to give you eternal life with Him in heaven, as our opening verses show us. There all will be perfect peace, love and joy forever.
Did You Know?
Polar bears can smell prey as much as 20 or even 40 miles away.
Messages of God’s Love 9/15/2024