A Cream-Colored Bear

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a polar explorer with a PhD in natural sciences, who spends four months every year in Antarctica and in the Arctic. Mikołaj writes about nature for both children and adults. His latest books are “Czochralem antarktycznego słonia” [I’ve Ruffled an Antarctic Elephant] (Marginesy, 2016) and “Gęby, dzioby i nochale” [Gobs, Beaks and Schnozzes] (Babaryba, 2016).

He stood there sniffing, his massive head turned towards us. We were only separated by two hundred yards of pebbly beach. If the polar bear wanted to, he could catch us within seconds. I hoped he wouldn’t try, because I was adamant about not wanting to shoot it.

Some animals have an extraordinary status in popular culture and provoke special feelings in us. It’s difficult for me to imagine a person who doesn’t like penguins. Even though I’ve seen millions of them, I automatically smile every time I meet one—just like when I saw them for the first time, twenty years ago. The giant panda also brings to mind pure sweetness, as does the koala. Young seals and sea otters affect us so much that even the most hardened scientists (after all, the phrase “cute little creature” doesn’t suit scientific discourse at all) claim that they have an “exceptionally high cuddle factor,” as I once learned from a research paper on the latter. Tigers, lions, and wolves, in turn, inspire admiration and respect, often tinged with a touch of fear.

It might be that among all these pop-cultural icons only the polar bear arouses emotions so completely removed from what they really are. We perceive them as huge white teddy bears, oversized plush toys, and lovable cuties. Meanwhile it is the largest predatory land mammal and the most carnivorous of all bears. If we picked the most terrifying tiger, the biggest lion, and the strongest wolf, a large polar bear would weigh more than all three of them put together—and it’d be able to give each and every one of them a good kicking.

In evolutionary terms, the polar bear is a relatively young species. Its oldest unambiguous fossil is a jawbone found on Svalbard in 2004: it is estimated to be around 110,000 to 130,000 years old, which means that as Homo sapiens, we supposedly “wise” humans are probably older than these imposing predators. But we must remember that polar bear fossils are very rare, because these animals spend most of their lives on the frozen ocean, meaning their bodies normally disappear into the icy depths after they die. The bear’s connection

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Mikołaj Golachowski:

a polar explorer with a PhD in natural sciences, who spends four months every year in Antarctica and in the Arctic. Mikołaj writes about nature for both children and adults. His latest books are “Czochralem antarktycznego słonia” [I’ve Ruffled an Antarctic Elephant] (Marginesy, 2016) and “Gęby, dzioby i nochale” [Gobs, Beaks and Schnozzes] (Babaryba, 2016).

Translation: Marta Dziurosz

Publish date: 09.12.2022

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Mikołaj Golachowski:

a polar explorer with a PhD in natural sciences, who spends four months every year in Antarctica and in the Arctic. Mikołaj writes about nature for both children and adults. His latest books are “Czochralem antarktycznego słonia” [I’ve Ruffled an Antarctic Elephant] (Marginesy, 2016) and “Gęby, dzioby i nochale” [Gobs, Beaks and Schnozzes] (Babaryba, 2016).

You may have seen a photo on the internet of two friendly little penguins that meet in the evenings to admire the Melbourne city lights reflected in the sea, flipper-in-flipper. It’s easy to be skeptical about the interpretation of the shot. But then perhaps humans aren’t the only creatures capable of delight.

You don’t have to be a romantic to see that the natural world is full of beauty. From picturesque landscapes to unbelievably colorful birds and fish—all around us there are sights that can provide even the least emotionally-inclined person a moment of aesthetic pleasure. As someone who isn’t (or at least doesn’t consider themselves to be) overly effusive, I still find it hugely gratifying when, for example, our ship weighs anchor in Ilulissat, Greenland, and sails into the fairy-tale world of yellow-crimson sunsets and incredibly blue icebergs reflected in an expanse of liquid gold. At such moments, I can almost hear a gentle clicking in my head: everything falls into place, and the world surrounding me feels exactly as it should be. There’s no place I’d rather be.

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Non-Human Admiration

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