Polar Bear – Power and Powerlessness
Keywords:
Observing a situation acutely before acting, caution, qualities of stealth, viewing others from a position of what you can get from them, wisdom found in snow, ice and sea mythologies, fearlessness and fierceness, being free of enemies, or able to eliminate your enemies effectively and efficiently, using frozen internal and external environments to your benefit, mysticism, being interconnected enough with nature that you are able to embrace perfect and sacred timing, power and powerlessness.
General Description:
The polar bear – the largest land meat-eater on the planet – is found within the Arctic Circle, and is currently listed as being Vulnerable. Polar bears have distinctive hollow white fur, and have black skin beneath this to help them absorb heat. They are polygamous, and females will retire to a den for a few months to give birth to, and help raise their cubs. They are mostly solitary, but will sometimes gather where there is abundant food resources; at these places, cubs are at risk of being killed by male polar bears.
They are adept swimmers, and primarily eat seals, walrus and beluga. They are not territorial, are stealthy hunters, and treat humans as a prey species. Attacks on humans are almost always fatal. They tend to find breathing holes in sea ice, and wait for sea-mammals to use them for air. The most significant threat to the polar bear is rapid transformation of habitat via global warming.