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Author Topic: Polar "Bears"?  (Read 1435 times)

Antibubba

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Polar "Bears"?
« on: February 08, 2006, 06:59:23 PM »
Are Polar Bears part of the Ursus family, ie, Bears, or are they simply bear-like in appearance and temperment?
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Sindawe

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #1 on: February 08, 2006, 07:08:59 PM »
Kingdom: Animalia
    Phylum: Chordata
         Class: Mammalia
             Order: Carnivora
               Family: Ursidae
                     Subfamily: Ursinae
                         Genus: Ursus

http://library.sandiegozoo.org/Fact%20Sheets/bear_polar/polar.htm
                             Species: U. maritimus (polar bear)
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Azrael256

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #2 on: February 08, 2006, 07:16:47 PM »
I think it's giant pandas that look beary much like Ursidae but are actually raccoons or lemurs or something like that.
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Art Eatman

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #3 on: February 09, 2006, 05:14:48 AM »
If you went on safari in Greenland, could you hire locals as polar-bearers?

Art
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Sindawe

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #4 on: February 09, 2006, 05:30:05 AM »
Based on this site (http://library.sandiegozoo.org/Fact%20Sheets/panda_giant/panda.htm) Giant Pandas are placed in the same family as the other bears, Ursidae.  Apparently they share quite a few features with the red panda which IIRC are related to Racoons.

Lemurs are confined to the island of Madagascar for doing something VERY VERY BAD in pre-history, likely boasting that one day their decedents would rule the planet and feast on the bodies of all other animlas.  Unfortunately for the rest of the natural world, they were proven correct. (Lemurs are primates, like humans, though a very ancient model). CheesyCheesy
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Birddog

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #5 on: February 09, 2006, 05:51:12 AM »
If I recall correctly, giant pandas were only recently (10 years or so ago) grouped with bears.  The report I read said that though there are differences, there were more similarities.  I think zoologists were tired of saying "we're not sure where they fit taxonomically", so they lumped them in with bears.  So now, they're back to being panda bears.
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El Tejon

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #6 on: February 09, 2006, 10:14:44 AM »
Well, the Chinese consider Panda Bears as cats.  Daxiongmao=>big cats.Cheesy
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Brad Johnson

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #7 on: February 09, 2006, 10:21:02 AM »
Quote from: Art Eatman
If you went on safari in Greenland, could you hire locals as polar-bearers?
*groan* Tongue

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DrAmazon

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #8 on: February 09, 2006, 04:01:53 PM »
Quote from: Birddog
If I recall correctly, giant pandas were only recently (10 years or so ago) grouped with bears.  The report I read said that though there are differences, there were more similarities.  I think zoologists were tired of saying "we're not sure where they fit taxonomically", so they lumped them in with bears.  So now, they're back to being panda bears.
There's a big movement in biology to look at the DNA sequences of pretty much everything and revise taxonomy based on the DNA connections (geneology) instead of based on appearances (phylogeny).  It may result in some interesting rearrangements in how we consider things.
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Stickjockey

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #9 on: February 09, 2006, 05:30:41 PM »
Quote
I think it's giant pandas that look beary much like Ursidae but are actually raccoons or lemurs or something like that.
Maybe Koalas? I know people at least used to refer to them as "Koala bears." Actually, they're marsupials, closer to Kangaroos and (gulp) Opossums.
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El Tejon

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #10 on: February 10, 2006, 01:42:28 PM »
Marsupials scare me . . . 'cause they're fast!:D
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Sindawe

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Polar "Bears"?
« Reply #11 on: February 10, 2006, 02:24:14 PM »
Fast marsupials?  pfftt..  These things scare me, 'cause they are venomous.

http://www.americazoo.com/goto/index/mammals/33.htm

I mean, come on.  What right thinking mammal injects freaking POISON when it bites!
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