Polar bears don’t look like amazing swimmers, but they are — and now, thanks to satellite tracking, we know just how amazing. From Polar bear makes huge 74 km one-day Arctic swim:
The female bear, equipped with a satellite tracking device, entered the water on the east of the Norwegian Arctic island of Spitsbergen early on July 20, swam northeast and re-emerged on the island of Edgeoya a day later.A sensor on the bear’s collar sent different signals when it was in salty sea water compared to on land or on ice.
‘This is an astonishing swim,’ Aars said, saying it showed that polar bears could in many ways be classified as marine mammals — a group including whales and dolphins.
Aars said the bear, dubbed ‘Skadi’ after a Norse goddess of snow, had probably swum closer to 100 km (62 miles) since the bear almost certainly did not swim the 74 km (46 miles) between the two points in an exact straight line.
The bear covered the gap in about 24 hours, giving an average speed of 3-4 kmh — about as fast as a person walking.