Come on in, the water's freezing! Amazing images of polar bears diving into icy pool

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER



I'm coming in! A polar bear dives from a ledge into icy water to play with a friend at a Quebec zoo yesterday



Sometimes there's nothing more refreshing than a nice cooling swim.

This polar bear certainly seems to think so as he dives into icy water to play with a friend at a Quebec zoo.

Two mammals at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo enjoyed a swim and a spot of play-fighting yesterday.



Coming up for air: The bear mugs for the camera underwater at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo



They even indulged in hamming things up for the camera as they rolled around contentedly in the water.

Canada is home to around 15,000 of the estimated 20,000 polar bears in the world.

Alaska, Russia, Greenland and Norway are the other four countries where polar bears - the world's largest land carnivores - can be found.



Shaking on down: Canada is home to around 15,000 of the estimated 20,000 polar bears in the world



They have black skin and transparent hairs which appear white, turning yellow with age.

On land, they can reach up to 25mph (40kph) when sprinting after prey.



Earlier this year, animal researchers were astonished to discover that a polar bear had swam continuously for over nine days, covering 426miles.

The scientists, who were studying bears around the Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska and Canada, claimed this endurance feat could be a result of climate change.



Two's company: The two polar bears playfully hug each other



Ticklish? The fun and games continue as the mammals enjoy frolicking in the water

Polar bears are known to swim between land and sea ice floes to hunt seals.

But the researchers said that increased sea ice melts push polar bears to swim greater distances, risking their own health and the survival of the species.

In their findings, published in the journal Polar Biology, researchers from the U.S. Geological Survey reveal the first evidence of long distance swimming by polar bears.

One of the bears they fitted with a tracking collar made an epic journey in search of food between an initial capture in late August and a recapture in late October 2008.



'This bear swam continuously for 232 hours and 687 km and through waters that were 2-6 degrees C,' said research zoologist George M. Durner.

'We are in awe that an animal that spends most of its time on the surface of sea ice could swim constantly for so long in water so cold. It is truly an amazing feat.'

The study found that, in addition, the bear then intermittently swam and walked on the sea ice surface another 1,200miles.

Although bears have been observed in open water, this is the first time one's entire journey has been followed.



Jump around: Polar bears have black skin and transparent hairs which appear white, turning yellow with age



Wet and wild: The bears can reach up to 25mph (40kph) when sprinting after prey





Here's looking at you: The polar bears face off before playtime is finished at the zoo



source: dailymail