Mother Polar Bear, Desperate for Food, Tests Walrus | National Geographic
A thin mother polar bear roaming with her critically hungry cub inspects a resting walrus, on the chance that it's sick or dead, but it's quite capable of defending itself.
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Travis Wilkinson and his family were on a sailing trip in Norway's Svalbard archipelago, far north of the Arctic Circle. In late July, 2015, they were traveling through Hinlopen Strait, west of the largest island, Spitsbergen-an impossible route some summers, when pack ice blocks passage. But that summer, ice was especially sparse, making hunting harder for polar bears. These apex predators favor waiting at the sea ice’s edge, striking seals as they approach. A few days earlier, the Wilkinson family had been farther north, near the ice. There, bears looked healthy. But the scene just after midnight on July 23 was desperate. Mother and cub were struggling, skin hanging loose. According to Jon Aars, of the Norwegian Polar Institute, the cub, seven or eight months old, was likely to die if its mother didn’t eat soon. She probably wasn’t lactating. Wilkinson saw the bear sniff the air, picking up something of interest. This thin female couldn’t attack a healthy, full-grown walrus. A carcass would solve their problem. If the walrus were weak or sick, predation might be an option. But that walrus was alive and well. The situation was unworkable. The search for food went on.
Read more about the polar bear and walrus, "Desperate for Food, Polar Bear Tests Walrus"
bit.ly/2E8kOCl
Mother Polar Bear, Desperate for Food, Tests Walrus | National Geographic
• Mother Polar Bear, Des...
National Geographic
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This mother polar bear is on the hunt for food for her young, but can't attack a large live walrus on her own. How do you think this mother bear can feed her young given the current circumstances? To learn more about this interaction between the polar bear and walrus, please check out this article: bit.ly/2E8kOCl
National Geographic a difficult hunt for a hungry mother
National Geographic but please help polar bears give to santuary. Or a good zoo.
i mean if prostitution was a choice..... but i guess they live in small communities right?
You do realize that there are fake (likely Russian) troll accounts even here on this channel? Anything with an environmental angle will attract their attention.
if I was there I'd shoot the walrus and leave it for the bear
This video gives you a real perspective on how big the walrus was. Even made the polar bear look small.
IGOTAJOP America I SWEAR I WAS LIKE WOAHHH OK SIZE ALERT!!!
Yea it was crazy.. That’s because the Polar bear is the largest land predator on earth, thing is, the reason all the walrus were so big is because only the males have those giant tusks, But sometimes even those aren’t enough to stop a Polar bear..
@@ukiyo1371 elephant? Giraffes? Have you heard of those?
@@robertalvarado3855 Polar Bears are the largest land predators. Elephants and Giraffes are not predators.
@@robertalvarado3855 HEY EVERYONE WATCH OUT FOR PREDATORY ELEPHANTS
Imagine being such a badass you can fall asleep around polar bears and merely be annoyed if it mistakes you for dead.
Dude have you even seen kanatas or samurais a nodachi is bigger than their tusk those are like jungle machetes
Polar bear: **touches walrus** Walrus: *Whomst has awakened the ancient one?*
Lol
just replying cuz this is funny
Is no one gonna talk about how cute that baby polar bear was 🙃
No we will not
Sure why not, he's a smart little fellow.
Was means dead .ls means alive.
The walrus was more cute than that😂
It was starving, and the situation was dire for both mother and cub. So excuse us for not appeasing your insatiable fetishism.
The walrus jumped like what I AINT dead! 🤣🤣
😘
😀😀😀
“Oh, sorry. You just smelled like death.”
Dammmm girl 😍 lol
@Kira has to be one wise guy all the time
Polar bear: *taps walrus* Walrus: YOU FREAKING WOT M8
I can't believe you have done this
Imagine if the bear calls reinforcements
@@Orethalo polar bears are solitary
British walrus? 😂
lame
This is such a sad sad situation, i hope with all my heart that she found food and her cub didn't die 🥺
All those comments trying so hard to make pun, there's only you who expressed concern for those poor creatures.
@@Duc359 most are ppl aged 14 and trying to be funny. sad reality is too much to cope for underdeveloped brain, so they try and make it a joke.
I hope she finds a small walrus to kill and eat and then feed. We only like the bears here.
@@daniellebovits3866 why don't you fly there on the plane and help out
lol thats how predator and prey function.. imagine if one would take away the ability to hunt aka survive/ thrive... every animal would be weak.
Someone start a gofundme for this hungry bear.
bustdetector please. It has starving children to feed.
bustdetector a fed bear is a dead bear
Can't play with nature
@ I'll try to answer correctly. I think its because the bear will rely on the free feeding.
super kid If you feed any wild animal, you cause its eventual death. Over time they forget how to hunt or prefer to look for humans to be fed. The issue comes when bears get invasive searching for food inside sheds or garages. They often get shot because they attack people or simply scare them. If a bear is shown to be incapable of hunting and consistently invading human places, a nuisance bear, it’s typically euthanized
Imagine being so powerful that even a starving polar bear with a cub to feed thinks twice about attacking you, even though you're fast asleep and caught out in the open without a cage or means of protection!
It's interesting because the walrus is not nearly as fast as the polar bear.
Size matters.
Tough situation...very sad...
@@bobe9680 A miserable existence.
Well it's a huge risk of course. If the mother was too hungry I could see her going for it but like it's been noted those tusk ain't just for show.
WOW !!!! The Walrus is double the size of a polar bear , I never knew they were that big !!!!
But its female polar bear male is A lot bigger
even thrice
Large male walrus = 4400+lbs Large Male polar bear = 1900+lbs
Dawid M Yeah a male polar bear is lot bigger than a female but even a female walrus is much bigger than male polar bear.
I knew in general walrus is much larger than a polar bear but there's nothing like being side by side to see the difference.
The bear tapped the walrus like aye bro you there? 😂🤣😂
I was thinking the same :)
@@dupondavignon869 😂🤣😂
That walrus is like my flat mate, dead to the world then comes to life when he smells Pizza, Doritos, Mountain Dew
WALRUS is a BEAST. So big and strong it can sleep and not care, haha.
Throw a pride of adult lions and the walrus will die in its sleep while being eaten...lol
@@inquisitvem6723 lion can't even come through the skin
@@inquisitvem6723 lol lions can't even harm 1% ..Bdw according to this video Male polar bear can take down walrus not females ..
Inquisitve m I guarantee a pride of lions dies to a walrus without causing more than superficial wounds. How are you meant to hurt what amounts to a 5 tonne worm with like a foot of fat protecting everything vital. I kinda wonder if a Lion's teeth would even penetrate to a Walrus' skull.
@@Derploop can an elephant?
That cub is the cutest thing I’ve ever seen!! Prancing around following mama❤️❤️
I have a good friend who is a marine biologist. He states that the majority of propaganda regarding polar bears starving is absurd. Non profit organizations are just looking to line their pockets.
Awww. How adorable the cub is 💋
The lv100 Walrein is too power
The polar bear is only level 76
Walrein the best
@@electricradcliffe82 well it gained some xp later so it's bow level 77
Walrien vs Beartic
@Operator 39 roar& run😀 out of super potion
The Mother bear was like okay , didn’t know you were still alive, just checking... I was worried about you!
I like how the little cub is following his mom
Holy f. Imagine being so OP that you lie down belly up when a polar bear mother comes that close.
also a (very) hungry polar bear mother with her super hungry cub.
That thing around her neck is too chunky, y'all need some new technology.
Felt the same thing. Sad things.
then make donations, i dont see devin the songwriter doing nothing but writing songs, atleast these guys are doing something
People will complain about anything.
Go develop it then! gl hf
Devon the Songwriter dear brother. I am sorry to say that we human beings are quite curious to know more about the animals. We have a lot of money to spend on this stupid technology. We don’t care if a lot people are dying everyday because they don’t have food, medical services and etc. so here we are working on making video of a bear with its cub who is also starving.
1:47 Dude I was just checking to see if you were okay, so just chill out.
“Well, yes I am ok thank you now shoo”
I like how the polar bear wakes up the walrus first before making a move like "Hey dude can you wake up, I'm about to attack you:
It breaks my heart that the polar bear, a majestic animal that I'd love to see one day, is struggling to provide for her baby 😭😭
she ate the baby
Why.. its a apex predator. They live or die because of food.
@@theholydarkpope6972 it still wouldve eaten the baby eventually
Hopefully the camera crew gave the pair a little bit of something off camera without us knowing. Cos never you really know with these kinds of "nature" videos.
@@rsuriyop I don't know if it would help in the long run, but we could hope. Endangered animals need all the help they can get, but once you start feeding them it messes with their instincts. It's not unlike people becoming dependent on welfare.
Never realized how big a walrus is. Makes the polar bear look tiny.
The polar bear is malnourished
@@lohengramm7798 I thought so I was like he look sick a lil bit
Doesn’t matter if malnourished even if healthy weight walruses are still bigger
@@kennedymedina4234 but this is not a fully representative of the size difference...get a healthy male polar bear there
@@therealpotpol4027 walruses are still larger
Breaks my heart. I hope they made it.
They don't.
Why did I find this very sad? These 2 beautiful creatures were starving.. Especially the cub. That cute cub was starving.. My heart cried :(
Dont worry maybe theyll find a leedsichthys to scrape some meat from LOL if you know what i game i meant your a legend
Go lay down on that beach and allow the cute little cub to eat you.
human empathy makes nature looks sad and horrible
@@joohpack8370 Yes, I listened to a guy talk about how beautiful the life on a tropical reef is and then he said that the video later showed how the life actually behaved and he was horrified because everything ate each other. Then he admitted that he didn't really like having to eat living vegetables either.
😚
It's a hard paradoxical situation, to hunt a walrus a polar bear needs to be full of energy but a polar bear just try to hunt this kind of animal when is on the edge of starving
Thank God he works for Coca-Cola now
Underrated commentary.
Lol
It's no secret that polar bears are big and strong beasts to say the least, yet when next to that Rosie O Donnell, the bear looks tiny.
And the cub?
The cub grew up starving and in poverty, so he started working in the glacier-mines. He saved up enough money to move to another country. He wandered the streets playing songs and jingles till one day someone found him, and they offered him a well paid job. *this origin story is sponsored by Coca-Cola*
If you're going to collar them, you might as well start feeding them. Don't claim the "doing it for science" excuse, and then leave them to starve. That collar looks heavy and unnatural.
tmhwriter those idiot researchers claim they dont want to interfere with nature but the problem is we already do with polution or puting tracking collars!
The Explorer, if we're going to collar them, then we need to take responsibility for them. Can't do the "it's nature" song and dance after slapping a big, awkward collar on them.
Itor Lamop, I agree!
Adapt? Dude, the world is changing too fast because of human activity. Very few animals can adapt to that. We should help these animals because it is our fault they are going extinct. This isnt nature anymore.
Heavy? These are 1/2 ton goliath, what u think is heavy and what they think is heavy are two TOTALLY different things lmao.
Polar: "Excuse me sir, are you dead so I can eat you?"
Breaks my heart seeing polar bears starve to death because of there being little ice for hunting
Ya climate change has been really bad for animals like polar bears
Last winter there was plenty of ice. The levels change year over year.
Anytime you get above average snowfalls you are essentially displacing other northern bears into a more southern location. Why are people only worried about polar bears? Ffs, there’s a hunting season for them. They’ll be fine
Polar bear: "OOOHHH that thing looks delicious!" Walrus: "I don't think so!"
Walrus: Get Lost! Polar Bear: Ok, ok, I'm going.
Lmao I love how she checks to see if he’s dead or sleeping
It's tough for polar bears too. Everyone is on the hussle.
All wildlife is in a fearsome battle with death almost every day. We just don't see it most of the time.
@@stopthephilosophicalzombie9017yeah. humans are indeed lucky
Poor things!!! Why did I watch this..I knew it was going to depress me. And it did.
Spiderific! What a wimp
ZR1Terror What a moron.
Gr8 Incarnate You guarantee wrong.
Noor Emara Thank you :)
Noor Emara Don't let a bunch of losers make fun of you for trying to do something good for animals. They are the ones with the problem, not you. You have empathy for the suffering of others, including animals, and that's a fantastic attribute to have. It will take you far in life and shows you to be a good person. Most people who would make fun of that likely still live in their mother's basement and haven't seen the sun in awhile. Ignore them.
I love animals so much I rescue dogs and horses I wish I could rescue all animals and people I love all you critters out there 😃🙃😉🐕🙋
Sarah Redwood 👼👼👍
God bless you💖
You can't safe all the animals and definitely not all people... some are communists or fascists same thing actually
@@zejdland not really such as ancoms who are anti gov therefore anti fascist
@@shannonehlert8482 yeah no socialism has to have high government control?
*The bear really took its time contemplating on if this was the right move to make.*
Never thought Walrus is that massive. With those mean fangs, they could even afford to relax nearby a hunting Polar Bear.
Full grown male polar bear kills walrus. Elephant seal , Rhino, hippo and elephant bigger than walrus
they should ask the walrus "hey can you get some fish for me? my kid and I are starving" and the walrus might be nice and say "sure give me a second" as he dives into the ocean. minutes later he comes back with flap full of fishes, "here you go, don't mind me enjoy this meal with yall"
^ This is what vegans actually believe
Fish also has family 😂😂😂
😂
@@Sp-le4oy The bear's cousin's friend also has a family
@@Sp-le4oy and they also go to school 😁
The walrus didnt even look mad, only waiting for the polar bear to introduce itself.
Everytime I see walruses it always reminds me of the movie tusk. I'm never the same again
The walrus woke up like “who tf??”
My fav things about this video: 1) The bear interrupting walrus nap 1:49 2) walrus looking back at the camera crew like "guys tf?!" 1:56
I like how the mum waked the Walrus up and acts like she has nothing to do with this
I love the way mommy bear taps the Walrus awake while the baby bear stands at a distance, scared to go any nearer "Mommy, Mommy! be careful that monster is baaaad".
Polar bear was like, "C'mon junior, let's get out of here before we get eaten."
Walruses are the most precious things ever oh MY
A natureza é fenomenal. Eu amo assistir vídeos assim
That baby polar bear is so cute...😍😍😍
Looks like mother polar bear is starving, looks skinny.
Sherlock
Yeah, looks like she has a cub with her too.
She might have stopped lactating as well and her cub will die, if she doesn't find a food source soon.
Just like a Lion , the walrus lays where he pleases :D nap time
Just watched another video previously, and it reported summer months are lean months for food, which was why Polar Bears gorged themselves prior to summer. The lean time wasn’t due to climate change, rather the season itself
exactly.....i grew up reading and watching National Geographic, but they've just become a political organization pushing climate change, how sad.
"Sorry buddy, I know you're hungry but I ain't gon be your food today, kindly look somewhere else"
Great footage for education of people. They were lucky to be there to obtain it.
Bear:good morning Walrus:damm why you waked me
Sri and Akash
I hope somebody fed the mother bear. She looks desperate. And, the little cub trailing mom makes it heart-wrenching.
Feeding polar bears is illegal in the wilderness sadly
@@jaquan6702 perhaps nat gel got permission from what ever government this is in and fed them
Wow, that walrus is like a living wall!
If they walrus knew what was up, they would take out cub. Crazy how big they were next to the bear. Great video
Walrus:" I'm taking a nap, go away! "
When you wake your mom up at 3:45am on Christmas and ask her if you can start opening gifts
This is the epitome of “I’ll be there with bells on “. LOL (hopefully everyone saw the bell collar on the bear)
Walrus's have pug faces. Didn't know they were so cute.
Walrus: You wake me up again and I'm going to play a proctologist with one of my tusks...
Heart breaking to see nature suffering due to humans...God bless these creatures
you know your a boss when you wake to the sound of footsteps and are relieved to see its just the largest land predator, no big deal ima go back to sleep.
Mother polar bear " just wanted to tell you there's a Storm coming you might want to look for cover "
Polar bear level 4, HP300, current status: weaken and hungry, stamina level: 250. Walrus level 10, HP750, current status: sleeping, stamina level: 1000max. Polar bear has no chance 😔
You need to go outside more.
Cole if you say so, although I'm not sure how you know what I actually do when you don't know me. 🤔
xD
had me dead lmao
Chikane Polar bear needs some super combos to win, like matching multiple tiles, and using several health and magic potions. She might have to level up first, so she can be ascended.
I hope the bear is still healthy and alive..
Got killed by a walrus 🤭
That little cubby is cute hihii
1:48 Polar Bear: Hey bro, whatsup. Walrus: GTFO!!!
Nature is beautiful and cruel at the same time.
That's a full grown healthy walrus. Bears only hunt them when desperate but fail most of the time. Those creature are just gigantic and being punctured by those tusk is lethal. I hope the bear can find a leopard seal which she's more successful catching.
The small bear is so much cute.
Bear: Yo dude, stop sleeping, it‘s 3 pm..
I don’t know why but I was cheering for the bear 🐻
Yes you do know why
Her cub is so cute when it was running 🥺🥰
That walrus was like, "Surprise!"
The little polar bear is too cute
It's videos like these that break my heart. Seeing them both so skinny, and starving for food, while knowing that just 30-40 years ago at this time, skin probably wouldn't be hanging loose on their bodies, and an approx. 8 month old cub wouldn't look as though they're 3 months old.
Not true. You just didn't have the visual as accessible 40 years ago before the internet. Now that we have camera's everywhere, we see things more that we would never see before. So it's not the world that has really changed, it's our perception of it because we are able to see more. Polar bear starvation happens, period. In fact, there are more polar bears now than there was 40 years ago....over 5-8 times more. The notion of polar bear decline in modern times is a complete and total myth. But as their numbers increase, so will food scarcity and incidences where they don't manage to get enough food. Even a few failed hunts is the difference between life and death in cold climates. Humans used to starve all the time too, before agriculture and even after agriculture, before modern distribution and refrigeration. Humans even still starve today, in a world of abundant food. Not even because people are greedy, but rather, because of the remote environments they live in and their cultural ways that keep out modern advancements. It's why Ebola is soo deadly in Africa.....not because they don't have the medical knowledge to prevent it, but rather, because of cultural behaviors that foster the spread.
@@peoplez129 I see your perspective on the situation, however what you are saying regarding polar bear population increase is false. Polar bear populations 40 years ago, in the 1980s, were estimated to be from 20 000 - 40 000 where sea ice (their natural habitat) was more accessible for them during the artic summer months. Today, there is an estimate of 22 000 - 31 000 polar bears. These population estimates show a decline of 9000 in the maximum for polar bear populations size, which makes it evident, among other factors, that the polar bear population size has decreased. Even though these numbers vary by the thousands, especially that from 40 years ago, logically it would make more sense that in the past their population size would be more abundant due to more of their habitat actually being available to them during the spring - fall months. I understand what you mean by food scarcity and hunger occurring, but through polar bear health and population research, it has become increasingly common for adult and cub polar bears to be fairly to severely underweight, as displayed in this video. However, I do agree with your statement that a few failed hunts in arctic and/or polar environments can be the death of an animal habituated in these regions. I disagree with your statement that polar bear decline is a myth, because there are dozens of research papers and articles suggesting that this is the reality for polar bears among hundreds of other species due to climate change. This video is evidence of something that is becoming increasingly common in the polar bear species, and it is for that reason that I find it very sad to watch. The technology accessible to monitor species populations does allow for an increase in both healthy and starving polar bear sightings, but it is the increase underweight and starving polar bear sightings that is most worrisome.
@@peoplez129 yeah ok.
@@ka10187 C North is full of it. Don't believe everything people type as FACT on the 'net. Its BS.
@@ka10187 Humans activities have definitely affected the polar bear population but to say this wouldn't be happening 40 years ago is false. Starvation has always occured in nature and a larger abundance of food and habitat doesn't change that. Most animals breed at a rate higher than the natural resources can sustain with the extras dying off.
Bear was simply there to wake them up. You can even see the alarm clock around her neck. lol
🤣🤣
i wonder if that tagging collar or whatever it is might have made it harder for her to hunt? it doesn't look normal whatever it is
@@jub8891 nah.... they are strong, animals
@@jub8891 You know those collars are to keep track of the animals via trackers so we can better understand and protect them, right? Also they dont even weight alot. it doesnt hamper their hunting.
Polar bear be like "food finally" Walrus Are u kidding me Little Ant
This was my childhood on TV.
Today polar bears tomorrow humans. We are all chained together on this planet
Baby polar bear: mom you told me dinner would be served in an hour. What's happening? Mother bear: The shops are closed early today, but there might be 7/11 around.
Such a magnificent beast!
Even the Jason Bourne music couldn’t save this.
I love polar bears
Maybe you should give one a hug, and see for how long your face is still attached.
Bear: Why don't you die so's I can eat! Walrus: Don't even think of going in that direction!
2:24 lol the baby is just a scaled down version of the adult
The “next time” vibes is real lol
I thought polar bears are huge, but walrus are on another level
Walrus doesn't appear to be "long in the tooth".
Mohamed Farouk It's a British walrus -- poor dental services
Get out pls
(Adam Smith) Good for you.
That's Hilar-walrus.
Mohamed Farouk Kookookajoo!
Polar bears are really really cute animals
Bear: “Nothing personal, I’d just like to snack on your flesh for survival” ☝️😎
WOW poor mama. She and baby are starving.
Polar bear rocks up, hey any of you fellas wanna die???
Sure, sign me up.
A polar bear indeed😂💪