Polar bear photographed blowing bubble

A polar bear has been photographed blowing an underwater air bubble.

By Ben Leach
Published: 9:47AM GMT 12 Nov 2009

The giant creature performed the stunt in front of onlookers in a glass zoo tunnel in Gelsenkirchen, Germany. Peter Schmidt, a retired doctor, took the photograph after spotting the bear in mid-blow.

He said: "When I went to visit the zoo I met a TV crew. There is a tunnel under the water where you can see the polar bears and sea lions.

"The film crew were quite angry because they had been there for ages and there was nothing to see.

"Just as they were leaving the tunnel I went to one of the windows and saw the polar bear just coming towards me. "It wanted to play with me - it was crazy."

In April this year zookeepers saved the life of a German woman who was being mauled by a polar bear after she jumped into an enclosure at Berlin Zoo.

The keepers' bravery was praised after they dragged the 32-year-old out of a moat for the animals. They had to shove the animal out of the way after one of four polar bears dived into the water and attacked her, inflicting serious bites to her legs and arms.

Last December a man who afterwards said he was "lonely" survived jumping into the same zoo enclosure when keepers diverted the bears with chunks of beef.

The polar bear, which is native largely to the Arctic circle, is the world's largest carnivore species found on land. It is also the largest species of bear.

The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, with 5 of the 19 subpopulations in decline due to hunting and climate change.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6549830/Polar-bear-photographed-blowing-bubble.html