POLAR BEAR CLEVERLY MANOEUVRES ACROSS THIN ICE WITHOUT BREAKING IT
Ice skating is a lot of fun, but how safe it is depends on how thick the ice is. To ensure that it is safe for the public to skate on, cities will measure the ice. But polar bears are also aware of the risks, so it's not just humans. What a polar bear does to cross a frozen body of water without falling through thin ice is depicted in an educational viral video.
Even though polar bears can survive in extremely cold temperatures, falling into icy waters is not a fun experience. But the creatures must use their cunning to cross safely when conditions appear hazardous. This video shows how the polar bear distributes its weight to prevent breaking the ice, rather than giving up and retreating. When it feels safe enough to walk on all fours again, it spreads its limbs and crawls.
In fact, the principle has its own formula: P= F/A or pressure equals force divided by area. Put differently, pressure is inversely related to area but directly proportional to force. "This bear spotted crawling instead of walking on ice possibly learned that maximising A and therefore reducing P, increases the chances to safely reach the snow," reports @Rainmaker1973 on Twitter.
Although this video shows how intelligent polar bears can be, it also raises another concern. The arctic environments that these animals live in are in danger due to the climate crisis. This bear illustrates the risks that wildlife may face, even though it's unclear at this moment whether the ice it's traversing is thinner due to seasonal changes or the direct effects of climate change.
We must take steps to cut carbon emissions and stop the polar ice caps from melting further if we are to keep these animals safe and avoid forcing them to run for their lives in their habitats.
P = F / A
— Massimo (@Rainmaker1973) March 20, 2023
This bear spotted crawling instead of walking on ice possibly learned that maximizing A and therefore reducing P, increases the chances to safely reach the snow
[Emma Postolec: https://t.co/HpSRhvqZUh]pic.twitter.com/P6fjWAmCmx