Quite often, in a case of ‘polar confusion’, people envision polar bears rubbing shoulders with penguins in some unspecified icy waste.
And with sea-ice cover in the Arctic Ocean at record lows, some wits might suggest transplanting starving bears to Antarctica, to guarantee their survival.
Conditions there seem favourable for Ursus maritimus, which is more omnivorous than commonly thought: though its favoured prey are (ringed) seals, it also ambushes caribou (reindeer), pounces on nesting birds and their eggs, hoovers up mussels and crabs, and even dives to the ocean floor to feed on kelp.
What would happen if polar bears moved to Antarctica?
The polar bear’s behaviour is plastic enough to adapt to slightly changed circumstances. Antarctica’s seasons and environment are similar to the northern high latitudes.
Sea ice encases the continent, and its waters teem with Ross, Weddell, crabeater, leopard, fur and elephant seals. Colonies of flightless penguins would provide calorie-rich, easy pickings.
But the results for Antarctic fauna would be disastrous. Its land creatures evolved without terrestrial enemies, and its pinnipeds never learned to fear and evade this ‘amphibian’ – a muscle-packed, blubber-burning powerhouse.