How the Polar Bear became White
Many years ago, during the Great Ice Age, as the world was being formed and land was flowing in all different directions, there were many animals roaming the earth. They had thick coats of fur to keep them warm and they were meat-eaters, known as carnivores.
The land was frozen over and the vegetation was gone. All animals who were alive depended on their skills of hunting and chasing their prey in order to survive. No animal, no matter how small or large, was free from a predator. All animals of the Great Ice Age were in danger.
One of those animals who lived in the area we now call the United States, was particularly in danger as he was of medium build and he was dark brown. He was called Bear. Some animals whispered to each other that he was Grizzled and angry. All the creatures could see him and chased him and teased him until he was run ragged. He tried to hide but all the caves and hollows were frozen over.
So he headed closer to the colder areas where all the animals were afraid to go. Why would any animal want to go where it was even colder and where the sun did not rise at all during some months of the year? But this Bear, known as Grizzled, ambled further north into the area where no other large animals lived and he was the largest. At last he was free to live a happy life.
The only trouble was there was no food. He had left all the food in the other land. So he went hungry for a few days and when he went to sleep on the ice and snow, his body heat made a small hole. He woke up and found a hole in the ice and he peered into the hole and saw animals. He was not sure what to do but he used his massive paw and scooped out the hole and tried to catch fish and the seals which swam below the surface.
Another problem arose, because the fish and the seals could see his big brown body on the ice and they would stay away from the hole when he came to fish. So slowly Grizzled turned beige, then over the years he became a yellowy-white color. He could finally creep up and fish for these animals and fish without being spotted. And finally, the native people who travelled over the frozen water called him Polar Bear, the Great White Creature, who was the greatest hunter in the Arctic. And that is why the Polar Bear became White.
