POLAR BEARS OF THE CARIBBEAN
On the little island of Nanuq, in the Portuguese
West Indies, live the only known members
of the subtropical polar bear species, Ursus calientus. Scientists differ as to how this normally
northern bear came to live here, but the
most widely-accepted theory is that during
the breakup of the last Ice Age, a few bears
were carried here by an ice floe which grounded
on the island. The bears, whose diet normally
consists mainly of ringed seal, have adapted
and now subsist largely on coconuts and the
occasional grounded dolphin. In addition,
they've become adept at fishing the fringing
reefs during low tide for sea monkeys, which
they consume in vast quantities.
Unfortunately, the island is normally off-limits
to human visitors, as the bears are extremely
dangerous. In 1910, a cruise ship out of
Veracruz, Mexico wrecked on the reefs, and
all traces of passengers and crew vanished.
It is assumed that they, as well as all provisions
on the ship, were consumed by the bears.
The only traces of the wreck ever found were
several cracked-open barrels of a new food
product called spiced potted ham, or SPHAM.
The bears left the contents of those barrels
totally untouched.
We were extremely fortunate, through special
arrangement with the Nanuqian Ministry of
Resources, to be allowed access to the island,
and to capture these rare images of the bears.
The photos were shot from behind a blind
consisting mostly of unexploded artillery
shells, left over from the days when the
island was used as a gunnery range by the
Portuguese Navy's Submarine Artillery Group.
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