cold weather

[Gnisy]

Someone asked me why are polar bears found on the north pole and penguins found on the south pole? I didn't know what he was going at but he left before I got the answer and now this thing is driving me nuts. Anyone got any bright answers? TIA

[dzug]

Penguins are not found at the south pole - it's way too far from the sea for a bird that lives on fish. And whether polar bears ever actually make it as far as the north pole I'm not sure.

The answer is something like penguins need land to nest on - ie the coast of the antarctic coniinent; polar bears need ice floes they can catch seals through - the arctic is a sea of ice, no land.

[Taran]

If you were a penguin, would you want to share an ice field with a polar bear, no wonder they went South. I think the answer would be one of predation and the likelihood that they have never co-existed in the same locale.

[Hothead2]

Actually, there used to be penguins at the North Pole but the Polar Bears ate most of them, and I have heard that the remainder were co-opted by a certain Hollywood film company!