# What would happen if I shipped polar bears to Antarctica? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 22, 2015, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691 "2015-03-22T16:21:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e4f/32.png) [@Digital\_is\_the\_new\_Analog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Digital_is_the_new_Analog)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 1:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/21 "2015-03-23T01:34:01Z")
> [@Qadgop\_the\_Mercotan](#): > > Previous thread on this topic here: [How would polar bears fare in the antarctic? - Factual Questions - Straight Dope Message Board](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=614927) We really have discussed everything here at some point, haven’t we! ---
**Author:** ![minor7flat5](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/minor7flat5/32/258_2.png) [@minor7flat5](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/minor7flat5)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/22 "2015-03-23T02:00:20Z")
Whatever you do, don’t eat the liver. No matter how hungry you get. I’m just sayin’ ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/23 "2015-03-23T02:50:37Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Penguins are extremely powerful, …[more bird stuff snipped] So are you going to tell me or do I have to look up if or what a kanicbird is? ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/24 "2015-03-23T02:56:46Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > … Polar bears hybronate in the winter… They migrate to Faermane? 80% humans, 10% dwarfs and elfs, 10% “other.” No penguins. ---
**Author:** ![Leo\_Bloom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/leo_bloom/32/10377_2.png) [@Leo\_Bloom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Leo_Bloom)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/25 "2015-03-23T02:58:58Z")
Welcome, OP! Home run on first hit! You’ll do fine here. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/26 "2015-03-23T03:29:35Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > This doesn’t make any sense. Polar bears are so well insulated that it’s difficult for them to shed body heat even at low temperatures. It might be possible for one to overexert itself and retain too much heat under these conditions. ---
**Author:** ![GuanoLad](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guanolad/32/42_2.png) [@GuanoLad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GuanoLad)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 7:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/27 "2015-03-23T07:53:21Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Polar bears are so well insulated that it’s difficult for them to shed body heat even at low temperatures. It might be possible for one to overexert itself and retain too much heat under these conditions. Hmm. Okay. Presumably this remains true no matter where it is, Arctic, Antarctic, even in captivity in a Saudi Arabian menagerie. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 8:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/28 "2015-03-23T08:29:58Z")
I don’t know about the biological side, but introducing alien animals into Antarctica is going to violate [several](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agreed_Measures_for_the_Conservation_of_Antarctic_Fauna_and_Flora) [international](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_for_the_Conservation_of_Antarctic_Seals) [treaties](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Protocol_on_Environmental_Protection_to_the_Antarctic_Treaty). Those are just the applicable ones considered part of the Antarctic Treaty system, I’m sure more specific ones from each country with territorial claims would apply. Plus there’s the [dubious legality](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear#Protection_in_the_North_America) of acquiring the bears in the first place…although if you get Russian bears, it looks like you’re OK AFAICT. ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 11:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/29 "2015-03-23T11:59:36Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > Penguins are extremely powerful, a Emperor Penguin has been know to be able to break a mans (whatever the strongest leg bone is) by use of his/her wing. Not to say that is anything impressive in terms of bear strength, but not something to be messed with either. Also the cycles are backwards. Polar bears hybronate in the winter, when penguins are on land, and are active in the summer when penguins are at sea. Come on - an emperor penguin has broken a man’s femur? Do you happen to have a cite for that? I tried googling, but “penguin breaks leg” comes up with nothing but hockey stories. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/30 "2015-03-23T13:10:05Z")
> [@GuanoLad](#): > > Hmm. Okay. Presumably this remains true no matter where it is, Arctic, Antarctic, even in captivity in a Saudi Arabian menagerie. Polar bears are largely aquatic. They swim long distances because they’d overheat by running even at extremely cold temperatures. They can survive warmer temperatures if they don’t have to exert themselves, probably one reason they find hanging around garbage dumps as an attractive lifestyle. ---
**Author:** ![Diceman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Diceman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diceman)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/31 "2015-03-23T13:28:38Z")
Aren’t sled dogs banned in Antarctica, for exactly this reason? (ie, penguins have no land preditors, and any feral dog population that appeared might wipe them out.) ---
**Author:** ![robert\_columbia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e79b87/32.png) [@robert\_columbia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/robert_columbia)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/32 "2015-03-23T13:56:15Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Aren’t sled dogs banned in Antarctica, for exactly this reason? (ie, penguins have no land preditors, and any feral dog population that appeared might wipe them out.) Couldn’t we genetically engineer them so that they couldn’t reproduce in the wild? That, or maybe say that only girl sled dogs are legal in Antarctica or something. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 2:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/33 "2015-03-23T14:37:40Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Aren’t sled dogs banned in Antarctica, for exactly this reason? (ie, penguins have no land preditors, and any feral dog population that appeared might wipe them out.) That wasn’t [the main concern](http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg13017742.500-redundant-huskies-sent-packing-from-antarctica.html), it’s more because of the risk of seals catching canine distemper and other diseases. That’d do way more damage than the limited predation dogs could achieve (an Emperor penguin may or may not be able to break a femur, but I’m pretty sure they could fuck a dog up, somewhat vicious. I’m just familiar with our Jackass Penguins, and I wouldn’t mess with them, especially if they have babies. If Emperors are on land for dogs to get to, they _will_ have babies. And be in packs of hundreds or thousands) That, and they’re completely redundant. ---
**Author:** ![dr\_zippermeyer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c0e974/32.png) [@dr\_zippermeyer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dr_zippermeyer)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/34 "2015-03-23T15:27:01Z")
> [@Leo\_Bloom](#): > > Welcome, OP! Home run on first hit! You’ll do fine here. Hah, thanks. 🙂 This question has haunted me day and night, I finally had to ask it. But I have many more other questions too! The question about bear migration was interesting, I haven’t thought about that. As far as I know polar bears can swim even couple of hundred of kilometers to the open sea. They must have quite sophisticated means of navigation. Those system would probably be distrupted on the other side of the Earth and bears might end up lost in sea or run in empty inner parts of region. _“I don’t know about the biological side, but introducing alien animals into Antarctica is going to violate several international treaties. Those are just the applicable ones considered part of the Antarctic Treaty system, I’m sure more specific ones from each country with territorial claims would apply.”_ In that case couldn’t one just seat the bears in landing craft and release it in international waters towards Antarctica? If maritime law doesn’t say anything about releasing polar bears then it should be ok. Of course I would be forever remembered as a biggest a\*\*hole in the history, but in legal sense it would be fine. I was really surprised about the fact mentioned on the other thread someone linked: people have actually released penguins in Arctic region! ---
**Author:** ![MikeS](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/919ad9/32.png) [@MikeS](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MikeS)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/35 "2015-03-23T15:36:47Z")
Note that there was a quasi-penguin that lived in the Arctic until the mid-19th century: the [great auk.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_auk) Polar bears were definitely observed to hunt great auks while they were still around, so I don’t think they’d have any trouble with penguins. > [@MrLee](#): > > It can get colder in Antarctica than the Arctic circle (google tells me); is there a point at which even polar bears get too chilly? The coldest parts of Antarctica are in the center of the continent, which is far from the oceans and higher in elevation. Pretty much nothing lives there except for human researchers, and once the polar bears ate those they’d have trouble surviving for long. Around the margins of the continent, where delicious penguins live, the climate is pretty comparable to the Arctic. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/36 "2015-03-23T15:39:47Z")
> [@Diceman](#): > > Aren’t sled dogs banned in Antarctica, for exactly this reason? (ie, penguins have no land preditors, and any feral dog population that appeared might wipe them out.) What would happen if one of them gets loose and runs across the frozen tundra? Are there scientists that can follow, shooting at him from a helicopter? ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/37 "2015-03-23T15:45:43Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > What would happen if one of them gets loose and runs across the frozen tundra? Are there scientists that can follow, shooting at him from a helicopter? They’ll starve and freeze if they head for the interior, there’s nothing there for them. Is there actually Tundra in the Antarctic? I though Tundra was land with a short growing season. ---
**Author:** ![Frodo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/frodo/32/302_2.png) [@Frodo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Frodo)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/38 "2015-03-23T16:05:15Z")
> [@lieu](#): > > What would happen if one of them gets loose and runs across the frozen tundra? Are there scientists that can follow, shooting at him from a helicopter? Swedish scientists? ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/39 "2015-03-23T16:23:27Z")
> [@dr\_zippermeyer](#): > > In that case couldn’t one just seat the bears in landing craft and release it in international waters towards Antarctica? If maritime law doesn’t say anything about releasing polar bears then it should be ok. Of course I would be forever remembered as a biggest a\*\*hole in the history, but in legal sense it would be fine. Nope, there’s also [parts](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Convention_for_the_Conservation_of_Antarctic_Marine_Living_Resources) of the Treaty System that cover the Southern Ocean. ---
**Author:** ![MrDibble](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mrdibble/32/114_2.png) [@MrDibble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MrDibble)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2015, 4:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691/40 "2015-03-23T16:24:41Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Is there actually Tundra in the Antarctic? Nope. No tundra there. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-would-happen-if-i-shipped-polar-bears-to-antarctica/715691.md?page=3)