Polo

Here is the long awaited Polo! Also known as the polar bear! I was going to wait a couple of days before posting this to make sure that everyone got the chance to see my shiny new award! (see below) But Leanne begged to see him, so here he is!




It's hard to see in the photo's, but his body turns slightly to his left, and his right foot is a little further forward than his left. I didn't want to make him exactly symmetrical. I'll have to get back to you with the measurements. Edit: from nose to tail - about 18 inches. Height about 15 1/2 inches, width about 10 inches.

Why Polo?
When I was a kid my Mum made soft toys for a while to earn a bit of extra cash. She made the most beautiful polar bear and I begged and begged her for it, for what seemed like forever. Imagine my surprise and delight when I unwrapped her on Christmas day! She is still one of the best gifts I have ever had. I named her Polo, which made perfect sense to me at the time - Polo sounded similar to polar, and she was white like a polo mint! I loved her so much. She came everywhere with me. I never stayed away from home without her, much to my friend's amusement, but I didn't care. She was my best friend and I shared all my secrets with her. I knitted her boots and a hat and made her a coat - not that polar bears need any help to keep warm!

By the time I was about 18 I decided to pass her on to my youngest sister. I was so disappointed that she didn't love her as I had, but why would she? By that time Polo was old and tatty, not the beautiful shiny and smooth furred bear that I had unwrapped about 10 years earlier. I wish I had kept her, but alas, she is long gone now.

So, male or female, I decided from the start that this bear would be named Polo. In memory of my dear old friend.

Some interesting facts about the polar bear.
The male and female don't meet that often, so when they do, they mate. Due to the many months spent feeding her cubs and not hunting, the female needs to be in good health and of a good weight before birth, and so she doesn't always fall pregnant immediately - her embryos go into a type of suspended animation, so cubs are always born in the winter after the female has had a good summer getting fat. Unlike the brown or grizzly bear, polar bears don't hibernate, except pregnant bears. This isn't a proper hibernation as she will give birth to her cubs and feed them during this time. Once they come out of their den, the mother will continue to feed them and to lose weight and will not be able to go in search of food until the cubs are strong enough. By this time she will not have eaten for 5 months and will have lost half her body weight.

Polar bears hunt seals by pounding on the ice with their front legs, with their weight behind them, until it breaks. They have an amazing sense of smell and are able to smell seals even through thick ice. They are excellent swimmers as well, being able to block off their nostrils and having webbed feet.


PS. Queeny and Leanne, you would have loved the big owl that my Mum made!