How much of the world is under water?

From an orbit high above the Pacific, our world looks as if it is completely under water, for this vast ocean covers almost half of the globe. The Atlantic Ocean also covers a large area of the big globe. Then there are the Indian and Arctic Oceans, plus countless smaller seas.

All these ocean waters are linked together, making islands of the large and small land areas. Together, the sea waters cover almost 71 percent of the globe. Rivers, lakes and swampy regions like the Everglades cover perhaps r nether one percent of the surface of the earth. So we can estimate that about 72 percent of our world is under water.

Is it true that the polar bear cub never sees his father?

The white giant of the Arctic can claim to be the biggest carnivore of the land animals. This Alaska bear sometimes outweighs him, but this fellow includes a lot of salad, fruit and vegetables on his diet. The polar bear may nibble a little seaweed, but the rest of his diet is all meat. But the huge lord of the polar seas starts life as a little blind and naked cub.

The polar bear must learn to cope with life in the frozen, wind swept Arctic. Summer is a time of endless daylight but during the long months of winter, the sun does not peep above the horizon. The baby polar bear comes into the world during this long Arctic night.

We would expect the adult polar bears to hibernate during the winter, but most of them do not. The male bears and some of the females hunt throughout the year. Only the mother polar bear who is expecting cubs seeks shelter in late fall when the short days are soon to disappear.

She usually finds a sheltered bank of rock and there she digs herself a cozy den in the snow Soon the drifting winter snows cover her with a fleecy blanket. There she rests and waits for the great day. At last, the cubs are born. It is January. Outside the soft blanketed den there is darkness and the ground is swept by howling blizzards.

Each baby bear is about ten inches long and his total weight is about two pounds. His little eyes are sealed shut, he is naked and completely helpless. No matter, the great big Mama bear is there to take care of his needs. She feeds him on mothers milk and keeps him cozy in her thick, warm coat. He grows and his little body is soon covered with soft, white down.

In six weeks, the young polar bear opens his eyes   but there is nothing to see, for the darkness of the Arctic night still reigns outdoors. He grows some more and soon the sun peeps for a short spell each day above the horizon, At long last, in March, the impatient young cub is ready to explore the cold outdoors. His big, loving Mama takes him, along with his frisky brothers and sisters, for their first lesson in bearcraft. They walk and play on the snow, they take swimming lessons in the icy sea and learn to hunt. Through the next year and a half, the mother bear, with playful affection, gives each cub a complete education. The father bear is off hunting and so misses all this wonderful fun. The growing cub also misses a fathers protective care, for the little fellow is brought up entirely by his mother and could spend his whole life without meeting his father.

At, the age of about one and a half, the young bear is pushed away from mothers tender care. He now weighs about 200 pounds and is all ready to take care of himself. He will wander miles along the Arctic shores and take long trips across ice and open water. At some time he may meet his father, but the two male bears would not know each other.