Polar Bear Surprise
Imagine waking from a long nap — a little disoriented and still groggy — only to find the world you left when you went to sleep is totally different. A mother polar bear had that very Rip Van Winkle experience on a man-island off the coast of Alaska.
When she emerged from her den after hibernation, the new mother polar bear soon realized her bleary eyes weren’t playing tricks on her. she awoke in the middle of an oil field.
Once the bear and its newborn cub were spotted, the drilling station was evacuated until the bears left the den and started to head off the island and onto the sea ice.
Bruce Woods with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service says that the mother bear spotted and empty Spy Island before oil drilling equipment and the ice road were even built. She settled into her den for a long winter’s nap. When she emerged last month, the island was full of equipment, activity and an entire oil operation.
“Must have been a shock for her because when she went into the den it was an empty island, and when she came out there was quite a lot going on.” — Bruce Woods
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