22 Polar Bear Quotes about the King of the Arctics
If savannahs have lions and oceans have great white sharks, the arctics have the polar bear, which is the world's largest terrestrial carnivore. Its Latin name, Ursus maritimus, means' sea bear,' which is an apt name for the only bear species considered marine mammals.
Another feature that sets them apart from other bear species is their white fur which helps them camouflage in the arctic landscape. Surprisingly, their coat has no white pigment, and their skin is actually black. Their hollow hair shafts reflect the sunlight, which makes the bears appear white.
Discover more about these majestic creatures and why they are in danger as you read the following polar bear quotes below.
Quick links to our selection of polar bear quotes:
Best Polar Bear Quotes
Like a grizzly bear, polar bears are excellent swimmers! Thanks to their specially adapted features, they can reach speeds up to 6 mph in frigid water. They have streamlined bodies, a thick layer of fat for insulation, and webbed feet that help them propel. They have developed these features to hunt ringed and bearded seals and occasionally scavenge carcasses or eat small animals and vegetation if needed.
Read the best polar bear quotes below that will prepare you for the next section. Or, for more about bears from all over the world, you might also like our lists of brilliant bear facts.
"I remember when I was younger, and in school, our teachers showed us films of plastic in the ocean, starving polar bears and so on. I cried through all the movies. My classmates were concerned when they watched the film, but when it stopped, they started thinking about other things. I couldn't do that. Those pictures were stuck in my head."
- Greta Thunberg
"Appreciation has become my destiny in life. Perhaps it's the instinct of a polar bear enjoying hibernation in the vast snows."
- Liu Xiaobo
"In the grand scheme of things, polar bears are the least of our problems when it comes to climate change."
- Emily Calandrelli
Alarming Quotes About Polar Bears And Climate Change
Despite being the largest terrestrial carnivore, we should know about polar bears disappearing due to the destructive effects of global warming.
As the Arctic sea ice melts, polar bears are losing their natural habitat and ability to hunt for food. As fewer cubs survive the harsh conditions and adult polar bears struggle to find enough food, their population is declining dramatically. If we don't curb our greenhouse emissions, a 2021 study predicts that the global polar bear population is on track to collapse by 21001.
Be aware of what is happening to these bears and read up on some general bear quotes and sayings to inspire their protection as you go through the polar bear quotes below.
"We need to save the Arctic not because of the polar bears, and not because it is the most beautiful place in the world, but because our very survival depends upon it."
- Lewis Gordon Pugh
"I think that I was slightly naive. I thought that if I showed people the beauty of the Arctic and the beauty of the polar bears that they would care so much that they would stand up and try to make a change."
- Lewis Gordon Pugh
"For humans, the Arctic is a harshly inhospitable place, but the conditions there are precisely what polar bears require to survive - and thrive. 'Harsh' to us is 'home' for them. Take away the ice and snow, increase the temperature by even a little, and the realm that makes their lives possible literally melts away."
- Sylvia Earle
"I haven't been to Tasmania. I haven't been to the South Pole, and I haven't been to the North Pole. I want to see the polar bear migration before there are no polar bears. I want to see Glacier National Park before the glacier melts."
- Martha Stewart
"Demanding that our leaders take action on climate change is about a lot more than polar bears and ice caps; it's about safeguarding our health, preserving our prosperity, and protecting the future of our children."
- Tom Steyer
"In the year 2007, seals, otters, lions, turtles, frogs, apes, snakes, butterflies, polar bears, cheetahs, whales are disappearing along with their variously furnished homes: cloud forests, rain forests, ice pack, boreal forests, coral reefs, forests of deciduous trees, conifer and palm."
- Eban Goodstein
Other Quotes That Will Inspire You To Appreciate And Protect The Polar Bears
Polar bears are excellent mothers, providing their cubs with the best care and protection in nature. After mating, female bears build fat reserves until their weight doubles. Until enough fat is stored, the fertilized egg will implant, thus ensuring a successful gestation. During the whole pregnancy and a few months of nursing inside snow caves, mother polar bears fast for as long as eight months, which is the longest known for any mammal species.
For the next two years, the cubs will learn from their mother how to hunt on their own and acquire the other abilities necessary to survive and mature. During this period, the cub and the mother will face predators and harsh environmental conditions. As a result, polar Bears International created National Polar Bear Day every February 27th, which coincides with the denning mother and cubs in the Arctic.
So, as you read the polar bear quotes below, let's help mother bears raise their cubs.
"Well, my son really loves wildlife. And everytime he draws a polar bear I want to tell him there probably won't any by the time... he's my age. That's kinda hard to deal with."
- Thom Yorke
"I'm not sure I like the idea of polar bears under a palm tree."
- Lenny Henry
"We like to stay warm, let the polar bears live cold."
- Anonymous
"Even as I speak, the very last polar bear may be dying of hunger on account of climate change, on account of us. And I sure miss the polar bears. Their babies are so warm and cuddly and trusting, just like ours."
- Kurt Vonnegut Jr.
"I think that it's easy to think of the environment as all doom and gloom and that, 'What can we do, it's too late. And the polar bears are gone, and everything is gone.' But really, just the little steps that we can make as individuals make a big difference."
- Orlando Bloom
"Given enough time, polar bears might migrate off the Arctic ice, evolve darker coats, find a different diet, and thrive in a new, warmer climate. But if the ice on which they depend disappears in a few decades, they are likely to die."
- Mohsin Hamid
"It was some UN agency that issued a report saying we're beyond the point of return here. And there was a picture of a polar bear on a little, tiny block of ice, which is a fraudulent - there are more polar bears than ever. The arctic ice caps are not melting. There's so much garbage out there."
- Rush Limbaugh
Other Noteworthy And Funny Polar Bears Quotes
The presence of polar bears in our culture is vast - from the Inuit Legend of Nanuk, toonie the Canadian two-dollar coin, to the famous white bear in Coca-Cola's marketing campaign since 1922.
In 2011, the multibillion-dollar soda company partnered with World Wildlife Fund (WWF) to help protect polar bears' Arctic homes. The red cans are adorned with polar bears, thus encouraging the consumers to donate to the cause. The campaign was a hit, with 2 million dollars raised in five months!
Polar bears exist for a reason. So let's make an effort to protect them by supporting campaigns like these. As you read the rest of the polar bear quotes, realize how your small contribution can save the polar bears.
"If I had been talking about drowning polar bears, people would have been weeping with me. But nobody recognizes that a bookstore or library can also be a drowning polar bear. And right now in this country, magazines, newspapers, and bookstores are drowning polar bears. And if people can’t see that or don’t want to talk about it, I don’t understand them at all."
- Sherman Alexie
"There were only fifteen thousand polar bears in the world, and five billion of me. To let one of them devour my all-too-common flesh would, if only slightly, help adjust the grievous imbalance."
- Lawrence Millman
"The biblical account of Noah's Ark and the Flood is perhaps the most implausible story for fundamentalists to defend. Where, for example, while loading his ark, did Noah find penguins and polar bears in Palestine?"
- Judith Hayes
"I'd rather write about polar bears than people."
- Mary Oliver
"My mom was a pilot, and my dad wrestled polar bears."
- Riff Raff
"I've diced with death the most cycling around London. Black cabs are far more dangerous than polar bears."
- Ben Saunders
| 1 | Molnár, P.K., Bitz, C.M., Holland, M.M. et al. Fasting season length sets temporal limits for global polar bear persistence. Nat. Clim. Chang. 10, 732–738 (2020). |
