How To Adopt A Young Child

leo: hey dad,where are my slippers? ah, here they are. you know, polar bearsdon't have any problem keeping warmlike we do. they're equipped with furand layers of fat

How To Adopt A Young Child, so they can swim and huntin icy cold artic waters. they can even stay under waterfor as long as two minutes and have been known toswim for 200 miles in a single stretch.

one female polar bearwas tracked swimming for 9 days straight,she deserves a medal! sometimes you can seepolar bears going for a ride on the ice... as they float along theycan smell their prey, seals that areswimming beneath. it's funny because we thinkof polar bears as being white, but their fur isactually transparent. how cool is that?

they totally blend intotheir surroundings. oh and did you know thatpolar bears have bellybuttons? i wonder if they get linttrapped in there too? but because of global warming,more and more of the arctic ice is starting tomelt and polar bears may disappear along with it. right now there are about25,000 polar bears living in thearctic region, researchers predictthat in 50 years,

two-thirds ofthem will be gone. not just becauseof global warming, but also becauseof oil drilling, pollution and hunting. polar bears are actuallyconsidered marine mammals like seals and whalesbecause they are dependent on the sea for their food. they're a crucial partof the arctic ecosystem. the health of their populationindicates the health

of the entire ecosystem,good or bad. many of the 21,000 specieswho live in the arctic would be effected by theloss of the polar bear. but the good news isthat we can do things, like right this minutethat will help save the polar bears ina very real way. you don't even need toleave your house to do it. saving energy and protectingthe environment can help slow down and maybeeven stop global warming.

my friends and i starteda club called "the screaming greenies"where we share ideas, do community projects and takea pledge to do whatever we can to help save the planetand the polar bears. last week we made a polarbear cookbook to sell. all of the money we raise willgo towards a foundation that's helping to savethe polar bears. no, we aren't cooking polarbears or even eating like polar bears, walrus pizzaand narwhal fries anyone?

it's all about choosinghealthy foods that are locally grown,minimally processed and don't require a lotof energy to cook. now, i have to admit thati'm not much of a cook, but i do love to draw. i call this one,"polar bear in a snowstorm." i know, i know, buti couldn't help it! [laughing]. mission animal rescuebooks are available

wherever books are sold. visit natgeo.com/kids/mission-animal-rescue.