北极熊在呼唤

Where can you see cuddly, white polar bears? Not necessarily in the polar regions. Our polar friends are taking over street protests, TV and cinema screens too.

Recently, John Howard, Australia's outgoing Prime Minister, was stopped by protesters holding placards that read "Save Our Planet". These people were serious. You could tell by the way they were dressed as polar bears.

These days, once a polar bear is involved in any sort of campaign, people sit up and listen. The enormous arctic creatures have become a global symbol of environmentalism.

Ever since we saw those bears stuck on melting ice in Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth, the whole world has felt their pain. Every time we fill up a kettle, leave the TV on stand-by or forget to put our empty cans in the trash bins for recyclable waste, we hear the sad screams of a baby polar bear ringing in the back of our minds.

Thus polar bears have been elevated to prestigious status in today's culture.

This week sees the release of The Golden Compass, a film in which a noble polar bear protects a little girl. This follows Earth, a documentary which followed the dramatic migratory journey of polar bears over a five-year period. And coming next year is Arctic Tale, in which we are invited to join Nanu, a female polar bear, on her journey from birth to adulthood in the frozen Arctic wilderness.

For Robert Buchanan, president of Polar Bears International, the appeal of the creatures is obvious. "They are majestic animals that are filled with personality," he says. "Some of the interest may come from the fact that a standing bear has a human shape. Many tribes told legends of strange polar bear men. These bears walked upright, just like men, and were able to talk. Natives believed they shed their skins in the privacy of their homes."

With its clean lines and white fur, the polar bear has an aesthetic appeal that's thoroughly modern. This natural style, combined with the human similarities, have made polar bears a popular advertising image for decades. But it's global warming that has reinvented the polar bear as an era-defining icon.

But a debate rages about its endangered status. Reports suggest 25,000 bears live in the North Pole today - compared to just 5,000 in 1950.

Whether their population is increasing or not, the disappearance of their natural habitat is driving polar bears further into human communities.


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