BUBBS
More than just a cute butt … The underwater viewing room at the zoo is a great place to see the polar bears. Usually, just before feeding time, they enter the pool to cool down and play. The children have a great time watching and gather around the windows to get as close as possible, screaming in delight, laughing, and slapping trying to get their attention. Where else could you go nose to nose with a polar bear? Often, you’ll hear comments about the paws. The bears love to charge the windows and push themselves back off from the glass. When they press their feet flat up against the windows you get a beautiful view of the undersides. The paws are giant sized and to me there’s a certain cartoon quality about them. I think it’s the roundish shape of the pads and black dots of the claws, set off against the thick white fur, that makes them seem cute and friendly. That and knowing there’s a nine-centimeter thick safety panel keeping them at bay.