Tokyo Zoo's Conservation Effort Turns Bears Green
If it happened in the U.S., you might think green polar bears were an early St. Patrick's Day shenanigan. But those bears turned green at the zoo in Tokyo. The Tokyo zoo says the apple-green stain over most of the bears' fur started with an effort to conserve water by changing the bears' pond water less often. That led to more algae, which is difficult to wash out of the bears' thick fur.
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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:
Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne. If it happened in the U.S., you might think it was an early St. Patrick's Day shenanigan. Green polar bears. But those bears turned green at the zoo in Tokyo. The Tokyo Zoo says the apple-green stain over most of the bears' fur started with an effort to conserve water by changing it less often. That led to lots more algae in the bear pond. Turns out it's really hard to wash algae out of that thick polar bear fur. It's Morning Edition.
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