How you doing? Hi guys Shelby here and today I'm joined by Maui.
If you're new to the channel hello there welcome and don't forget to subscribe
while you're at it because you are not gonna want to miss this incredible
journey through the world of superheroes. And not just the comic book ,variety oh
no , I'm bringing in the wonderful world of animals that have superpowers of
their own. Because as a wild animal biologist, I thought combine my two
passions! So today we are looking at the incredible polar bear and the Mighty Thor.
Thor was created by the incredible team of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby making
his first appearance in Venus # 11 "the end of the world " that was released
on November 1st ,1950. Thor of course is based on the Norse god, Thor aptly named,
and he's the god of thunder. In the comics his father is Odin the all-father
and his mother is Gaia the actual human embodiment of Earth which gives us a
clue as to his birthplace: which was a cave in Norway. There's another being
that started their life in a cave ...not with a box of scraps ... but in a cave I
really can't say cave without saying the Tony Stark quote let's try that again!
Thor starts his life out in a cave while polar bears start theirs in dens.
Wild polar bear cubs are born in December. In fact females can have one to three cubs.
Polar bear cubs and their mothers stay in the dens until March and early April.
That's quite a long time to be spent in the den but it is very important to the
Cubs development because they are born blind, toothless ,pretty much helpless and
they have short soft fur. After many years of defending his home realm of
Asgard and winning wars doing lots of godly stuff it all went to his head!
So Odin decided to hey send him to earth he'll become humble there right? Well he
didn't just send Thor as he was oh no Papa Odin made sure he really did become
humble by making him a handicapped human doctor known as Donald Blake.
Thor is quite a unique individual he's half Asgardian and half elder God that makes
him very powerful. In fact one of the most powerful heroes in the Marvel
Universe in particular Thor is incredibly strong. A
story of his strength comes from the comics in which he was able to lift the
Midgard serpent. This serpent is not your little baby corn snake oh no it gets the
name Midgard serpent because it can wrap itself around the earth guys! That's a
pretty big serpent and for Thor to be able to lift it... he probably didn't even
break a sweat! Polar bears are also known for their strength, they have
incredible power especially in their paws because they can lift out a seal
from the ice that's in the water ...well ok polar bear here, ice here, seal here...
They can lift out a seal that's between 150 to 200 pounds
with their paws ! They are really strong. With the help of Mjolinir Thor can fly.
Which is quite impressive. In the movies we see him often swing it around to get
momentum and then chuck it and then he trails behind which is quite cool right?
But polar bears can't fly can they ? Well they can through water!
In fact polar bears can reach speeds of about 6 miles per hour when paddling
underwater their huge paws out to pull the water behind them. In fact their
nostrils even close when underwater that is really cool! And it's no small feat
either because they are actually a marine mammal. Then of course there's
weather control what kind of god of thunder would you be if you couldn't
control the weather? He can bring rain, he can bring wind he can bring surprise thunder...
and he can even make it rain fire. He even bring blizzards and of course
the polar bear is adapted to living in the Arctic! That's right friends let me
get this rant out of the way ....polar bears live in the north penguins live in the south
They never come into contact with each other unless of course penguins are
walking around the zoo during quarantine and say hey polar bears from the outside
of their enclosures that's the only time they come into contact! Sorry rant over.
Polar bears can most certainly handle blizzards so bring it on Thor! Cuz life
up in the Arctic is very tough. Oh yeah temperatures can plunge to negative 40
degrees Celsius. Whoo! They have two layers of fur to help keep them warm.
Their fur prevents almost all heat loss. In fact, polar bears are probably more
prone to overheat when they run ! And what's under that fur ? Well polar bears
actually have black skin. This skin covers a thick layer of fat that can
measure up to almost four and a half inches thick! That's a lot of fat, but you
need it when you live in the Arctic! Their main prey are ringed seals they
are full of fat and quite a lot of calories this helps keep their fat
levels nice and full!
Let's go over some stats: in this corner we have Thor (and Maui)
Thor comes in at an impressive six foot six and six hundred and forty pounds
In this corner we have the mighty polar bear, Ursus maritimus, also known as a sea bear
adult males can weigh up to 1,300 pounds whew that's a lot of bear!
when adult males stand on their hind legs they can get up to ten feet tall
whosoever holds this hammer if he be worthy shall possess the power of Thor
Ah, Mjolinir such a fun word to say and even funner to spell Mjolinir is Thor's hammer
if you are worthy and you can hold Mjolinir
you pretty much get all of Thor's power except of course his God blast because
he's the god and he's the one that can do that... you can fly faster than the
speed of light which is quite impressive and if you like speed be sure to click
here so you can see the latest video on the flash versus the cheetah and also
pop it at the end in case ya dyin to see if Maui will wake up ...this sounds like a
dating for Mjolinir... do you wish that you could fly faster
than the speed of light ? do you want to be able to shoot out electrical discharge?
and do you like creating force fields ? long walks on the beach?
pina coladas? getting caught in the rain? well Mjolinir is the hammer for you!
that felt ridiculous! But Thor isn't the only one to be able to wield Mjolinir
Oh No good old Captain America can wield it you might have seen it in a you know
Avengers end game where the theater in which I was watching the movie erupted
into cheers it was pretty crazy and Thor's love interest Jane Foster can
even wield the hammer I am so looking forward to love and thunder ! So excited!
So like how Thor is connected to Mjolinir, polar bears are connected with sea ice.
Their paws are adapted for both life in the water and on the sea ice kind of like
how Mjolinir can adapt. Because you know in the beginning when I said that
Thor actually was banished to earth as dr. Donald Blake
well his cane was mill near in disguise all he needed to do was strike it and poof
he became Thor with Mjolinir pretty cool! Polar bear paws are kind of like
that when polar bears are swimming their front paws act like paddles and their
hind paws act like rudders . their paws have black foot pads on them on these
foot pads our papillae these are small soft bumps the papillae
gripped the ice and keep the bear from slipping . Thor is a master of combat even
as a mere mortal he was able to defeat fodder and save Captain America wielding
caps own shield and Mjolinir what a sight that must have been! he even got in
a bit of fisticuffs with Hercules now he didn't quite win that one but it was pretty close
Polar bears also are quite the master of
combat in a way their main prey ringed seals sometimes bask on the sea ice
polar bears take full advantage of this and can stalk their prey. When the seal
lifts their head the polar bear freezes. The polar bear stalks the seal until
they're about 20 feet away then they rush in with killer speed before the
seal can escape. Thor is also a master tactician being a god who enjoys
war you wouldn't expect anything less! Polar bears do the same thing while
seals are quick under the water they do need to come up for air about every five
to 15 minutes. So what do polar bears do? Well they sniff them out and they wait
by the breathing holes. That's right polar bears are not only master
tacticians but they are patient as well!
Earth's Mightiest Heroes the Avengers notice my pretty awesome Avengers jacket
It was the threat of Loki, Thor's half-brother, that brought the Avengers
together both in the comics and in the movies.
Loki being the god of mischief used an illusion to trick the Hulk in order to
lure Thor in and try to attack Thor while he was busy fighting the Hulk. When
a radio message was sent out for help Loki intercepted it and sent it to Thor.
But then it was also intercepted by Iron Man, ant-man and the wasp. When those
three heroes came to help out Thor they eventually got through to the Hulk and
the five of them joined together to defeat Loki. Polar bears are solitary.
However, some scientists have seen polar bears sharing their meals with other
polar bears! Those bears must beg appropriately.... to be a begging polar bear
you must approach low to the ground then slowly circle the carcass and the polar
bears who are a dining and then gently touch noses with the polar bear who is in charge.
The enemies of Thor ...well there are quite a few but I really want to focus
on Loki. Loki is like a box of chocolates you never know what you're gonna get!
Quite literally being the god of mischief he certainly gives both Thor
and the Avengers quite a difficult time. Even though Loki continues to try to
kill Thor Thor still has a soft spot for his brother.
Aside from humans other polar bears can be a threat to the majestic bear kind of
like how Loki and Thor are sometimes at odds! In the movie, Thor: Ragnarok there is
a particular scene that really stands out. Hela destroys Mjolinir she crushes
the hammer quite easily it looks like. Well it is Cate Blanchett, and she's
pretty awesome so ...but all is lost. As the audience you really feel for Thor and
you see him struggle throughout the movie to come to terms with who he is
without the hammer. And the same goes true for polar bears.
Without their sea ice what are they? Climate change is real it's happening
and it's human based. I am not a climate change expert however, I can direct you
to a few sites that will be able to help answer some questions you may have.
I'll pop them in the links below. One of the websites is polar bears international
This is an organization that's exceptionally close to my heart
in fact quite literally because I'm wearing the badge now. The reason is when
I was 16 I was chosen to be an Arctic ambassador not only did I get to see
polar bears in the wild but talk with scientist and figure out ways that we
can go about raising awareness of climate change. Some might think it's too
late to save polar bears but it's not. If we come together just like the Avengers
came together to stop Loki, we can work together to make a difference to stop
human caused climate change, to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.
How can you do that ? What part can you play? I like to ride my bike to work.
Little things like that can add up over time . So how are you gonna be a superhero?
Check out the links below on how you can help. Now Avengers Assemble!
Thank you so much for joining Maui and I today on this mighty adventure to the Arctic and
Asgard if you have any questions or comments sorry he's walking on the table
in the camera shaking if you have any questions or comments please leave them
below and while you're at it like and subscribe , leave a comment letting me
know which superhero and animal you want to see next!
Have a great rest of the day and thanks for watching, bye!