Why Are Polar Bears White?

I discovered the following quote in a book review:

"The white coat color of the polar bear cannot be adaptive, however, since he has no predator"

Duane Gish, Creation Scientists Answer Their Critics, 1993, 451 pages, available from the ICR. See page 54.

There have been a number of nature shows on TV which show polar bears hunting seals. The bears obviously work hard at sneaking up on their prey. Quite often, the seals see them coming, and escape easily into the water. A bear that is the same color as snow and ice would be much better at stalking than any other color of bear. So, the color is adaptive.

NOTE

It's puzzling that Dr. Gish would make this claim in a book devoted to rebutting his critics. An extremely well-known pro-evolution book, The Blind Watchmaker, had loudly ridiculed this exact claim only six years earlier. (See pages 38-39.)

Last modified: 10 August 1997

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