Re: [Paddlewise] Bears' Swimming Speed

Google:  "polar bear" "swimming speed"

 From SeaWorld / Busch Gardens

4. Polar bears can obtain a swimming speed of 10 kph (6.2 mph) 
(Stirling, 1988).

Enviro New Net (enn.com)

How they get around -- Polar bears are capable of traveling 19 miles or 
more per day for several days. The average walking speed is 3.4 mph, but 
when being chased or charging prey, their maximum speed is 25 mph for 
short distances. They are also strong swimmers, and can swim for several 
hours at a time over long distances; some have been tracked swimming 
continuously for 62 miles. Swimming speed can reach 6.2 miles per hour. 
Polar bears usually swim under water at depths of only about 10 to 15 
feet. They can remain submerged for as long as two minutes.

Enn.com appears to be quoting the same study.

GaryJ

Joyce Family wrote:
> Does anyone have any good information (could be reliable anecdotal info) as
> to how fast bears swim?  I've read that polar bears can go 6 mph, which
> strikes me as slow for an aquatic mammal, at least for short distances.  I'm
> unaware of any measurements of the speed of black bears or grizzlies,
> though.  I know their running speeds have been clocked at over 30 mph.  This
> thought occurred to me recently as I stopped in the middle of a paddle to
> watch a black bear foraging on the shore.

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