Was watching the movie 'The Informant' last night and throughout the movie Matt Damon has an inner monologue and one of those was the following...is this true or very creative writing.

When polar bears hunt, they crouch down by a hole in the ice and wait for a seal.

They keep one paw over their nose so that they blend in... ...because they've got black noses.

They'd blend in perfectly if not for the nose.

So the question is, how do they know their noses are black?

From looking at other polar bears?

Do they see their reflections in the water, and think, 'I'd be invisible if not for that.'

That seems like a lot of thinking for a bear.

The penguins and seals might not like the idea, but there seem to be plenty of them.

This actually comprises several questions: 1/ Does the survival of polar bears depend on the Arctic Ocean being frozen over every winter?; if "yes": 2/ For how long has the Arctic Ocean been regularly frozen over every year? and 3/ Were there any polar bears before this time and, if so, where and how did they live?

At the risk of flogging a dead, er, penguin. Why don't polar bears' feet freeze?

Paul Newcombe, Zurich, Switzerland

(Image: US federal government / Wikimedia Commons)