Polar bears going green in Japanese Zoo

Green fur a fluke

Polar bears are drawing questions from puzzled visitors at a Japanese zoo. Three normally white polar bears at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan turned green in July after swimming in a pond with an overgrowth of algae. Visitors have asked whether the animals are sick or carrying mold, zoo official Masami Kurobe said Sunday. Algae that enters hollow spaces in the bears' fur is hard to rinse off, he explained. The bears are expected to return to their natural color when the algae growth subsides in November.