saintsbaseball19: I was wondering what physical adaptations enable the polar bear to hunt prey as large as walruses and beluga whales.
Peter Gros: To begin with, it's sheer size, weighing almost half a ton. They have a long gap between their functional canines and their molariform teeth. That gap allows the powerful canines to penetrate deeply into the bodies of seals and other large prey without interference from adjacent cheek teeth. These teeth are well-suited to the task of grabbing and holding prey and shearing meat from the hide. Also, the claws of the polar bear are short and more strongly curved, which is good for clamoring over blocks of ice and snow, and securely gripping huge prey animals.

jessh44: I am curious as to the motivations and outcome of the research of the polar bears on the island. Aside from stating the mildly obvious fact that the bears are starving and cannibalizing one another, what exactly was done with the research in regards to the welfare of the bears? What overall effect do you believe broadcasting the slow, suffering of a young bear cub had in showcasing your research? Parallels to the overall suffering of the entirety of the bears on the island could be made, however, wasn't that shown enough through other footage of the bodies of bears on the island and in better taste?
Peter Gros: I believe the research is still ongoing, and is shared throughout the scientific community to help further understand this magnificent species.

I agree that the realities for wildlife survival in the natural world are very hard to view. The goal is to tell as truthful and as accurate of a story as possible, and hopefully affect public opinion about the plight of some of the world's species.

Peter Gros: Thanks so much for all your terrific questions. Sorry, but we've run out of time. I look forward to hearing from you again!