With a post-1900 POD, have there be either so many wild penguins in the Arctic or so many wild polar bears in the Antarctic that polar bears hunting penguins is a common sight in either Pole.
So we need a way for them to survive. Then they'll be the penguins and the OTL penguins will be something else.Would a Great Auk be regarded as a Pengiun? They were the first bird to be called penguins, albeit not really related to the birds we now know as Penguins, and their historic habitat includes some parts of Greenland where AIUI Polar Bears are known to live.
Penguins would be extinct in a decade, between foxes, ermines, and even wolves, let alone polar bears and sea birds attack the eggs, chicks and adults they would never be able to survive without constant assistance from man and even then it would be touch and go
which would drive those seals into extinction, and we are talking about Antarctic penguins which other than seals and marine predators and sea birds have no idea of how to deal with these land predators, either way animals will be going extinctIt depends on the species of penguin you're discussing. Several penguin species (king penguins, for instance) manage to survive just fine in spaces with significant numbers of hostile predators. Of course, some species (African penguins) have been driven to near extinction.
If you introduce polar bears into the Antarctic, however, they might do well. There's leopard and fur seals to eat year round, so between the seals and the Emperor penguins... the polar bears may have to adapt their hunting techniques, as I believe -- though I could be wrong -- that still-hunting (lying in wait for seals to surface around holes in the ice and grabbing them) would be less useful on the Antarctic seals; for that matter, it's nearly useless on penguins, who go farther out to sea most of the time.
which would drive those seals into extinction, and we are talking about Antarctic penguins which other than seals and marine predators and sea birds have no idea of how to deal with these land predators, either way animals will be going extinct
Polar bears aren't much for hunting on land, however. They're largely interface predators (and some internet research tells me that Antarctic seals do indeed cut breathing holes like ringed seals do in the Arctic, so polar bears placed in Antarctica will likely continue that behavior ). It's entirely possible they might adapt to attacking penguins on land, similarly to how they sometimes will stalk beached seals, but that's a secondary benefit. I suppose it may also depend on how emperor/king penguin blubber would compare to seal blubber nutritionally, and that I have no information on whatsoever.
Depending on how many polar bears are introduced, I really don't think we're seeing extinction-level threats. Polar bears simply don't breed fast enough or eat often enough to cause extinction-level events.
I can't see them surviving there. Literally no land animals live in Antarctica.
I think we are going to have a disagree here and as seeing this is a borderline ASB at any rate, this is not going to happen at any level.Polar bears aren't much for hunting on land, however. They're largely interface predators (and some internet research tells me that Antarctic seals do indeed cut breathing holes like ringed seals do in the Arctic, so polar bears placed in Antarctica will likely continue that behavior ). It's entirely possible they might adapt to attacking penguins on land, similarly to how they sometimes will stalk beached seals, but that's a secondary benefit. I suppose it may also depend on how emperor/king penguin blubber would compare to seal blubber nutritionally, and that I have no information on whatsoever.
Depending on how many polar bears are introduced, I really don't think we're seeing extinction-level threats. Polar bears simply don't breed fast enough or eat often enough to cause extinction-level events.
We know the Great Auk filled pretty much the same ecological niche as a the Penguins do in the antarctic - the only problem was the limited number of nesting sites made it very vulnerable to human predation. There is no reason that penguins shouldn't do equally well in the same niche.I'd argue it's more likely that successfully introducing Antarctic penguins of any species into the Arctic regions.
I can't see them surviving there. Literally no land animals live in Antarctica.
Polar Bears can't really be considered a land animal though.I can't see them surviving there. Literally no land animals live in Antarctica.
Polar Bears can't really be considered a land animal though.
Oh, I don't deny they'd do very poorly in Antarctica.True. But they sleep on land. Antarctica is both a great deal more hostile an environment and further away from other land. Swimming to Chile is not anywhere near as easy as swimming to Canada.