Japan zoo’s polar bears go green . . . with algae

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When officials at the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan decided to go green and conserve water by changing the polar bears’ pond water less often, they probably didn’t have this in mind. The bears turned green in July after the pool developed an overgrowth of algae, which is very difficult to rinse out of the bears’ fur. They are expected to return to their ordinary yellow-tinged white after the algae growth subsides in November.