History Main / PolarBearsAndPenguins

On ''WesternAnimation/DangerMouse'', master of disguise Agent 57 has been a polar bear (episode "Ice Station Camel") and a penguin ("The Spy Who Stayed In With a Cold").

In {{Christmas Special}}s, children's cartoons, and comics, there will literally be a South or North Pole that [[{{Pun}} looks just like the striped poles outside barbers' shops]].[[note]]Actually, a short walk from the real South Pole is a "ceremonial" South Pole that really does look like a barber's pole; nothing similar has been placed at the North Pole because it's in the middle of the ocean.[[/note]] ChristmasElves, reindeer and SantaClaus will no doubt be somewhere nearby, at least in the case of the ''North'' Pole. For the record, the North Pole is a frozen sea and the South Pole is an actual frozen continent, but that doesn't come up much either. If it did, we might [[FridgeLogic start wondering]][[note]][[AccidentalPun Heh, fridge...]][[/note]] why Santa built his house not on a rock, but on a floating mass of ice.[[note]]The north magnetic pole, however, is mostly located in northern Canada (it's been drifting back to the geographical north over time), which can be used as a handwave. After all, when you send mail to Santa Claus, you send it to Canada, postal code [=H0H 0H0=] -- although some say he lives in the Lapland region of Finland, which is, if not in the Polar Artic Circle, is pretty damn close.[[/note]]

* Subverted in the German kid’s film ''WesternAnimation/TheLittlePolarBear''. There is a penguin in the North Pole, but none of the animals recognize him or know what species he is, with the implication being that he’s from the South Pole and ended up north somehow.

[[folder:Web Original]]

* ''Literature/LoomingGaia'': There are penguins on both the north and south poles of Looming Gaia, and polar bears in the north. Justified, as Gaia created members of many species all over the planet.

The primary difference between the Arctic and the Antarctic is that one has polar bears and one has penguins -- if you're lucky enough not to see them in the same place or [[MisplacedWildlife one of them in the wrong place]]. Oh, and they're on opposite ends of the Earth, but who can remember which one is where? Certainly not Hollywood, which treats them as interchangeable lumps of ice to send doomed expeditions up. The (Ant)Arctic circle is full of snow, chasms, avalanches and those great big ice bridges that collapse just as the last person makes their way across. [[NoPartyLikeADonnerParty Cannibalism]] may be unavoidable. If one is lucky (or unlucky) you might find that [[LostWorld weird hidden tropical valley filled with... interesting denizens.]]

In {{Christmas Special}}s, children's cartoons and comics, there will literally be a South or North Pole that [[{{Pun}} looks just like the striped poles outside barbers' shops]].[[note]]Actually, a short walk from the real South Pole is a "ceremonial" South Pole that really does look like a barber's pole; nothing similar has been placed at the North Pole because it's in the middle of the ocean.[[/note]] ChristmasElves, reindeer and SantaClaus will no doubt be somewhere nearby, at least in the case of the ''North'' Pole. For the record, the North Pole is a frozen sea and the South Pole is an actual frozen continent, but that doesn't come up much either. If it did, we might [[FridgeLogic start wondering]][[note]][[AccidentalPun Heh, fridge...]][[/note]] why Santa built his house not on a rock, but on a floating mass of ice.[[note]]The north magnetic pole, however, is mostly located in northern Canada (it's been drifting back to the geographical north over time), which can be used as a handwave. After all, when you send mail to Santa Claus, you send it to Canada, postal code [=H0H 0H0=] -- although some say he lives in the Lapland region of Finland, which is, if not in the Polar Artic Circle, is pretty damn close.[[/note]]

Administrivia/NoRealLifeExamplesPlease [[note]]While the extinct Great Auk, another flightless black-and-white seabird, ''did'' live in the arctic, it was not related to penguins, and therefore does not count as a real-life example of this trope. Penguins were however ''named after'' the Great Auk (which was nicknamed "Penguin" for uncertain reasons and had the scientific name ''Pinguinus impennis'') due to their superficial resemblance.[[/note]]

** Early in the developement, he developers planned to have the moderators use polar bear avatars, but this idea was scrapped so they won't attract too much attention.

* The main villain of ''VideoGame/ClubPenguin'' is a polar bear named Herbert who left the North Pole because he was sick of the cold and accidentally ended up all the way in the south.

[[/folder]]

[[folder:Asian Animation]]
* In ''Animation/PleasantGoatAndBigBigWolf: Joys of Seasons'' episode 47, which takes place on a snowy day, Wolffy steals the skins of polar bears and penguins he sees wandering about to use for himself. Besides the fact that polar bears and penguins don't live in the same place, the series takes place in China, where neither animal can be found.

* ''Manga/PenguinMusume Heart'''s lead is Sakura "Penguin" Nankyoku. Her rival is "Polar Bear" Marie. Convenient. Note: "Nankyoku" = "[[MeaningfulName South Pole]]".
* In one episode of the ''Anime/LupinIIIPartII'' series, Lupin tries to bring polar bears to the South Pole and the penguins to the North. Just to find some hidden treasure.

* ''WebOriginal/LoomingGaia'': There are penguins on both the north and south poles of Looming Gaia, and polar bears in the north. Justified, as Gaia created members of many species all over the planet.

A subtrope pf EskimoLand, since penguins in fiction also tend to live on the same continent as Inuits. See also BearsAreBadNews. On the other hand, the bears may also be BearyFunny, in which case both bears and penguins make for a real ''[[{{Pun}} cool]]'' RuleOfFunny. When penguins are used to represent cold environments ''without'' polar bears, you have PolarPenguins. Compare AllDesertsHaveCacti, the warmer counterpart of this trope.

See also BearsAreBadNews. On the other hand, the bears may also be BearyFunny, in which case both bears and penguins make for a real ''[[{{Pun}} cool]]'' RuleOfFunny. When penguins are used to represent cold environments ''without'' polar bears, you have PolarPenguins. Compare AllDesertsHaveCacti, the warmer counterpart of this trope.

In {{Christmas Special}}s, children's cartoons and comics, there will literally be a South or North Pole that [[IncrediblyLamePun looks just like the striped poles outside barbers' shops]].[[note]]Actually, a short walk from the real South Pole is a "ceremonial" South Pole that really does look like a barber's pole; nothing similar has been placed at the North Pole because it's in the middle of the ocean.[[/note]] ChristmasElves, reindeer and SantaClaus will no doubt be somewhere nearby, at least in the case of the ''North'' Pole. For the record, the North Pole is a frozen sea and the South Pole is an actual frozen continent, but that doesn't come up much either. If it did, we might [[FridgeLogic start wondering]][[note]][[AccidentalPun Heh, fridge...]][[/note]] why Santa built his house not on a rock, but on a floating mass of ice.[[note]]The north magnetic pole, however, is mostly located in northern Canada (it's been drifting back to the geographical north over time), which can be used as a handwave. After all, when you send mail to Santa Claus, you send it to Canada, postal code [=H0H 0H0=] -- although some say he lives in the Lapland region of Finland, which is, if not in the Polar Artic Circle, is pretty damn close.[[/note]]

* Averted in ''Webcomic/TheKamics''... well, [[http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_KAMics/4771260/ except for that time]] [[http://www.theduckwebcomics.com/The_KAMics/4771259/ when Drunk Aliens returned a penguin to the wrong hemisphere.]]

Incidentally, the word "Arctic" actually comes from the Greek word for bear, ''Arktos''. This is in origin nothing to do with polar bears, but refers to the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the great and the small bear, respectively), which are always in the north as seen from Greece. However, it makes for a convenient mnemonic -- the Arctic is the land of the bears, the Antarctic is the land opposite the bears. Of course, it's probably just easier to remember NORTH IS BEARS, SOUTH IS PENGUINS. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Had early Germanic peoples not]] [[TheScottishTrope been afraid to name bears]], we might have had a mnemonic like "Polar orths[[labelnote:*]]AlternateUniverse Modern English *orth from AU Old English *orþ from AU Proto-Germanic *urþaz[[/labelnote]] live up north."

* In ''Series/MakoMermaidsAnH2OAdventure'', Mimmi knows how to speak to most sufficiently-intelligent sea creatures. When feeding some penguins, she laments that she doesn't know "Southern Penguin", only "Northern". This comes off sounding like this trope, but then again, the show does take place in Australia, and a few penguins species really do live to the north of that.

May be explained by the fact that EverythingsBetterWithPenguins. Then again, BearsAreBadNews, so the penguins might just balance things out. On the other hand, the bears may also be BearyFunny, in which case both bears and penguins make for a real ''[[{{Pun}} cool]]'' RuleOfFunny. When penguins are used to represent cold environments ''without'' polar bears, you have PolarPenguins. Compare AllDesertsHaveCacti, the warmer counterpart of this trope.

[[folder:Web Comics]]
* Tyler Martin's ''Webcomic/{{Wally|AndOsborne}} [[http://wallyandosborne.com/ and Osborne]]'' (originally titled ''On the Rocks'') deliberately plays with this trope by placing Wally the polar bear in Antarctica, where he forms a Laurel and Hardy style partnership with Osborne the penguin. How Wally got to Antarctica or why is never explained, although Osborne once suggested that Wally might be bipolar.

[[/folder]]

In {{Christmas Special}}s, children's cartoons and comics, there will literally be a South or North Pole that [[IncrediblyLamePun looks just like the striped poles outside barbers' shops]][[note]]Actually, a short walk from the real South Pole is a "ceremonial" South Pole that really does look like a barber's pole; nothing similar has been placed at the North Pole because it's in the middle of the ocean[[/note]]. ChristmasElves, reindeer and SantaClaus will no doubt be somewhere nearby, at least in the case of the ''North'' Pole. For the record, the North Pole is a frozen sea and the South Pole is an actual frozen continent, but that doesn't come up much either. If it did, we might [[FridgeLogic start wondering]][[note]][[AccidentalPun Heh, fridge...]][[/note]] why Santa built his house not on a rock, but on a floating mass of ice.[[note]]The north magnetic pole, however, is mostly located in northern Canada (it's been drifting back to the geographical north over time), which can be used as a handwave. After all, when you send mail to Santa Claus, you send it to Canada, postal code [=H0H 0H0=] -- although some say he lives in the Lapland region of Finland, which is, if not in the Polar Artic Circle, is pretty damn close.[[/note]]

* Some emperor penguins turn up on an ice floe in the ''Arctic'' Ocean in the second ''VideoGame/{{Syberia}}'' game. [[spoiler: Granted, this happens in a game where [[NotSoExtinct woolly mammoths]] turn out to be alive, so a mere case of MisplacedWildlife seems minor by comparison.]]

* WesternAnimation/LooneyTunes:

* [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Originally]], ''WesternAnimation/TheRescuers'' was actually going to be about Bernard and Miss Bianca trying to save a polar bear from an evil penguin.
* Wonderfully averted in ''WesternAnimation/HappyFeet''. Despite being a movie about adorable dancing emperor penguins, not a single polar bear can be seen. In the sequel, Sven's flashbacks include polar bears, in order to display just how far he's come. He describes them as "titans", since the penguins he is telling his story to wouldn't know them by name.

* Creator/TerryPratchett makes a joke of this (like everything else) in Literature/{{Discworld}}, describing in ''Literature/ThiefOfTime'' a south-drifting iceberg populated by polar bears and seals, seeking a better life in the southern hemisphere where the ice floes are lined with crunchy penguins.[[note]] Even better because in the UK, "Penguins" are a brand of crunchy biscuit.[[/note]] Too bad that darned ''Titanic'' was in the way....

May be explained by the fact that EverythingsBetterWithPenguins. Then again, BearsAreBadNews, so the penguins might just balance things out. On the other hand, the bears may also be BearyFunny, in which case both bears and penguins make for a real ''[[{{Pun}} cool]]'' RuleOfFunny. Compare AllDesertsHaveCacti, the warmer counterpart of this trope.

In {{Christmas Special}}s, children's cartoons and comics, there will literally be a South or North Pole that [[IncrediblyLamePun looks just like the striped poles outside barbers' shops]][[note]]Actually, a short walk from the real South Pole is a "ceremonial" South Pole that really does look like a barber's pole; nothing similar has been placed at the North Pole because it's in the middle of the ocean[[/note]]. ChristmasElves, reindeer and SantaClaus will no doubt be somewhere nearby, at least in the case of the ''North'' Pole. In these cases, the cannibalism rule can be waived, although, in a comedy, the word "venison" is a guarantee.

For the record, the North Pole is a frozen sea and the South Pole is an actual frozen continent, but that doesn't come up much either. If it did, we might [[FridgeLogic start wondering]][[note]][[AccidentalPun Heh, fridge...]][[/note]] why Santa built his house not on a rock, but on a floating mass of ice.[[note]]The north magnetic pole, however, is mostly located in northern Canada (it's been drifting back to the geographical north over time), which can be used as a handwave. After all, when you send mail to Santa Claus, you send it to Canada, postal code [=H0H 0H0=] -- although some say he lives in the Lapland region of Finland, which is, if not in the Polar Artic Circle, is pretty damn close.[[/note]]

Incidentally, the word "Arctic" actually comes from the Greek word for bear, ''Arktos''. This is in origin nothing to do with polar bears, but refers to the constellations Ursa Major and Ursa Minor (the great and the small bear, respectively), which are always in the north as seen from Greece. However, it makes for a convenient mnemonic -- the Arctic is the land of the bears, the Antarctic is the land opposite the bears.

Of course, it's probably just easier to remember NORTH IS BEARS, SOUTH IS PENGUINS. [[WhatCouldHaveBeen Had early Germanic peoples not]] [[TheScottishTrope been afraid to name bears]], we might have had a mnemonic like "Polar orths[[labelnote:*]]AlternateUniverse Modern English *orth from AU Old English *orþ from AU Proto-Germanic *urþaz[[/labelnote]] live up north."

* The fact that penguins and polar bears aren't found in the same place provides the vital clue in one Literature/EncyclopediaBrown mystery. The deceased was a famous ''Arctic'' explorer who was missing a great deal of money. There were also eight stuffed penguins arranged in one of the exhibits in his home museum.