Grinning and bearing it at the Zoo am Meer

Two polar bears pad among the 'rocks'. Behind, them, through a gap in the 'cliffs' is a typical red and white north German lighthouse, and a container ship passing by. No need to call the police though, these animals haven't lost their 'bearings', they are in the excellent Zoo am Meer in Bremerhaven.

Meet Lloyd and his friend. There's also a third bear - Viktoria. However as she is possibly pregnant (apparently it's difficult even for experts to tell) and is being cosseted away from the invasive interest of the public. Polar bears (Eisbären in German) are just a precious commodity in captivity as they are in the wild.

As if three polar bears aren't sufficient attraction, watching them swim is a particular highlight for visitors. However, despite the sunshine, during my visit the bears couldn't be enticed into the pool by their keeper. Fortunately, there's a link to a video on this page of the Zoo's site.

Despite its name, 'Zoo at the Sea', there is non-marine life there, too. At first I thought there was a polar theme... polar bears, arctic foxes (are they cute, or wot?!), artic hares. Then I thought perhaps the inhabitants were decided on the basis of being white... the snowy owl, the gannets.

But where do the chimpanzees fit in? And the racoons? And the guinea pigs in the petting area?

Visitors receive Das Zoobuch (the Zoo Book). It covers the history of the attraction and has fantastic photographs of its inhabitants and a great deal of detail about them. I dilligently made notes about the animals (did you know Humboldt penguins can live to be 25 years old? Or that seals can reach their 30th birthday?) as I walked round, then discovered that all the information and more is in the book. It is in German but the photos are great. There is, however, an English language version of the brochure ('Encounters of a Special Kind') which includes a site map and feeding times.

But back to the polar bears... Visitors can stand next to an outline of a bear on its hindlegs and compare their respective heights. (Polar bears may be 3m tall, so I would only come up to their paws.) You can see the animals from above and, assuming the bears are in their pool, nose to nose through the glass. The info board tells you a polar bear can live to be 41.

But... the Zoo says there are only around 25,000 bears left in the wild of which 60 per cent live in Canada. Further, computer simulations predict that by 2080 the ice caps will have melted. If there is no ice, there won't be any 'ice bears'.

Polar bears are all too good an example of the effects of climate change. I am sure most of us can empathise with the effect on an animal more than we can imagine the impact of rising sea levels. The bears spend April to the middle of June hunting on the pack ice. During the winter months they seek refuge from the low temperatures on land, in holes they dig themselves. For females, a long and sucessful hunting season is particularly important because in November or December they give birth.

Melting ice caps means stress and a change to the life cycle of the bears. Climate change is causing winter to arriver later and delaying formation of pack ice. While the bears remain on land, they cannot hunt. Each week on land means 10kg less fat reserve build-up. For a female this can be critical because, during the eight months that she is not able to hunt, she may lose up to 200kg. As temperatures rise, the bears' holes melt, leaving the offspring exposed to the weather before they are ready for it.

Visitors to the Zoo are made aware of climate change in other ways, too. There is a showcase of items you might find around the home... a shaving brush, for example. Lift the flap underneath it and you learn that these may be made of badger hair. Even the enduring German favourite sweets - 'Gummi Bärchen' (jelly bears, the teutonic version of the English jelly babies) are there as the production process requires gelatine which is an animal product.

There are also large information boards with URLs for organisations raising awareness of the effect of humans on our environment and who want to engage concerned citizens to take action.

These include the Deadline campaign which is concerned about the state of the seas, the site of WAZA ('World Association of Zoos and Aquariums') and yaqu pacha whose front page says it is 'an organization for the conservation of South American aquatic mammals'.

The zoo is open 365 days a year. It's got a cafe on the sunny, sea-facing side, which overlooks the brilliant play area for kids (and nowhere does it say adults are forbidden from sliding down the flume to get to it), and several terraces giving great views. Recommended - but do wear shoes you can climb (lots of) steps in.