The first astronauts to enter a polar orbit chose the obvious animal to serve as their zero-g indicator: a plush polar bear. The doll also has an emperor penguin embroidered on its chest.

The polar bear is, in fact, a costume, conceived and constructed by New York City–based artist Diego Leclery in 2011, when he was an administrator and faculty member at the School of the Art ...

A British sculptor carving a polar bear out of ice, with a bronze skeleton inside, hopes to make a powerful environmental message when the Arctic animal art piece melts.