No, really:

TOKYO (AP) – Green-colored polar bears are drawing questions from puzzled visitors at a Japanese zoo. Three normally white polar bears at Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in central Japan changed their color in July after swimming in a pond with an overgrowth of algae. The sight of green polar bears has prompted many questions from visitors concerned about whether the animals are sick or carrying mold, zoo official Masami Kurobe said Sunday. “Visitors seem to be shocked by the color, and we are asked every day why they are so green,” he said. High temperatures in July and August and less-frequent water changes because of the zoo’s conservation efforts caused an algae growth in the bear pond and safety moat, Kurobe said. Sounds to me like a stunt to increase zoo attendance. Can’t they find a different way to conserve water that doesn’t mean the bears have to swim in filth?