The Polar Bear Conversation

When you work with children, sometimes you have no idea where the conversation is going to end up. I was at a program with mostly 2nd-4th grade girls. We were making a color, cut, paste kangaroo.

Girl 1: Are kangaroos endangered?
Me: I don't know. {Footnote: certain species of kangaroo are}
Girl 1: Polar Bears are endangered.
Girl 2: No they aren't
Girl 1: Yes they are. The ice the live on is melting, so they have no where to live.
Girl 3: That's called global warming.
Girl 4: Well maybe only the boy polar bears are dying.
(Everyone looks puzzles except Girl 4)
Girl 4: Because if there are still girl polar bears, they can have babies and make more polar bears.
Girl 3: But they still need the boy polar bears to have babies, it's just like people.
Me: Ok, and this is where this conversation is going to end.

And to think all that started with an innocent question about kangaroos.