2. Habit!
• Habitat: Discreet circumpolar areas of
seasonal ice formation and favorable habitat
for denning; 19 populations ranging across
Wrangel Island and western Alaska, northern
Alaska, the Canadian Arctic and Hudson Bay,
Greenland, Svalbard-Franz Josef Land, and
central Siberia.
3. Polar Facts
• The 42 teeth of a polar bear reflect its highly carnivorous
diet.[] The cheek teeth are smaller and more jagged than in
the brown bear, and the canines are larger and sharper.
• Polar bears roam the Arctic ice sheets and swim in that
region's coastal waters. They are very strong swimmers, and
their large front paws, which they use to paddle, are slightly
webbed. Some polar bears have been seen swimming
hundreds of miles from land—though they probably cover
most of that distance by floating on sheets of ice.
4. Polar bear swimming
Polar bears live in one of the planet's coldest
environments and depend on a thick coat of
insulated fur, which covers a warming layer of fat.
Fur even grows on the bottom of their paws,
which protects against cold surfaces and provides
a good grip on ice. The bear's stark white coat
provides camouflage in surrounding snow and
ice. But under their fur, polar bears have black
skin—the better to soak in the sun's warming
rays.
5. Facts
Type: Mammal Diet: Carnivore Average
lifespan in the wild: 25 to 30 years
Size: Head and body, 7.25 to 8 ft (2.2 to 2.5
m); Tail, 3 to 5 in (7.5 to 12.5 cm) Weight: 900
to 1,600 lbs (410 to 720 kg) Size relative to a 6-
ft (2-m) man:
cubs stay with her mum for more than two
years until they can hunt and survive on their
own.
6. Facts
Females den by digging into deep snow drifts, which
provide protection and insulation from the Arctic elements.
They give birth in winter, usually to twins. Young cubs live
with their mothers for some 28 months to learn the
survival skills of the far north. Females aggressively protect
their young, but receive no help from their solitary male
mates. In fact, male polar bears may even kill young of their
species.
Polar bears are attractive and appealing, but they are
powerful predators that do not typically fear humans,
which can make them dangerous. Near human settlements,
they often acquire a taste for garbage, bringing bears and
humans into perilous proximity.
7. About the Polar bear
Size: largest land carnivore; weighs 900 to 1,600 pounds
(410 to 726 kilograms); average weight 1,000 pounds (454
kilograms); largest on record 2,050 pounds (930 kilograms);
can lose half of its body weight while living off body fat
during summer migration; six to seven feet (two meters) in
length
Lifespan: 25 to 30 years in the wild
Status: populations now stable, though warmer polar
winters and earlier ice melts could threaten this status
Twice as large as lions or tigers, adult male polar bears have
been a highly prized target of hunters for thousands of
years.
In Canada they live up to 33 years or more in Canada.
8. Interesting facts
Behaviour/Rhythm: solitary except when scavenging or at play; inactive
two-thirds of the time, either sleeping, lying, or awaiting a kill; females
hibernate prior to giving birth; others hibernate only during periods of
extreme weather
Breeding: after mating season from March to June, females retire in late
fall to dens dug out of snow, on the pack ice, or on permafrost a few miles
from the coast; delayed implantation can extend gestation up to 300 days;
litters of one to three cubs stay in dens with their mother until March or
April Cubs are born helpless, and typically nurse for two and a half years.
Females begin to breed at the age of four years in most areas, and five
years in the Beaufort Sea area. Males usually reach sexual maturity at six
years, however as competition for females is fierce, many do not breed
until the age of eight or ten. A study in Hudson Bay indicated that both the
reproductive success and the maternal weight of females peaked in their
mid-teens.
9. Facts
Lar bears are superbly insulated by their
10 cm (3.9 in) of blubber, their hide and their
fur; they overheat at temperatures above
10 °C (50 °F), and are nearly invisible under
infrared photography. Polar bear fur consists
of a layer of dense under fur and an outer
layer of guard hairs, which appear white to tan
but are actually transparent.
10. Interesting Facts
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with 5 of the 19 polar
bear subpopulations in decline. For decades, unrestricted hunting raised
international concern for the future of the species; populations have
rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect. For thousands
of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and
cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and the hunting of polar bears
remains important in their cultures.
Polar bears depend on sea ice a platform for hunting seals. Large feet and
short, stocky claws are adaptations to this environment.
The white coat usually yellows with age. When kept in captivity in warm,
humid conditions, the fur may turn a pale shade of green due to algae
growing inside the guard hairs.[ Males have significantly longer hairs on
their forelegs, that increase in length until the bear reaches 14 years of
age. The male's ornamental foreleg hair is thought to attract females,
serving a similar function to the lion's mane.
