Interesting facts on polar bears

Polar bears live mostly within the artic circle. It is the largest carnivore found on land, and equal largest bear with the kodiak bear (which is an omnivore). It is also the carnivore which has retained its survival throughout more of its original habitat than any other.

Male polar bears are about twice the size of females. The brown bear is a close relative, but the polar bear has evolved, about two hundred thousand years ago, to fit a much more precise habitat. Brown bears and polar bears can produce offspring together, but neither can live long in the others habitat.

The decrease in sea ice due to global warming is causing big problems for polar bears. They are considered “vulnerable” now and might become extinct within a century. Polar bears are still hunted by local peoples. There are probably not more than twenty five thousand polar bears alive today.

Many people think that polar bears are left-handed, but there is no scientific evidence of this. A polar bear will overheat in temperatures above 10 degrees C (50 F) due to their layer of blubber about ten centimeters thick.

The outer hairs of a polar bear appear white but are actually transparent.

A polar bear can smell a seal a mile away, but its hearing is only as good as humans. Polar bears can swim very well, and have been seen two hundred miles from land. They swim almost twice as fast as they walk.

Polar bears eat mainly seals, which they hunt from sea ice, where they live most of their lives. Polar bears hunt seals either by waiting for them to come up to breathing holes, or by stalking them when they are resting on land. Mature bears will mostly eat only the skin and blubber of the seal which is rich in calories, but young bears eat mainly the meat which is rich in protein. They wash themselves after eating, in either water or snow.

Polar bears occasionally eat walrus (which can be up to twice its weight) or beluga whales. A polar bear can survive without eating for several months.

An arctic mothers love . . . the young cub secure and comfortable in the embrace of its powerful mother, the top of the food-chain in their frozen wilderness.

See our blog post Polar Bear Pictures