Polar bear

By Brooke

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pictures

The End

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