Creature feature - Polar bears


Polar bears live by the ocean and on sea ice in the freezing Arctic. When sea ice forms over the ocean in cold weather, many polar bears, except pregnant females, head out onto the ice to hunt seals. They can roam for hundreds of miles out to see searching for food in freezing temperatures with nothing but their thick, fur coats to keep them warm. They’re brrr-ave bears!

When the warm weather causes the sea ice to melt, polar bears move back toward shore, spending the warmer monthshunting on land.


Polar bears primarily eat seals that they catch when they are out of the water. Resting silently at a seal's breathing hole in the ice, they wait for a seal in the water to surface, being very careful not make any sounds or movements which could be spotted from the water underneath the ice. Once the seal comes up, the bear will spring and catch it in it’s powerful jaws.

Sometimes the polar bear stalks its prey. It may see a seal lying near its breathing hole and slowly move toward it, then charge it, biting it, then grabbing it with its massive claws before the seal gets back under water. Gulp! A polar bear may also hunt by swimming beneath the ice, with their big paws, polar bears are excellent swimmers for their large size.


In autumn, pregnant polar bears make dens in earth and snowbanks, where they'll stay through the winter and give birth to one to three cubs. In spring the mother emerges from her den followed by her cubs. Generally, she will nurse them for two and a half years. During that time she will protect them and teach them how to hunt. Aww!


FAST FACTS

  • The paws of a polar bear are covered with pads with rough surfaces that help prevent them from slipping up on the ice.
  • Polar bears swim using their large front paws to propel themselves through the water and their back legs to steer.
  • Polar bears have only one natural predator – humans.
  • The U.S., Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the Soviet Union signed an agreement in 1973 to protect polar bears from hunters.
  • The scientific name for polar bear is Ursus maritimus, which means "sea bear."
  • Adult males generally weigh between 363 and 771 kilograms. Adult females often weigh between 227 and 272 kilograms. Wow!
  • Males can grow to three meters in length. That’s the height of a one-story building!
  • Polar bears are some of the largest predators on land, and they are the largest of all bears. If you see one, run!
  • Polar bears have fur and skin that allow them to absorb sunlight for warmth. Their blubber, or fat, insulates them in cold water.