Polar bear

It’s our planet too
Roaming the Arctic is what we do…

 
 

 

Learn all about the amazing polar bear with our super stats, impress your friends with some fascinating polar bear facts, read all about the freezing conditions where these animals live, how they spend their day and what they eat. Understand what makes polar bears so important and how climate change is threatening their future.

 
 

Awesome POLAR BEAR stats

Name

Polar bear

Latin name

Ursus maritimus

Type

Mammal

Group

Pack or sleuth

Population

Between 22,000 and 31,000

Status

Vulnerable

Weight

Up to 590kg

Length

Up to 2.7 metres

Diet

Carnivore

Lifespan

Up to 30 years in the wild

Habitat

Arctic sea ice

Geography

Arctic ocean, Canada, US (Alaska), Russia, Greenland and Norway

 
 

Amaze your friends with these awesome facts, remember to scroll ← or → for more

  • Polar bears are excellent swimmers and can swim for days at a time. They have even been spotted in waters over 60 miles off shore

  • Although their fur appears white, it is actually transparent and helps them blend into their surroundings

  • Polar bears have paws the size of plates that distribute their weight evenly so they don’t fall through the sea ice

  • Polar bears have 3 sets of eyelids to help protect their eyes from the glare of snow and ice

  • Polar bears have an excellent sense of smell and can detect a seal on the ice nearly 20 miles away

  • Polar bears have black skin which helps to absorb the suns rays and keep them warm. They also have bluish- black tongues!

  • A polar bear can survive for 10 days without food and live off of its fat or ‘blubber’ reserves

  • The largest polar bear ever recorded weighed a massive 1,000kg or as much as 12 men!

  • The polar bear is the largest carnivore (meat eater) that lives on land and has the strongest bite force of all carnivore land mammals

  • Scientists can extract a polar bears DNA from just their footprints in the snow

 
 

All about polar bears

Where do polar bears live?

Polar bears can be found in five countries across the Arctic; Canada, United States (Alaska), Russia, Greenland and Norway (Svalbard). 

They endure some of the harshest conditions on earth with winter temperatures in the Arctic ranging from minus 34 degrees Celsius to as low as minus 69. The water temperature can reach as low as minus 2 degrees Celsius, the freezing point for sea water.

Because the sea ice is vast and ever-changing, a polar bear’s home range can be enormous, they can roam or swim up 600,000 square km to breed or find food.  

How do polar bears spend their day?

Polar bears are the largest land based carnivores, although they spend most of their time either in the water or on the ice. They are king of their environment and have no natural enemies. 

They are very strong swimmers and can easily swim over five miles per hour. Polar bears have been spotted many miles offshore and they can swim for hours at a time to get from one piece of ice to another. Their large front paws, which are around 30cm across and slightly webbed make great paddles, they use their hind legs as a rudder. 

Polar bears live in one of the coldest and harshest environments on earth and depend on a thick fur coat and a layer of fat or blubber to keep them warm. Fur even grows on the soles of their feet to protect them from the cold and also to help with their grip on the ice. The polar bear’s white appearance helps them to blend in with their environment but the fur is actually transparent with a hollow core that reflects the light. Under their fur, their skin is black, which helps to absorb heat from the sun. 

Wild polar bear cubs are most often born in December in a snow den built by their mother, this protects them from the harsh winter. The mother bear gives birth to between one and three cubs, although twins are most common. At birth, the cubs are around 30cm long and weigh just half a kilogram – the same as a bag of sugar! The family will emerge from the den after four or five months, although the cubs will stay with their mother for around two years whilst they learn how to survive. Female polar bears will protect their young but do not receive any help from their solitary male mates, who may even prove to be a risk to the young. 

Polar bears are powerful predators and do not fear humans, although they will rarely attack unless provoked. However, hungry polar bears can be extremely unpredicatable. 

What do polar bears eat?

Polar bears typically prey on ringed seals and bearded seals as they are reliant on their high fat content. When a polar bear is in good shape, they may only feed on the blubber and skin to build up their own fat reserves, leaving the carcass for scavengers. An adult male polar bear can eat 45kg of blubber in a single sitting. Polar bears rely on sea ice as a hunting platform in their search for food, surveying the shifting, cracking ice and breathing holes where seals may surface to breathe air as they are not quick enough swimmers to catch seals in the open water.

Around half of a polar bear’s life is spent hunting for food although their hunts are rarely successful. If necessary, polar bears will also consume carcasses, such as those of dead whales.

Why are polar bears so important?

Polar bears are the top predators in their food web and are vital for maintaining a healthy balance within their ecosystem. Polar bears feed heavily on seals and without them the seal population could increase and have a detrimental affect on fish stock.

Polar bears also have a strong cultural significance for Arctic people, as well as serving as a reminder to many people across the world about what is happening in the Arctic and the effects of climate change.

 
 

➳Threats to polar bears

The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) officially classify the polar bear as a ‘vulnerable’ species and suggest the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change as the biggest threat to their survival. The most recent study conducted in 2018 suggested there were just 23,000 polar bears left in the world.

 
 

Polar bears were one of the first species to become threatened due to human induced climate change. They rely on sea ice covering large areas when searching for food, however climate change has resulted in sea ice forming later and breaking up earlier in the year, restricting the polar bears’ ability to feed. This has a particular impact on female bears who rely on building up a fat reserve in their bodies before nesting and nursing their cubs. 

Climate change has also had an impact on the number of human and polar bear interactions as hungry bears will dare to go closer to human camps in search of food in the summer months. 

Climate change remains the single biggest threat to polar bears, but other threats include potential habitat destruction from oil exploration work and the toxic effects of oil spills. Also exposure to toxic chemicals such as pesticides which they can consume through their prey.

Did you enjoy reading about the awesome POLAR BEAR?

Take a look at our prowling polar bears Tool Kit For Eco Heroes, packed with hours of fun.

 

Get in touch

If you have any feedback on the page or even if you have another fascinating fact that we can add then please let us know.