Polar Bear
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The huge polar bear is one of the largest land carnivores in the world. Its coat, which varies in color from pure white to shades of yellow, blends in well with sit snow covered environment. Polar bears are well suited for life on the icy tundra. they are immensely strong and active, the soles of their feet are covered with fur, which gives them stability on slippery, frozen ground.
Habits: Polar bears are found throughout the polar region, but they spend the southern edge of the ice cap on coastal land near open water. They are solitary animals and are active at all times of the year. Polar bears are sos excellent swimmers. They cruise through the water at speeds of up to six miles per hour, using their front legs to propel them, with the hind legs trailing behind. WIth their eyes open and nostrils closed, they can dive under water as well, remaining submerged for two minutes. When they emerge, they immediately shake the water from their coats before it freezes.
Breeding: Springtime is the mating season for polar bears, with most activity taking lace in April. males seek available females; most females breed every third year after separating from their young. In October and November the bears dig dens in the snow or tundra. The dens are usually located on south facing slopes of hills where northerly winds pile up large amounts of snow. The dens are used for giving birth. Young are born i November or December and weigh only 16 to 32 ounces. They are hairless, blind, and deaf. They first emerge from the den in March or April. They will remain with their mother into the third spring of their lives.
Food & Hunting: Polar bears feed mainly on seals. they wait for them to come to the surface to breathe, or stalk them while they rest on the ice. The seal is killed by a crushing blow to its thin skull. Polar bears eat everything, they can not afford to leave anything edible behind. In the late summer and early autumn, polar bears will patrol the coastal areas looking for whale and walrus carcasses. Sometimes ten to twenty bears maybe found feeding together. as this time of year, their diet is more varied, including such land mammals as lemmings, arctic foxes, and eider ducks. Like most bears, polar bears also eat vegetation.
Key Facts: Sizes, Weight, breeding, lifestyle, related Species
Height: to shoulder 5 ft
Standing Height: 8 to 11 ft
Foot Size: 12 in long, 10 inches wide
Weight: Males 880 to 990 lbs, Females
660 to 770 lbs
Breeding:
Sexual maturity: 3 to 5 years
Mating Season: Usually may to March -
June
Gestation: 7 to 8 months
No of young Usually: 2
Lifestyle: Habit: Solitary, but sometimes
come together to feed
Diet: Mainly seal fat and skin; carrion,
vegetation in summer.
Distribution: Southern edge of the arctic
ice cap.
Conservation: Conservation protects and
regulated hunting exists in all countries where polar bears are found.
After declining to about 5,000, the present population is put at 40,000.
Future depends on the protection of the arctic environments.
Did you know:
Polar bears have a very acute sense of smell;
they can smell carrion, such as a dead whale, from 20 miles away. and can
sniff out seal dens that are covered with snow.
The black nose of a polar bear on the snow can
be seen from six miles away on a clear day through binoculars. It
has been said that, when stalking seals, the polar bear will cover its
nose with a paw to escape detection.
The temperature inside a polar bears den can
be 40 degrees warmer than the outside air temperature.
How the polar bears moves over ice:
On smooth, slippery slopes, a polar bear may
slide on its belly, legs out stretched, and descend in a cloud of powdery
snow.
When walking over the ice, polar bears appear
bow legged and pigeon toed, both adaptations which enable these massive
animal's to maintain their balance without slipping.
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