Polar Bear (7/7/2011)

     Today's species is a well-loved animal that survives in the Arctic. It's the Polar Bear. Polar bears have a beautiful white coat, they hybernate, and polar bear mothers would go to the ends of the Earth for their cubs.

     Polar bears are the largest terrestrial carnivore. Their fur is perfectly adapted to their Arctic enviornment. Along with a thick layer of body fat, the water-repellent coat insulates the bear from cold air and water. It also serves as camouflage. They have stocky legs, short ears, and a short tail. A polar bear's claws are short and stocky to grip heavy prey and ice. The claws are deeply scooped on the underside to assist in digging in the ice. The polar bear has an extremely well developed sense of smell, being able to detect seals nearly 1 mile away and buried under 3 ft of snow. Its hearing is about as acute as that of a human, and its vision is also good at long distances. Polar bears are also strong swimmers and have been seen swimming in open Arctic waters as far as 200 miles from land.

 

     Polar bears can be found in the Arctic northern Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia. They are at home when surrounded by sea ice. The ice plays a vital role in the polar bear's life. They live on the annual arctic sea ice that provides a platform from which they can hunt, live, breed, and in some cases create maternal dens. During summer, when the ice melts, polar bears are forced to follow their migrating prey or go farther on land and wait until the ice comes back.


     Pregnant female polar bears dig maternity dens in the fall. After about 5 months, she arises from the den with her cub(s). The most common litter size is twins. Followed by singles. Litters of three are less common and litters of four are rare. In many cases, polar bear families will adopt an lost or orphaned cub. Polar bear mothers milk their cubs for their first 2 1/2 years. Then, they are weaned, or start to eat meat. Polar bear mothers are known to be extremely protective of their young.


     These beautiful creatures are threatened by the melting of sea ice, over-hunting, poaching, and pollution. If you want to donate and save a polar bear or polar bear family, you can visit: http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_SKU.cfm?cqs=CTPB.


Polar Bear Fun Facts

• Scientific Name: Ursus maritimus
• Threat Level: Vulnerable
• Height to Shoulder: 4.25-5.25 ft.
• Length: 7.9–9.8 ft. (males); 5.9–7.9 ft. (females)
• Weight: 770–1500 lbs (males); 330–550 lbs (females)
• Lifespan: 25 years in the wild; up to 42 years in captivity
• Typical Diet: ringed and bearded seals, vegetation during summer months
• When hunting, a polar bear will break a hole in the sea ice and fish out the seals that come up for air
• The largest recorded polar bear weighed 2,210 lbs.
•  The oldest wild polar bear on record died at the age of 32 and the oldest captive was a female who died in 1991 at the age of 43.