Polar Bears

Polar bears live near the North Pole.
They are the biggest bears.
Their fur is white because they live in ice and snow.
Their paws are furry underneath so they can walk on ice.
They swim very well in deep sea.
They catch seals to eat.

What is a Polar bear?
Polar bears are large mammals. Together with their close relatives, the brown bear, they are the largest of all bears, and the largest land predator. Males weigh about 500-600 kilos and are about 3 metres from nose to tail, and about 1 metre tall when standing on all four feet. Females are about 300 kilos and a bit smaller in size.

Though it spends time on land and ice, the polar bear is often thought of as a marine mammal because it spends so much time in the sea and swims so well.

Habitat and Distribution (where they are found)
Polar bears are are found in the top part of the northern hemisphere, in and around the Arctic Ocean which includes parts of Russia, Norway, Greenland, Canada and the U.S.A. The size of its range varies with the pack ice of the Arctic.

Appearance and Behaviours
Polar bears have a thick body with a very short tail. The legs and neck muscles are strong. Their necks are quite long, so they can keep their heads above water while swimming. The soles of their very large feet (about 30 cm across) are covered with stiff, thick fur to give them grip when they walk on ice.

Polar bears are well camouflaged for their snowy habitat. Their fur looks white or creamy, but actually each individual hair is transparent and hollow. This means that the hairs act like greenhouses: they turn the sunlight into heat, which is absorbed by the bear's skin, which is black. Black is a good colour for absorbing and keeping warmth.

Polar bears are excellent swimmers, able to swim more than 95 km without a rest. They can swim underwater for up to 2 minutes, and can dive down about 5 metres. They have webbing between their toes to help them paddle. They flatten their short, furry ears and close their nostrils when swimming.

Diet
Polar bears eat meat. They catch seals and sometimes walrus pups, as well as birds, beluga whales, musk oxen and reindeer. When food is scarce, they eat any dead animals they find along the shore, as well as birds eggs, small animals, shellfish and any other edible things they can find. They will sometimes eat berries or seaweed when other food is scarce.

Life Cycle
Polar bears mate between March and July. In November females get ready to give birth, and go into dens to hibernate, which is a kind of sleep during which their heart rate and temperature drop. They make oval dens 3 metres long, with a tunnel to the surface. Polar bears eat plenty of food in autumn so their bodies have extra fat to keep them alive while they hibernate through winter.

Cubs are born in the dens in December or January while their mother is hibernating. The number of cubs born is 1-4, usually 2. The tiny cubs are blind, hairless and toothless. They drink milk from their sleeping mother, and develop fast because polar bear milk is very high in fat.

By the time their mother leaves the den in March or April, the cubs are big enough to follow her. By this time they weigh about 10-15 kilos. They stay with their mother for about two to three years, learning survival skills.

Find out more about Polar bears here:
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/about-the-polar-bear/
http://www.seaworld.org/infobooks/PolarBears/home.html
http://www.polarbearsalive.org/facts.htm

Acknowledge this source in your bibliography like this:
Polar Bears (2001). [Online], Available: www.kidcyber.com.au

Back to Bears
Back to Animals Index

Updated July 2007