Polar Bears

Diet and Food Sources

Polar bears eat mostly seals and walrus pups. They will also eat bird eggs, rodents, berries and anything else that is edible.

Habits

Polar bears live where they can gather food, mate, and care for its young.

Polar bears do not defend their homes from other bears.

Bear cubs will stay with the mother for the first 2 and 1/2 years.

Pregnant polar bear females are the only polar bears who will hibernate. Other bears will build a shelter to stay warm during a winter storm, or cool during summer heat.

Location (where in the world they are found)

The polar bear is found in all polar regions of the northern hemisphere. This includes Russia, Norway, Greenland, the United States and Canada.

Home (habitat where you find the bear)

Polar Bears live where the sea meet the shoreline. This is the habitat of their favorite prey, the seal.

Physical Description (what they look like)

The polar bear is a large mammal. They have a heavy body with strong legs and necks. They have short, fur covered ears, and a very short tail. Their toes are webbed, like ducks. They use their front feet as paddles to swim through the water.

Polar bears are covered with a heavy fur. The colour varies from white to yellow. The white fur is important camouflage for the bears as they hunt prey on the ice pack.

Adult polar bears stand 3 1/2 feet tall when on all fours. They are 8 1/4 to 11 1/2 feet long. They weigh up to 1300 pounds.

Population (the number of bears that are alive)

There are 20,000 to 40,000 polar bears. The number of bears has been dropping for many years due to hunting.

Fun Facts

• The necks of polar bears are long so they can keep their heads above water when swimming.
• Polar bears are believed to have come from brown bears a long time ago.
• The record weight for an adult male polar bear is 2200 pounds!
• Polar bears have dense fur on their legs for traction when moving on ice.
• Polar bears have hollow hairs to make the polar bear float when swimming.
• Polar bears skin is black.