Polar Bear 101: Everything You Need to Know!

Polar bears are truly remarkable animals, with many unusual adaptations that help them thrive in the Arctic. They rely on Arctic sea ice for their survival, a habitat that is literally melting away as the planet warms. They use the ice as a platform to hunt seals, to breed, to roam, and sometimes to den. Polar bears range across the circumpolar Arctic in five polar bear nations, Canada, the U.S., Alaska, Russia, Norway, Stalbard, and Denmark, Greenland. Canada is home to the most polar bears, approximately two-third of the global number. But it's not just their habitat that makes them so unique. They are humongous. Adult males normally weigh 775 to more than 1,300 pounds. Adult females are smaller, normally weighing 330 to 650 pounds. This makes them the largest four-legged predator on Earth. Polar bears are also champion travelers. They can travel more than 3,000 kilometers per month and can have home ranges that exceed 6,000,000 square kilometers, an area larger than California or the entire Yukon in one year. You can follow the movements of 11 satellite-collared polar bears on the bear tracker map, link shared in description. Their cubs are born in dens hidden under the snow, and they grow more than 20 times their body weight in just a few months. When a family finally heads toward the sea ice in the early spring, Cubs can already be 15 to 30 pounds at just two to three months old. This rapid growth is thanks to polar bear milk, which is the fattiest found on land, at about 31% fat when the cubs are born. Polar bears are also built for the Arctic with their huge paws, measuring up to 30 centimeters across, and tufts of fur between their toes and foot pads to help with warmth. The black foot pads on the bottom of each paw are covered by small, soft bumps known as papillae, which grip the ice and keep the bear from slipping. These paws also help with swimming, with the forepaws acting like large paddles and the hindpaws serving as rudders. Another interesting fact is that polar bears sometimes hoard food. A recent scientific paper detailed caching behavior in some polar bears, including kills hidden under the snow and guarded. The behavior is rare, though, unlike grizzlies, which commonly cache fruit, the study documented fruit-storing behavior in just 19 individual polar bears out of thousands observed over a 45-year period. Polar bears are also known for their love of blubber, and they can eat over 100 pounds of it in one sitting. They are the most carnivorous of all bear species, and scientists sometimes call them lipivores because their main source of calories comes from marine fat, or blubber. This fat from seals keeps them going for much of the year and through times of extended fasting. Lastly, polar bears are at the top of the Arctic food chain but rely on the entire food web to stay alive. 86% of the carbon that makes up the polar bear's body is derived from the marine algae that grows within sea ice. That was all. We hope you liked the video. If yes, give us a thumbs up and share your thoughts in the comment section. Subscribe to our channel and turn on notifications so that you do not miss our upcoming videos.