The polar bear is a large carnivorous mammal. They are near-polar animals found around the Arctic Ocean and are the largest land carnivores.
Interesting facts about polar bears
1. Polar bears are classified as marine mammals
The reason is because they spend most of their lives in the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean and see the ocean as both a source of shelter and food. Polar bears are the only bears to be classified as marine mammals.
2. Polar bears are actually black
Polar bear fur is translucent. We see polar bears as white simply because their fur reflects visible light. Beneath that thick coat was glossy black skin.
3. They can swim continuously for days without rest
Polar bears can swim long distances continuously for hours at a time.
In addition to being able to reach a maximum speed of nearly 10km/h when swimming underwater, polar bears can also swim long distances continuously for many hours to move from one ice sheet to another. Its large paws are especially adapted to swimming, and the polar bear uses its paws to pedal the water while keeping its hind legs straight like a rudder.
4. The chance of success in a polar bear hunt is less than 2%
Although polar bears spend half their lives hunting for food, these trips are rarely successful. Its main prey is ringed seals and bearded seals, although they will also hunt small mammals, birds, eggs, and even vegetables.
5. Scientists Can Extract Polar Bear DNA From Their Footprints
A groundbreaking new technique developed by WWF and DNA specialist company SPYGEN allows scientists to isolate DNA from a polar bear’s snow footprint. Just two shovels of snow from a polar bear’s path is enough to reveal not only its DNA, but even the DNA of the seal it just ate.
6. Polar bears face many threats other than climate change
While climate change is the biggest threat to polar bears’ survival, it’s not the only thing the predator has to fear. The oil and gas industries are turning to the Arctic, and with this extraction comes the potential danger of destroying animal habitats.
Polar bears can be poisoned by chemicals such as pesticides through their prey.
Exposure to oil slicks can reduce the ability of polar bears’ fur to insulate, causing them to use more energy to stay warm, and possibly poisoning them if swallowed. Polar bears can also be poisoned by chemicals such as pesticides through their prey, affecting their biological function as well as their ability to reproduce.
Melting ice due to climate change has increased the frequency of conflicts between humans and polar bears, when the bears are so hungry that they have to search for food even in the summer. Fortunately, humans have learned to adapt to the presence of polar bears and come up with solutions to reduce the risk of conflict.
7. There is a hybrid between a grizzly bear and a polar bear
In 2006, a genetic test confirmed the presence of a grizzly and polar bear hybrid, called a “grolar bear” or “pizzly bear”. The hybrid is physically a hybrid of the two original species, but because hybrids are usually produced by female polar bears, they are raised and behave more like polar bears. The fact that grizzly bears and polar bears can interbreed is not surprising if you consider that polar bears actually evolved from brown bears 150,000 years ago.
8. There are about 19 families of polar bears
With a population of approximately 26,000 wild polar bears, they are divided into 19 groups or families. Of these, only 1 family is growing in population, 5 has stable numbers of individuals, and 4 is on the decline. The remaining 9 families cannot be counted because data on them is lacking – we simply do not have enough information about them to know their current status.
Male polar bears can weigh up to 800kg and are twice as big as females.
9. A male polar bear can weigh as much as 10 men
Male polar bears can weigh up to 800kg and are twice as big as females. This, combined with the fact that they can grow up to 3 meters long, makes polar bears the largest terrestrial carnivore in the world.
10. They can sniff their prey from 10km
Polar bears have extremely strong hearing and they use it to detect seals breathing through holes in the ice. Once the hole is found, the bear will patiently wait until the seal appears and rushes to attack. They can even spot a seagull swimming in water 1 meter deep under dense ice.
