What do polar bears do. The king of the Arctic is the polar bear. Where do polar bears live

Undoubtedly, polar bears are one of the most amazing animals that have ever roamed our planet. The mere fact that these magnificent creatures manage to survive in extreme climatic conditions, they are already worthy of admiration. Polar bears are formidable predators, but can be irresistibly cute, show remarkable quick wit and surprise again and again. We suggest reading interesting facts about polar bears for children and adults to see these extraordinary animals in a new light!

natural born sailors

Interesting facts about polar bears tell us that although these animals are born on land, they spend a considerable part of their time traveling at sea. No wonder their scientific name sounds like Ursus maritimus and means "sea bear". These mighty animals are excellent swimmers, capable of covering distances of more than 100 km in water and swimming for longer than a day. In this they are helped by large paws (up to 30 cm wide), with which they work like oars.

Polar bears can swim at a speed of 10 km / h, which is almost twice as fast as the known champions of the competition. Even Olympic champions show results in 6 km/h. However, this is still not enough to catch a seal in open waters. Therefore, the bear prefers to lie in wait for prey on a hard surface, where it has an advantage in speed and agility.

On land, the polar bear prefers to move with a leisurely gait at a speed of about 5 km / h. But this predator cannot be called slow: when it wants, it can accelerate up to 40 km/h.

But this is not all interesting facts from the life of polar bears. Move on.

Rare, but apt

With luck, polar bears usually catch prey every four to five days. If fortune turns against a predator, its subcutaneous fat acts as a backup energy storage system. The icy expanses of the Arctic cannot be called rich hunting grounds. But a subtle scent helps the bear to find a victim. The animal can smell a seal that crawled out onto the ice 20-30 km away.

Like ten people

Want to learn more interesting facts about the polar bear? This polar animal is the largest land predator on our planet. It doesn't even have natural enemies. And no wonder: an adult male, armed with sharp fangs and claws, usually weighs from 351 to 544 kg, which corresponds to the weight of 5-7 people.

But there are also real giants. The largest polar bear ever recorded, living in northwest Alaska in 1960, weighed about 1000 kg!

Males reach their maximum size at 8 to 14 years of age, while females reach their maximum size at 5 to 6 years of age. The latter weigh half as much as their gentlemen - up to 290 kg.

Pregnancy for later

A surprising biological process known as delayed implantation ensures that polar bears have cubs at the most favorable time of the year, when their chances of survival are greatest. The mating season for these animals lasts from April to May, but the development of embryos is inhibited at an early stage and continues only by autumn, when the female gains enough weight and is ready to equip the winter den.

But the interesting facts about the polar bear did not end there.

Kitten size

Polar bears almost never hibernate like their brown relatives. The only exceptions are pregnant females, who are forced to build dens and spend time in them until February-March. After all, their cubs, like those of other bears, are born very small and helpless, and they have to be protected from the harsh conditions of the Arctic. It is curious that at birth the largest land predators on the planet have a body length of about 30 cm and weigh only half a kilo, almost like a guinea pig.

Bears usually give birth to a couple of cubs. However, it happens when there is only one baby or there are three of them.

Until the offspring gets stronger, the female bear remains in the den in a state of hibernation: she does not eat or drink anything. The cubs then stay with their mother for about two years, during which they learn the skills necessary to successfully survive in the harsh Arctic.

Close relatives

Over time, more and more interesting facts about the polar bear in the Arctic are being discovered. For example, in 2006, an unusual animal was discovered on the territory of this region, which turned out to be only half a polar bear.

Geneticists claim that the polar bear should have been isolated as a species hundreds of thousands of years ago. This is shown by relevant studies. But, despite this, it turned out that polar bears are able to have joint offspring with. Moreover, this offspring will be fertile, unlike other offspring of interspecific crossing (for example, mules). Such hybrids appear both in the wild and in captivity, but very rarely.

The first such animal that was born in the wild was discovered in 2006. However, by that time, scientists had already had the opportunity to observe an animal similar to it in captivity, at the zoo in Osnabrück in Germany, where the polar and brown bears lived in the same enclosure. As of 2010, 17 hybrid bears were already known. And in 2012, there were five reports of observations of such hybrids in the wild.

Black polar bears

Polar bears look white, but as the saying goes, looks can be deceiving. The bear's coat (the so-called guard hair) and its undercoat are actually almost transparent. But the fact is that inside each guard hair there is a cavity filled with air. Due to such a complex structure, light waves of any length are well reflected from the hairs. As a result, the polar bear looks white.

However, depending on the time of year and the position of the sun, the animals may appear yellowish or even brown. Sometimes, in unusually warm climates, bears even turn green thanks to algae that settles in their fur.

However, if you shave off his hair from a bear, an amazing sight will open: in fact, the polar bear has black skin. It effectively absorbs solar heat, helping the animal to maintain a stable body temperature even in severe arctic cold. Now, the next time you see a polar bear's black nose, remember the interesting facts about the polar bear: in fact, this is its true color.

Polar bear, aka polar or northern bear (lat. Ursus maritimus) is a predatory mammal that belongs to the canine suborder, the bear family, the bear genus. The name of the beast is translated from Latin as “sea bear”, and the predator is also called oshkuy, nanuk or umka.

International scientific name: Ursus maritimus(Phipps, 1774).

conservation status: vulnerable view.

Polar bear - description, structure, characteristics

The polar bear is the largest land predator and one of the largest predators on the planet, which is second only to the elephant seal in its dimensions. The largest polar bear weighed just over 1 ton and was about 3 meters long. The height of this bear, standing on its hind legs, was 3.39 m. The average body length of males is about 2-2.5 m, the height at the withers is from 1.3 to 1.5 m, and the average weight of a polar bear varies in within 400-800 kg. Bears are 1.5-2 times smaller, usually their weight does not exceed 200-300 kg, although pregnant females can weigh up to 500 kg. Interestingly, in the Pleistocene era (about 100 thousand years ago), a giant polar bear lived on earth, its size was about 4 meters in length, and its body weight reached 1.2 tons.

The polar bear has a heavy, massive body and large, powerful paws. Unlike other representatives of the genus, the neck of polar bears is elongated, and the head with small ears has a flattened shape, but with an elongated facial region characteristic of all bears.

The jaws of the beast are extremely powerful, with well-developed, sharp fangs and incisors. In total, a polar bear has 42 teeth. Facial vibrissae are absent in animals.

The tail of a polar bear is very short, has a length of 7 to 13 cm and is almost invisible from under thick fur. The paws of the polar bear end in five fingers, armed with sharp non-retractable claws of impressive size, which allows predators to hold the largest and strongest prey.

The soles of the paws are covered with coarse wool, which prevents slipping on ice floes and does not allow the paws to freeze. In addition, polar bears are great swimmers and divers, and there is a swimming membrane between their fingers, which helps with long swims.

The fur of the polar bear is rather coarse, dense and extremely dense, with a well-developed undercoat. Such a rich fur coat and an impressive layer of subcutaneous fat up to 10 cm thick make animals practically invulnerable even in the most severe frosts and when they are in ice water. Only the paw pads and the tip of the muzzle are not protected by fur.

Polar bears are powerful and hardy predators, very agile and fast for their weight and impressive size. On land, the speed of a polar bear averages 5.6 km / h, and when running it reaches 40 km / h. During the day, the animal can cover a distance of up to 20 km. A polar bear pursued in water is capable of accelerating up to 6.5-7 km/h, and if necessary it can swim without stopping for several days. A fact is known when a female polar bear swam non-stop to the feeding place for 9 days, although during this time she lost up to 22% of her body weight and her cub.

Polar predators have well-developed hearing, sight and smell. The animal senses the prey at a distance of more than 1 kilometer, and standing over the shelter of potential prey, it is able to catch the slightest movement. Through a meter layer of snow, a polar bear can smell the place of the seal's air (holes in the ice, with the help of which the seal breathes).

Polar bear lifespan

Under natural conditions, polar bears live for about 20-30 years (males up to 20 years, females up to 25-30 years), and the recorded life expectancy record in captivity is 45 years.

Where do polar bears live?

Polar bears live in the subpolar regions of the northern hemisphere, and their range extends to 88 degrees north latitude in the north and Newfoundland in the south. The distribution area on the mainland passes through the Arctic deserts to the tundra zone in the territories of Russia, Greenland, the USA and Canada. The range of animals is closely related to the Arctic belt, covered with drifting and multi-year ice, abounding in large polynyas with a high density of marine mammals, the main source of food for polar bears.

Today, the habitat of polar bears has several large populations:

• Laptev, common in the Laptev Sea, the eastern regions of the Kara Sea, in the west of the East Siberian Sea, on the New Siberian Islands and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago;
• the Kara-Barents Sea, whose representatives live in the Barents Sea, the western regions of the Kara Sea, in the eastern part of the Greenland Sea off the coast of Greenland, as well as on the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Svalbard;
• the Chukchi-Alaska population is distributed in the Chukchi Sea, in the northern part of the Bering Sea, in the east of the East Siberian Sea, as well as on the Wrangel and Herald Islands.

In the north, the area of ​​distribution of populations captures part of the Arctic basin, although here polar bears are much less common than in more southerly seas. Interestingly, the largest polar bears live in the Barents Sea, while the smallest ones live on the island of Svalbard.

The existence of predators is tied to seasonal changes in the boundaries of polar ice. With the onset of heat, polar bears retreat to the pole along with ice, and in winter they return south, and although their usual environment is coastal areas covered with ice, predators often visit the mainland at this time.

Hibernation of the polar bear

First of all, pregnant females hibernate, the rest of the polar bears winter in the den not every year and at the same time fall into suspended animation for no more than 50-80 days.

What does a polar bear eat?

The main food source of the polar bear is various marine mammals and fish (seal, ringed seal, less often bearded seal (sea hare), walrus, white whale, narwhal).

First of all, the polar bear eats the skin and fat of the killed victim, and only when very hungry does it eat the meat of its prey. Thanks to this diet, a huge amount of vitamin A enters the animal's body, which accumulates in the liver. At one time, an adult polar bear eats about 6-8 kg of food, and when very hungry - up to 20 kg. The remnants of the meal are eaten up by arctic foxes, eternal guides and freeloaders of the polar bear. In case of an unsuccessful hunt, animals are content with dead fish, carrion, ruin bird nests, eating eggs and chicks. Polar bears are quite tolerant of their relatives when eating large prey, such as a dead whale, near which a large group of predators can gather. Wandering to the mainland, polar bears willingly dig in garbage dumps in search of food waste and rob food warehouses of polar expeditions. The plant diet of predators consists of grasses and algae.

By the way, polar bears do not eat penguins, since penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere (in Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America, on the islands), and polar bears live in the Northern Hemisphere (in the north of Russia, Canada, Alaska, in Greenland and some islands).

In summer, the ice recedes from the shores and can completely melt, which deprives the animals of their feeding places. Therefore, in summer, polar bears live off their fat reserves and starve for 4 months or more. Given the lack of competition for food during this period of the year, animals can gather in groups and lie peacefully on the shore.

A unique feature of the polar bear's behavior is its attitude towards humans, whom it sometimes purposefully hunts down and treats as prey. But most often, polar bears do not show aggression at all, they are quite trusting and curious. Usually, only females with cubs or a wounded animal are dangerous to humans.

How does a polar bear hunt?

The polar bear lies in wait for potential prey near the polynya, and as soon as the head of the victim is shown above the water, it stuns the animal with a powerful blow of the paw, after which it pulls the carcass onto the ice.

Another equally effective method of hunting is to turn over the ice floe on which the seals rest. Often, polar bears hunt walruses, especially young and weak ones, but they can only cope with an enemy armed with deadly tusks on ice. The bear sneaks up to prey at a distance of about 9-12 meters, and then attacks the victim with a sharp jump.

When a polar bear discovers seal vents (holes in the ice through which seals breathe), it tries to expand them by breaking the ice with its front paws. Then he plunges the front of the body into the water, grabs the seal with his sharp teeth and pulls it onto the ice, after which the victim can no longer cope with an unequal opponent.

Polar bear breeding

Northern bears lead a solitary lifestyle and treat their relatives quite peacefully, fights between males occur only during the breeding season, at the same time aggressive males can attack cubs.

Polar bears reach reproductive age by 4-8 years, and females become ready to reproduce offspring earlier than males. The bear rut is extended in time and lasts from late March to early June, and the female is usually accompanied by 3-4, sometimes up to 7 males. The pregnancy of polar bears lasts from 230 to 250 days (about 8 months), and it begins with a latent stage, when the implantation of the embryo is delayed.

In October, female polar bears begin to dig dens in snow drifts, and they choose certain places for this: for example, on the Wrangel Islands and Franz Josef Land, where up to 150-200 dens are set up in the coastal zone at the same time. In mid-November, when the embryonic development of the fetus begins, the bears go into hibernation, which lasts until April. Thus, offspring are born in the middle or at the end of the Arctic winter.

Taken from: polarbearscience.files.wordpress.com

From 1 to 3 cubs are usually born (usually 2 cubs), completely helpless and tiny, weighing from 450 to 750 g. In completely exceptional cases, 4 cubs can be born. The fur of cubs is so thin that they are often called naked. At first, the offspring intensively feeds on mother's milk. A month later, the cubs' eyes open, after another month, the little polar bears begin short sorties from the den, and at the age of 3 months they already leave the den and, together with their mother, set off to wander through the icy expanses of the Arctic. Up to a year and a half, the cubs continue to feed on milk and are under the protection of their mother, and after that they begin an independent life. Mortality among polar bear cubs ranges from 10 to 30%.

The she-bear bears offspring once every 3 years and during the life cycle produces no more than 15 cubs, which indicates that the potential for increasing the population of these animals is too low.

conservation status

Polar bears are listed in the Red Book of Russia as a vulnerable species, and since 1956 hunting for predators in the country has been completely prohibited. In 2013, about 5-6 thousand polar bears lived in the Russian polar ice. Other countries have established restrictions on the harvest of these animals, regulated by an annual quota.

Enemies of the polar bear in nature

Due to their gigantic size, polar bears do not have many enemies in their natural habitat. In the water, a walrus or a killer whale can attack an animal, on land, small bear cubs, left unattended by a not too vigilant or gaping mother, sometimes become victims of wolves, foxes and dogs. The main threat to the polar bear is a man with a gun: unfortunately, even the protected status does not always save this giant of the Arctic from armed poachers.

Differences between white and brown bear

According to paleontologists, the bear genus appeared on earth about 5-6 million years ago, and the polar bear is considered the youngest species that separated from the common ancestor of all bears about 600 thousand years ago. Modern polar bears and brown bears are genetically similar, and when crossed, they form viable offspring, called polar grizzlies, which are also capable of reproduction.

Taken from: www.spiegel.de

Polar and brown bears occupy completely different ecological niches, have distinctive phenotypic features, dietary patterns and social behavior, due to which they are classified as separate species. Below are the differences between white and brown bears.

• the largest polar bear reached a length of 3 meters, while the length of a brown bear does not exceed 2.5 meters;
• the weight of a polar bear can reach one ton, the brown relative weighs no more than 750 kg;
• among brown bears, there are many subspecies that live in different territories. Unlike the brown bear, the white bear has no subspecies.
• the neck of the polar bear is long, while that of the brown counterpart is thick and short;
• the head of the polar bear is not very large and flattened, while that of the brown bear is more massive and rounded;
• polar bears are inhabitants of the harsh and snowy expanses of the Arctic zone, their southern boundary of habitat is the tundra zone. Brown bears, unlike polar bears, live in a warmer climate in Russia, Canada, the USA, in Europe, from Western Asia to northern China and Korea, as well as in Japan (see habitat maps below). The northern border of their range is the southern border of the tundra;

• the polar bear differs from the brown one in the food it consumes. If polar bears are carnivorous predators, then the menu of the brown bear consists not only of meat and fish: most of the diet includes berries, nuts, insects and their larvae;
• in polar bears, only pregnant females mainly hibernate, and their winter sleep lasts no more than 50-80 days. The winter sleep of a brown bear, both in females and in males, can last from 75 to 195 days - it all depends on the habitat of the animal;
• the polar bear's rut ​​lasts from March to early June, for the brown bear it lasts from May to July;
• polar bears usually give birth to 2, less often 3 cubs. Browns can have both 2-3 and occasionally 4-5 cubs.

On the left is a polar bear, on the right is a brown bear. Photo credits: PeterW1950, CC0 Public Domain (left) and Rigelus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (right)

• Since ancient times, the indigenous population of the North has hunted the polar bear for the sake of obtaining skins and meat, and reveres this strong and ferocious beast as the embodiment of formidable natural forces. According to the legends of the Eskimos, the confrontation between a man and a polar bear becomes a kind of initiation and the formation of a man as a hunter.
• In search of food, polar bears are able to swim gigantic distances: the record for the duration of the swim belongs to a bear who swam across the Beaufort Sea from Alaska to perennial ice. During the 685 km swim, she lost a fifth of her weight and her one-year-old bear cub.
• The largest male polar bear was shot in Alaska in 1960, the weight of the predator was 1002 kg.
• Living in conditions of extremely low temperatures, the polar bear is an extremely warm-blooded animal: its body temperature is about 31 degrees, so predators rarely run to avoid overheating.
• The image of a polar bear is actively used in cinema, for example, as characters in the popular cartoons Elka, Bernard and Umka.
• These animals are depicted on the logo of the confectionery production "Sever" and on the wrappers of sweets "Bear in the North" created by the Krupskaya confectionery factory.
• February 27 is the officially recognized day of the Polar Bear, which is celebrated by fans of these animals all over the world.

The predatory mammal polar bear, or polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a close relative of the brown bear and the largest land predator on the planet today.

Feature and description

The polar bear is one of the largest terrestrial mammals from the order of predatory animals.. The body length of an adult is three meters with a mass of up to a ton. The average weight of a male, as a rule, varies between 400-800 kg with a body length of 2.0-2.5 m. The height at the withers does not exceed one and a half meters. Females are much smaller, and their weight rarely exceeds 200-250 kg. The category of the smallest polar bears includes individuals inhabiting Svalbard, and the largest specimens are found near the Bering Sea.

It is interesting! A characteristic difference of polar bears is the presence of a rather long neck and a flat head. The skin is black, and the color of the fur coat can vary from white to yellowish. In summer, the fur of the animal turns yellow as a result of prolonged exposure to sunlight.

The wool of polar bears is completely devoid of pigmentation, and the hairs have a hollow structure. A feature of translucent hairs is the ability to transmit only ultraviolet light, which gives wool high thermal insulation characteristics. On the soles of the limbs there is also wool that prevents slipping. Between the fingers is a swimming membrane. Large claws allow the predator to hold even very strong and large prey.

extinct subspecies

A closely related subspecies of the now well-known and fairly common polar bear is the extinct giant polar bear or U. maritimus tyrannus. A distinctive feature of this subspecies was the significantly larger size of the body. The body length of an adult could be four meters, and the average weight exceeded a ton.

On the territory of Great Britain, in the Pleistocene deposits, it was possible to find the remains of a single ulna belonging to a giant polar bear, which made it possible to determine its intermediate position. Apparently, a large predator was perfectly adapted to hunting fairly large mammals. According to scientists, the most likely reason for the extinction of the subspecies was the lack of food by the end of the icing period.

Habitat

The polar bear's circumpolar habitat is limited by the territory of the northern coast of the continents and the southern part of the distribution of floating ice floes, as well as the border of the northern warm currents of the sea. The distribution area includes four areas:

• permanent residence;
• habitat of a high number of animals;
• place of regular occurrence of pregnant females;
• the territory of distant calls to the south.

Polar bears inhabit the entire coast of Greenland, the ice of the Greenland Sea south to the Jan Mayen Islands, the island of Svalbard, as well as Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya in the Barents Sea, Bear Islands, Vay-gach and Kolguev, Kara Sea. A significant number of polar bears is observed on the coast of the continents of the Laptev Sea, as well as the East Siberian, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The main range of the highest abundance of the predator is represented by the continental slope of the Arctic Ocean.

Pregnant female polar bears regularly den in the following areas:

• northwest and northeast Greenland;
• southeastern part of Svalbard;
• western part of Franz Josef Land;
• northern part of the island of Novaya Zemlya;
• small islands of the Kara Sea;
• Severnaya Zemlya;
• northern and northeastern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula;
• the Lena Delta and the Bear Islands of Eastern Siberia;
• the coast and adjacent islands of the Chukotka Peninsula;
• Wrangel Island;
• southern part of Banks Island;
• the coast of the Simpson Peninsula;
• northeast coast of Baffin Island and Southampton Island.

Dens with pregnant polar bears are also observed on pack ice in the Beaufort Sea. From time to time, as a rule, in the early spring, polar bears make long-distance visits towards Iceland and Scandinavia, as well as the Kanin Peninsula, the Gulf of Anadyr and Kamchatka. With ice and when crossing Kamchatka, predatory animals sometimes get into the Sea of ​​Japan and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Nutrition Features

Polar bears have a very well developed sense of smell, as well as organs of hearing and vision, so it is not difficult for a predator to notice its prey at a distance of several kilometers.

The diet of a polar bear is determined by the characteristics of the distribution area and the characteristics of its body. The predator is ideally adapted to the harsh polar winter and long swims in icy water, so marine representatives of the animal world, including sea urchins and walruses, most often become its prey. Eggs, chicks, baby animals, as well as carrion in the form of the corpses of marine animals and fish, which are thrown by the wave on the coast, are also used for food.

If possible, the polar bear's diet can be very selective. In captured seals or walruses, the predator primarily eats the skin and fat layer. However, a very hungry beast is able to eat the corpses of its fellows. Relatively rarely, large predators enrich their diet with berries and moss. Changing climatic conditions have had a significant impact on food, so recently polar bears are increasingly hunting on land.

Lifestyle

Polar bears make seasonal migrations, which are caused by annual changes in the territories and boundaries of the polar ice. In summer, the animals retreat towards the pole, and in winter, the animal population moves to the southern part and enters the territory of the mainland.

It is interesting! Despite the fact that polar bears mostly stay on the coast or ice, in winter the animals lie in dens located on the mainland or island part, sometimes at a distance of fifty meters from the sea line.

The duration of hibernation of a polar bear, as a rule, varies within 50-80 days, but most often pregnant females hibernate. Males and young are characterized by irregular and rather short hibernation.

On land, this predator differs in speed, and also swims excellently and dives very well.

Despite the apparent slowness, the slowness of the polar bear is deceptive. On land, this predator is distinguished by agility and speed, and among other things, a large animal swims excellently and dives very well. To protect the body of a polar bear, a very thick and dense coat is used, which prevents getting wet in icy water and has excellent heat-preserving properties. One of the most important adaptive characteristics is the presence of a massive layer of subcutaneous fat, the thickness of which can reach 8-10 cm. The white color of the coat helps the predator successfully camouflage against the background of snow and ice..

reproduction

Based on numerous observations, the rutting period of polar bears lasts about a month and usually begins in mid-March. At this time, predators are divided into pairs, but there are also females, accompanied by several males at once. The mating period lasts a couple of weeks.

polar bear pregnancy

It lasts approximately eight months, but depending on a number of conditions, it can vary between 195-262 days. It is visually almost impossible to distinguish a pregnant female from a single polar bear. Approximately a couple of months before giving birth, behavioral differences appear and females become irritable, inactive, lie on their stomach for a long time and lose their appetite. A litter often contains a pair of cubs, and the birth of one cub is typical for young, primiparous females. A pregnant female bear comes out on land in autumn, and spends the entire winter period in a snowy lair, located, most often, near the sea coast.

Bear care

In the first days after childbirth, the polar bear almost all the time lies curled up on her side.. Short and sparse hair is not sufficient for self-heating, so newborn cubs are located between the mother's paws and her chest, and the polar bear warms them with her breath. The average weight of newborn cubs most often does not exceed a kilogram with a body length of a quarter of a meter.

Bear cubs are born blind, and only at the age of five weeks open their eyes. Monthly bear cubs are fed sitting. The mass exit of bear females occurs in March. Through a hole dug outside, the she-bear begins to gradually lead her cubs for a walk, but with the onset of night, the animals return to the lair again. On walks, bear cubs play and dig in the snow.

It is interesting! In the polar bear population, approximately 15-29% of cubs and about 4-15% of immature individuals die.

Enemies in nature

Under natural conditions, polar bears, due to their size and predatory instinct, have practically no enemies. The death of polar bears is most often caused by accidental injuries as a result of intraspecific skirmishes or when hunting for too large walruses. The killer whale and polar shark also pose a certain danger to adults and young individuals. Most often, bears die of starvation..

Man was the most terrible enemy of the polar bear, and such peoples of the North as the Chukchi, Nenets and Eskimos have hunted this polar predator for centuries. Fishing operations that began to be carried out in the second half of the last century became disastrous for the population. During one season, St. John's wort destroyed more than a hundred individuals. More than sixty years ago, hunting for the polar bear was closed, and since 1965 it has been included in the Red Book.

Human danger

There are well-known cases of polar bear attacks on people, and the most striking evidence of predator aggression is recorded in the notes and reports of polar travelers, so you need to move in places where a polar bear may appear with extreme caution. On the territory of settlements located near the habitat of the polar predator, all containers with household waste must be inaccessible to the hungry animal. In the cities of the Canadian province, so-called "prisons" have been specially created, in which bears are temporarily kept approaching the city limits.

Common belief: penguins and polar bears live wherever there is a lot of ice and snow. Although both species prefer extreme conditions, they do not live in the same area in the natural environment. The polar bears liked the Arctic, which the penguins did not like - they preferred Antarctica.

Polar bears have chosen the North Pole, and penguins - the South. Clubfoot enjoys a life associated with drifting ice. They would not have gone to land at all, if not for the period of raising babies. Bear cubs are born in dens on land, and as adults, they get used to life on floating ice.

The main "bear maternity hospitals" are located in the Arctic - on about. Vrungel, Severnaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land. Male polar bears are eternal wanderers. They are excellent swimmers and are able to swim more than a hundred kilometers.

About 25 thousand individuals live around the North Pole. True, polar bears do not like the pollution of the seas and global warming. These majestic beauties live near the northern coasts of Eurasia and America on floating ice. They are also found on the territory of Russia, on the islands of the Arctic Ocean.

Some wonder: could a polar bear live without ice? The answer to this question was given by nature itself, as well as to the question of where penguins and polar bears live. In the 60s, a colony of individuals was discovered on the coast of Hudson Bay (Canada). The bears spent most of their time on the ice, feeding on seals.

During the period when the ice melted, they went deep into the mainland. Moulting birds and their eggs became their food. But due to global warming, the population has almost halved in 10 years - from 1600 to 900 individuals. Because of the melting ice, the bears simply did not have enough of their usual food.

And what will happen if the penguins are still settled in the Arctic? According to the director of the Museum of the Arctic and Antarctic, Viktor Boyarsky, the population simply would not have survived there - there is no ecological niche. For natural movement towards the Arctic, there are no currents that unite the North and South Poles. The tropical belt for penguins is an insurmountable barrier.

The polar bear does not even look into the territory where the birds live. After all, there are no extensive floating ice with polynyas. And this is the main "love" of polar bears. Therefore, in the habitats of penguins, clubfoot from the Arctic would not have survived either. They wouldn't be able to get their own food. Yes, and the nature of Antarctica is poorer, only the underwater world is rich. But polar bears have a chance to occupy these spaces. After all, the ice in the Artik is gradually melting. In the northern part of Antarctica, on the contrary, they are increasing.

Penguins like the Southern Hemisphere. They can be found in Antarctica and on the islands adjacent to the continent. There are also penguin colonies in Peru, southern Brazil and even Africa (southwest)! There are penguins in New Zealand and even in southern Australia. There are 16 different species, all of them are perfectly adapted to the aquatic way of life. True, they prefer a different landscape. Most prefer a rocky surface, but some love sandy beaches and grassy areas. There are even colonies of penguins that have preferred coastal forests.

The polar or white bear is the only one that is classified in most countries (USA, Norway, Greenland and Russia) as a marine mammal. The exception is Canada, which currently classifies the polar bear as a land mammal. Polar bears are at the top in the Arctic, where they feed mainly on seals.

Who are polar bears?

According to the latest data from numerous studies, the brown bear is the ancient ancestor of polar bears. Their origin dates back to about 350 thousand-6 million years ago. Unlike their brown relatives who live on land, polar bears are perfectly adapted to survive in the Far North. There are different populations of polar bears. In total, there are 19 species of different subpopulations of polar bears. According to more recent studies, there are four main groups. This classification is based on the features of the place where polar bears live: diverging ice, converging ice, seasonal ice and archipelagos.

The polar bear is the closest relative. Adult males usually weigh between 350 and 600 kilograms. Adult females are smaller - usually their weight is from 150 to 295 kilograms. Polar bears are considered centenarians. In the wild, they live an average of 15 to 18 years, although biologists have recorded a few 30-year-old individuals. In captivity, some long-lived bears reach 40 years of age. A prime example of this is Debbie, a bear bred in captivity from Canada, who lived to be 42 years old.

Where do polar bears live?

The habitat of the polar bear is its natural environment, where it can hunt for food and breed, building snow dens for hibernation and protection of cubs. Polar bears are found throughout the Arctic. They most often live in areas where there is a population of ringed seals. The habitat of the polar bear covers the entire circumpolar Arctic.

These large mammals have adapted to live in water and on land. Unlike other bears, the polar bear is an excellent swimmer and can sometimes be seen more than 100 miles from land or ice. Currently, more than 40 percent of all polar bears live in Northern Canada, on the ice along the coasts of numerous islands.

Endangered

Polar bears are considered a fairly vulnerable species in terms of extinction. In Russia, animals are listed in the Red Book, which includes rare or endangered animals. In the United States, polar bears are listed as an endangered species on the Endangered Species List. Canada considers that they require increased attention within threatened national species. Measures to protect animals are taken at the legislative level.

The cause for concern is the loss of habitat due to climate change. Scientists predict that two-thirds of the world's polar bears could disappear as early as this century due to intense ice melting. The study also shows that it is still fixable if measures are soon taken to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. The places where polar bears live should not be polluted due to the commercial use of the Arctic.

Polar bears: habitat

Bears are adapted to arctic climates where temperatures can drop as low as -45º C in winter. These animals have two insulated layers of fur that help them retain body heat. In addition, in good times they also have a thick layer of fat. The compact ears and small tail also prevent heat loss. In fact, polar bears have more problems with overheating than cold, especially when running. An excellent sense of smell helps them to hunt, and their claws can hold prey of 40-90 kg.

The place of the polar bear in the food chain

The Arctic deserts serve as the habitat of these furry predators. The polar bear is at the top of the Arctic food chain. In this way, a natural balance is achieved in order to prevent overpopulation of the habitat. When an adult bear is in good shape, the formed fat reserves support the body between meals.

Bears prey on ringed seals, sea hares, baleen whales. These white and fluffy mammals are excellent swimmers: they use their front paws as paddles while their hind legs act as a rudder. In addition, they have a wonderful sense of smell: they can smell their prey from a distance of one kilometer.

Offspring

Depending on the condition of the body, females usually reproduce two to three cubs every 4-6 years. As a result, polar bears have one of the slowest reproductive cycles in nature, typically producing no more than five offspring during their lifetime. The habitat of the polar bear allows you to choose a suitable shelter for the birth of cubs. Bear cubs are born in November or December in snow caves called birth lairs.

At birth, babies resemble large white rats, which reach a length of 30-35 centimeters and weigh just over half a kilogram. Blind, toothless and covered in short, soft fur, they are completely dependent on their mother for warmth and food. The cubs grow quite quickly thanks to their mother's high-calorie milk, which is about 31% fat. Baby bears stay with their mother until they are 2.5 years old.

Habitat features

The habitat of the polar bear may change as the animals may make long-distance land and water migrations along continental coasts or islands. Some individuals spend most of the year on land. Most pregnant females spend autumn and winter on the ground in their birth lairs.

The air temperature in the Arctic reaches on average -34°C in winter and 0°C in summer. The coldest zone in winter is the northeastern part of Siberia, where temperatures drop to -69°C. The warmest areas in the summer are the inland regions of Siberia, Alaska and Canada, where the temperature can reach + 32°C.

Polar bears, whose habitat is in the northern subpolar regions, are often depicted in illustrations in popular fiction and children's books along with penguins. However, they live at different poles. Polar bears do not live in Antarctica: penguins live there on an ice-covered continent surrounded by oceans, while polar bears live in the Arctic.

Such are they, these amazing animals - polar bears.