Polar Bear Facts

Category: Characteristics

  • Can Polar Bears Climb Trees?

    Can Polar Bears Climb Trees?

    Polar bears have got quite many adaptations to survive in the Arctic. They can swim great distances; they can run pretty fast, they can tolerate the frigid Arctic weather—but the question here is; can polar bears really climb trees just like black bears, giant panda, or even koalas. It’s a question that demands a little explanation. Well, first you must know that the Arctic is a treeless land. There are some plants that grow in summer, but the land is almost exclusively free of trees.

    Can Polar Bears Climb Trees?

    Polar bears cannot climb trees for they are probably too heavy to lift their weight up into the trees. Besides, unlike American black bears or giant pandas the polar bear’s claws are not really adapted to climbing. The black bear’s claws aren’t only relatively short, they are rounded too. It becomes generally comfortable for a bear to climb with rounded claws. Although the polar bear’s claws resemble American black bear’s, they are not really curved (like black bear’s claws) which would otherwise aid polar bears in climbing. No polar bear let alone adult bear has ever been noticed climbing trees.

    And so, American black bears are expert climbers. It comes in handy for them because by doing so they can protect themselves from potential predators. Even polar bear’s closest cousins, grizzlies have evolved to get up into the trees—perhaps not as quickly as others do. Nonetheless, grizzles do not often climb trees.

    Polar bears don’t have the climbing abilities—there’s no doubt about that. American black bears are specialist climbers. They will climb either to purse prey into the trees or avoid from becoming one. Black bears also climb in order to hibernate. Polar bears, on the other hand, do none of these. They neither rely on arboreal species, nor do they hibernate in trees—in fact they don’t hibernate at all. Furthermore, polar bears do not need to climb to escape predators. They are at the top of food chain in the Arctic. Therefore, it is logical to assume that polar bears’ inability to climb doesn’t in any way affect their lifestyle. Polar bears are way different from koalas, giant pandas, or even American black bears in their behavioral adaptations.

    Can Polar Bears Climb Trees? – Video

  • Do Polar Bears Cover their Nose?

    Do Polar Bears Cover their Nose?

    Yet another myth about polar bears is that they cover their nose while hunting seals. It just doesn’t stand to logic for the statement isn’t only bizarre—it’s highly contradictory. Why would a polar bear cover its nose when it relies on its remarkable sense of smell for hunting? No wonder Dr. Ian Stirling, a leading polar bear scientist, used telescopes to actually observe polar bears in the Canadian High Arctic as much as 24 hours a day. He never reported anything like that. Let’s see how do polar bears cover their nose during hunting.

    Do Polar Bears Cover their Nose?

    Let’s say, for the sake of argument, polar bears really cover their nose. If that is so, then how can polar bears possibly walk or stalk on the remaining three legs when one of their paws covers their nose for an extended period.

    Most, if not all, polar bear hunts cover as much as 50 – 200 meters so polar bears just cannot afford to do that. In fact, they can either stand still whilst holding one of their paws over their nose or just go after the prey. Many researchers and scientists have quite deeply studied the polar bear hunting behavior. None of them came up with facts such as these.

    Why Do Polar Bears Cover their Nose? – Video

  • Can Polar Bears Survive in Warm Climates?

    Can Polar Bears Survive in Warm Climates?

    Polar bears inhabit one of the coldest places on earth where the average temperature for the warmest month (July) drops down to 10 °C (50 °F). Arctic occurs at the northernmost part of the planet. During winter, alongside high winds, the temperature drops down to −40 °C (−40 °F) with the maximum lowest temperature recorded at −68 °C (−90 °F). So, how can polar bears live in warm weather?

    Can Polar Bears Survive in the Heat?

    No, definitely not! Polar bears have quite many adaptations to survive in extreme cold weather. They cannot survive in warm weather—not even for one day. Polar bears will probably die in minutes if they are bred in warm habitats. Furthermore, polar bears can sometimes get overheated even in Arctic weather if they run for a few minutes continuously. That is why they give up in most chases as the heat inside their body gets entrapped. Now let us study why can’t polar bears live in heat?

    Polar bears have Thick Fur

    Polar bears are perfectly insulated with dense white fur. The bear’s fur has two layers. The guard hairs and the dense underfur both of which keep the bear safe even in Arctic chilling weather. If somehow polar bears are transported to warm countries, they might not be able to survive the heat precisely due to their thick coat.

    Polar Bear Habitat Characteristics

    The sea ice and water are the essential characteristics of a polar bear. They can barely live without it for they use sea ice as a hunting platform. Polar bears catch seals on ice floes. If the weather gets warm as it does in summer, polar bears might not be able to catch seals because the ice disappears rapidly in warm climate. Over time the global warming has also rendered much of the polar bear population redundant.

    Polar Bear’s Prey Live in Cold Climate

    Polar bears live in cold habitats so as their prey. Their primary preys are seals which are not known to survive in warm weather just like polar bears. Thus it is reasonable to assume that if the weather somehow gets warmer in the Arctic (which is highly unlikely) the polar bears and seals are going to die for they are not so adapted.

  • Do Polar Bears Poop in the Woods?

    People who ask such questions usually do not know the precise location of polar bears because if they do, they would probably know it all. The reason why I’m saying is that polar bears do not live in the woods. They never were! Polar bears inhabit the Arctic that lies in the North Pole and where the temperature freezes nearly all year round.

    Arctic is not a suitable place for trees or even plants to grow. The best bears can ever observe are tundra grasses and small shrubs. Therefore, the question of polar bears pooping in the woods does not arise for the Arctic is almost exclusively treeless.

    Where Do Polar Bears Poop?

    Polar bear’s first cousins, grizzlies, are thought to poop in the woods for they live in the habitat which is primarily dominated by the trees. But polar bears never poop in the woods. They poop when they have to regardless of the place. Since polar bears make dens so you probably wonder if they do defecate inside the den. The answer is no! Polar bears do not defecate in the den because they (especially the females) eat nothing during the denning period.

  • Do Polar Bears Scream When they Poop?

    Lately, polar bears have been increasingly discussed not only among biologists or scientists—they have turned out to be the topic of debate (though not scientific) among common masses. As it happens, there are quite many rumors and myths that are particularly associated with wild polar bears. One such myth is that why do polar bears scream when they poop. All myths and rumors regarding polar bear poops are not biologically accurate.

    Do Polar Bears Scream When they Poop?

    While we do not know for sure if polar bears do actually scream or roar when they poop there are certain things that are worth noting. It is reasonable to assume that no researcher may have actually witnessed polar bears pooping in the wild for these animals are not only too hard to observe in such a vast expanse of the Arctic—they are pretty aggressive too. It’s not really possible to observe a live polar bear pooping unless you get too close to them (which is probably not a good idea!). Lately, scientists are attempting to keep track of polar bear scats by using glitter so that they can tell whose poops are whose.

    The obvious explanation is that sometimes polar bears starve for months so chances are greater that they don’t poop too much. Even if they do, the question arises as to why do they have to scream while pooping? That just doesn’t stand to any logic whatsoever.

    Do Polar Bears Roar or Yell When they Poop?

    First of all, who knows polar bears roar or yell or scream while pooping unless one is actually there to witness them live? It is true that you can observe their pooping behavior in sanctuaries or zoos but captive polar bear hardly reflects on the wild animal behavior. Even the leading polar bear researchers Ian Stirling and Andrew Derocher haven’t been able to note down things such as this. Normally polar bears may seem to produce a roaring-like sound but nobody knows to date if polar bears literally roar while pooping.

    Do Polar Bears Scream When they Poop? – Video showing captive polar bear pooping but it’s not yelling, screaming, or roaring.

  • When Do Polar Bear Cubs Leave their Mother?

    In this article we’ll be studying how long do polar bear cubs stay with their mom and when do they leave her. Female polar bear is an extremely dedicated mother in that she prefers to have cubs around her for as long as 2 to 3 years after birth. That’s a pretty long period isn’t it? During the long nursing period, the mother teaches her cubs just about everything including hunting and swimming. Let’s see when do baby polar bears leave their mother.

    When Do Polar Bear Cubs Leave their Mother?

    The typical weaning period of polar bear cubs is about 2.5 years but it also varies. Sometimes the cubs leave their mother around 2 years while at others they wean later than 2.5 years. But normally cubs will stay with their mother for no more than 2.5 years.

    Sometimes it so happens that a female polar bear doesn’t find her mating partner when the time is due. In that case, the cub likely stays with its mother until the mother actually abandons it herself. Researchers have yet to understand fully the phenomenon of weaning yearlings in polar bears. It’s pretty challenging for a mother to wean her present cubs for she must prepare herself for another litter by storing enough fats.

    How Does the Mother Decide to Leave her Cubs?

    It depends on numerous factors such as;

    • The size of offspring;
    • Availability of food;
    • Maternal condition, and
    • Willingness of a mating partner.

    The mother bear assesses all the above factors to decide for the ideal weaning time. When the mother is in estrous, the adult male likely chases the young and attempts to drive it away from her mother. The young polar bear soon learns that it’s time to live an independent life on its own as it is no longer wanted.

    Read More: How Do Polar Bears Reproduce?

    when do polar bear cubs leave their mother?
    A mother walks alongside her cubs. When do polar bear cubs stay with their mother? Photo by Natural World Safaris
    • While it may seem odd in the first place the family break-up is quite natural in polar bears. Cubs play, fight, and eat under the watchful eye of their mother until they come of age by which they’ll gain independence.
    • When they attain 2 years of age, they’ll walk away. Now they can hunt on their own and they owe much to the efforts of their mother. Perhaps this is a significant part of the weaning process.
    • The strong bond between the mother and her cubs weakens as the latter grow older. If a mother intends to leave her young she just walks away from her offspring straightaway.
    • Young bear can follow the mother and track down her but soon they realize that they must start hunting instead of searching for their mother. However, sometimes the young just doesn’t listen to their mother’s warning and they prefer to stay.
    • As it turns out, the mother briskly chases the young to tell him that it must walk away. Mother and young often travels for months before they fall apart.

    Back in 80s, the polar bear population in the Hudson Bay used to leave their mother as early as 1.5 years. Studies claimed that around 55% of all cubs became independent of their mother before reaching 2 years age. That is however an exception rather than the rule. Scientists have not been to understand as to why polar bear cubs leave their mother so early.

    1. The early weaning might be due to the condition of their mothers as well as the sex of young bears.
    2. There can be another possibility which is that seals could be widespread in the early 80s—helping the young bears to grow quickly.
    3. On the Hudson Bay three different polar bear populations may have mixed. Adult males might have possibly taken the females away from their young too early.
    4. Or females may have faced food scarcity in autumn and they stopped nursing before coming to estrous again in the following year.
    5. Females may choose to have more litters in their lifetime and so they abandon their current offspring.

    Grizzly mothers usually nurse their cubs for one extra year if they feel like their yearlings are not old enough to live on their own. They do so in order to increase the likelihood of their survival. Polar bear mothers do not treat their cubs like grizzlies yet they (yearlings) manage to survive just fine. While they cannot become expert hunters they do nevertheless become scavengers to make a living. Currently, weaning before 2 years of age is probably not common. Furthermore, the sea ice in the Hudson Bay is disappearing relatively earlier forcing polar bear mothers to wean their cubs for until they reach 2.5 years of age.

    How Long Do Polar Bear Cubs Stay with their Mother? – Video

  • How Many Layers of Fur Do Polar Bears have?

    Polar bears are well protected by several layers of fur. The fur not only prevents them from catching cold during swimming, it also camouflages the bear. The polar bear’s fur isn’t actually white, it’s transparent and hollow. The fur only appears white. Now it’s time to study how many layers of fur do polar bears have on its body. We will also discuss the size of each of these furs.

    How Many Layers of Fur Do Polar Bears have?

    • Polar bears have two layers of fur. The internal furs measuring up to 2 inches (5 cm) in length are not only fine—they are dense too.
    • The outer layer of fur is called guard hair and they are longer than the dense underfur.
    • The guard hair of a polar bear reaches a length of about 6 inches (15 cm). This shows that the guard hairs are three times the size of underfur.
    • Nonetheless, guard hairs do not seem to have equal length all over the bear’s body. The biggest guard hairs are present on the adult male’s forelegs averaging up to 17 inches (43 cm) in length.
    • That is to say that biggest guard hairs are seven to eight times the length of the underfur.
    • The diameter of the underfur is about 0.0008 (<20 µm) inches while the guard hairs measure around 0.002 to 0.008 inches (50 – 200 µm).
    • There is a cuticle layer that occurs on all the polar bear’s fur which indeed helps in defining the particular species.

    How Many Layers of Fur Do Polar Bears have? – Video

  • Polar Bear Tongue – Polar Bear Tongue Color

    Do you know what color is a polar bear tongue? The polar bear tongue is actually pink and it is mottled with black that is why it sometimes looks black or even blue. The general properties of its tongue resemble dogs more than the cats. The polar bear tongue is smooth just like the dog’s tongue. Cats do not have a smooth tongue.

    Polar Bear Tongue

    The polar bear’s skin is black and so as most of its inside organs. The inside of the bear’s lips are absolutely black. Unlike most other bear species, the polar bear lips don’t really move. They are generally not mobile but they do slightly move especially when the bear becomes vocal.

    Read More: Polar Bear Physical Features

    what color is a polar bear tongue?
    A polar bear tongue appears purple or blue but actually it is pink. Polar bear tongue.

    Over time many researchers believed that the polar bear has tongue and mouth. However, that is not quite true—not so biologically. Like dog’s tongue, the polar bear tongue side-to-side ridges on the roof of its mouth. These ridges are thickened with keratein protein which indeed assists in chewing the food.

  • Do Polar Bears have Whiskers?

    Polar bears have long evolved to occupy and dominate its ecological niche primarily due to its unique adaptations. These adaptations are related to polar bear’s hunting techniques. For instance, unlike their grizzly cousins, polar bears have elongated and narrow skull so that they can reach out for the seals hidden in the sea ice. Whiskers are probably not one of the polar bear’s major adaptations. In fact, you might be wondering do polar bears have whiskers at all.

    Do Polar Bears have Whiskers?

    Surprisingly yes! Polar bears do possess whiskers but they are so tiny especially when we compare it with the polar bear’s size that they are barely noticeable. You can hardly observe polar bear whiskers unless you’re too close to it (which you probably don’t want to be).

    Nonetheless, whether you can see it or not polar bears have got tiny whiskers on their face but they are not quite abundant. The polar bear’s whiskers or perhaps vibrissae are not only relatively stiff—they are short and pale mocha color. One can identify individual bears through their whisker’s spots (because they are clearly visible) that are actually small dark round areas and occur at the base of the whisker follicle. Researchers have also used whisker spots in African lion studies.

    do polar bears have whiskers?
    Polar bear’s whiskers are barely noticeable. Do polar bears have whiskers? Photo by Natural Habitat Adventures.

    Generally whiskers in all other animals serve as touch sensors but they are not quite developed in polar bears. As a matter of fact, all bear species seem to lack whiskers that operate as touch sensors. Human’s whiskers do not function as touch sensors either. Polar bears might have possibly lost their whiskers in the evolutionary process long time ago. An icy muzzle could probably not just as effective.

  • Why Do Polar Bears have Small Ears? – Polar Bear Ears

    Unlike polar bear’s elongated skull, large feet, and huge paw they have got small ears—perhaps one of many adaptations to cold climates. Polar bears inhabit the Northern Hemisphere where the temperature drops down to minus 30 degree Celsius in winter. Their small ears are perfectly adapted to surviving the frigid Arctic weather. Now we’ll see why do polar bears have small ears as compared to its mammoth size.

    Why Do Polar Bears have Small Ears?

    • According to Allen’s rule, animals that live in colder climates possess shorter ears, limbs, and other appendages in comparison to those that survive in warm habitats, and when it comes to ears, polar bears fit the rule.
    • The reason why polar bears have small ears is that they live in some of the coldest habitats and as such they must have relatively low ratios of surface area to volume. In order to survive in the Arctic polar bears ought to conserve as much heat as possible.
    • Polar bears should have low surface area to volume ratios so that they have a minimum surface area by which they dissipate heat, enabling them to store more heat. If they had larger ears just like their grizzly cousins, they would lose heat much quickly and consequently die of cold.

    Read More: Polar Bear Physical Characteristics

    why do polar bears have small ears?
    Polar bear’s small ears are clearly visible. Why do polar bears have small ears?

    Compared to its sense of smell, the polar bear hearing sense is not that sharp. Nonetheless, scientists suggest that the polar bear sense of hearing is pretty similar to humans’.

    In fact, they can hear in the 11,200 to 22,500 Hz range but it is best at 8,000 and 14,000 Hz. According to scientists polar bears share their hearing sense with dogs on the lower end that is 125 Hz. However, on the high end, dogs are well ahead of polar bears (and humans)—hearing up to 60,000 Hz.

    Andrew E, Derocher, a leading polar bear researcher, is a professor in the department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta and author of numerous articles on large Arctic mammals. He writes in his book, Polar Bears—A Complete Guide to their Biology and Behavior;

    I have seen only one polar bear with large ears. Unfortunately, I was laughing so hard about the poor bear’s ears that I failed to measure how big they were or take a picture. Ears are not something I would normally measure, but in this case it would have been interesting. I am not sure but my guess is that the large ears were a throw back to grizzlies, which have much larger ears than their polar bear cousins. Uncharacteristically and perhaps unkindly, I wrote “Dumbo” on the bear’s capture sheet.

    Well, there is a reason why polar bears don’t have acute sense of hearing. That is, polar bears particular hunt ringed seals which produce sounds like chirps, growls, yelps, and barks in the water. Seals produce these sounds below 2,000 Hz.

    Thus, polar bears need not to hear at extremely high frequencies. Scientists aren’t sure what the role of hearing is when the polar bear hunts seals. Perhaps it might be too early to conclude anything with regard to polar bear’s sense of hearing.

    Why Do Polar Bears have Small Ears? – Video