Polar Bear Facts

Category: Facts

  • What Do Bears Eat in their Habitat?

    Bears are remarkable examples of dietary adaptability in the animal kingdom. As opportunistic omnivores, they have evolved to take full advantage of the changing resources in their environment, consuming more plant matter than meat throughout much of the year. Their ancestors were likely low-protein omnivores, and modern bears continue to reflect that heritage. With a diet that spans everything from leaves, roots, and berries to insects, fish, and fresh or decaying meat, bears are equipped with strong jaws, flexible digestive systems, and the instinct to shift with the seasons.

    What sets bears apart is not just what they eat, but how they adapt. From the herbivorous giant panda, which lives almost entirely on bamboo, to the primarily meat-eating polar bear, each species shows how dietary flexibility supports survival. Asiatic black bears in Taiwan, for example, gorge on acorns when they’re in abundance, then turn to hunting ungulates when other resources dwindle.

    This seasonal shift is not accidental—it’s strategic. Bears make nutritional decisions based on availability, exerting minimal energy for maximum intake. Their success lies not in specialization, but in their ability to pivot. They consume what the environment provides, when it provides it. In doing so, they model a kind of resilience that has allowed them to thrive in ecosystems as varied as Arctic coastlines, mountain forests, and tropical lowlands.

    Understanding bears through the lens of their diet reveals a powerful story of survival, evolution, and environmental intelligence. They aren’t just large mammals roaming the wild—they’re finely tuned to the rhythms of nature. Their ability to adjust and diversify their diet is not only a trait of strength, but a key reason they’ve endured across millennia. In a world where adaptability defines survival, bears are a masterclass in ecological strategy.

    What Do Bears Eat in their Habitat?

    Why Bears Are Master Foragers: Nature’s Smartest Opportunists

    Bears are far more than powerful predators—they are intelligent foragers, fine-tuned to maximize nutrition with minimal energy waste. Their feeding strategies are not random; they are calculated, learned, and adapted over time to suit their changing environments.

    Here’s how bears show incredible efficiency in foraging:

    • Nutritional Timing: Bears instinctively seek plants at their most digestible and nutritious stages. They avoid mature grasses and leaves, which are fibrous and harder to process. In northern climates, this leads to a seasonal shift—grazing and browsing are more common in early spring when young shoots are abundant.
    • Learned Behavior: Knowing when and where to forage is a skill passed from one generation to the next. Bears learn to identify when berries ripen or when certain plants are most beneficial, making their feeding patterns both instinctive and learned.
    • Berry Foraging Tactics: When berries are in season, bears optimize their intake by minimizing foliage consumption. Whether climbing trees or combing through dense bushes, they prioritize high-calorie, ripe fruit that fuels their pre-hibernation needs.
    • Autumn Behavior Shifts: In the fall, many bears consume fermented fruits. These can alter behavior due to the mild alcohol content, affecting movement and feeding patterns as bears instinctively prepare for winter.
    • Tree Climbing for Mast: Smaller bears are agile climbers, scaling trees for mast—nutritious elements like acorns. These food sources are critical, and in years of mast failure, bears will travel long distances in search of replacements.
    • Digging and Root Foraging: Brown bears use their immense strength to dig for roots—high in energy and available even in tougher seasons.
    • Specialized Diets: The giant panda feeds almost exclusively on bamboo. Though it consumes over 30 species, it prefers the more nutritious leaves over the tough stems, which it can still crush easily thanks to powerful jaws. The spectacled bear’s diet can consist of up to 50% bromeliads, which it tears open with its strong bite.

    Bears are not just opportunistic—they are strategic. Their ability to time, locate, and process a wide variety of food sources speaks to an evolutionary brilliance that ensures survival through changing seasons and shifting landscapes. Their diet isn’t just about sustenance—it’s about mastery of their environment.

    Here’s what makes their feeding behavior so compelling:

    • Sloth Bear’s Insect Diet:
      The sloth bear, unlike its more specialized relatives like polar bears and pandas, has evolved for insect foraging. It’s lost several front teeth common in other bear species and developed a long, vacuum-like tongue that efficiently sucks up ants, termites, and burrowing insects. At peak seasons, these insects can account for up to 90% of their diet. That’s not survival—it’s specialization redefined for flexibility.
    • Sweet Tooth in Urban Settings:
      In areas near tourist activity, some sloth bears have been drawn to sugary garbage. Their sense of smell and willingness to scavenge has led to new behavioral patterns—some even becoming hooked on sweets from waste left behind by humans.
    • Raiding Beehives Despite the Pain:
      Some bears take remarkable risks for food. Raiding wasp and bee nests for honey and immature insects involves enduring painful stings. Yet the reward outweighs the cost, and their persistence shows how driven they are to secure energy-rich meals.
    • Sun Bears and Their Precision Tongues:
      Sun bears, the smallest bear species, are also skilled insectivores. Their long, narrow tongues allow them to access honey and insects in tight crevices. They are methodical feeders, using their size and agility to reach food many larger animals can’t.
    • The Salmon Feast:
      Brown bears are famous for their fishing expertise. During salmon runs, rivers become hunting grounds. Bears position themselves at key points, striking with precision to grab fish mid-leap or with quick plunges. Interestingly, they often consume the richest parts—brains and eggs—leaving the rest.
    • Digging for Burrowing Mammals:
      Rodents and other small mammals are also on the menu. Bears use their strength and keen sense of smell to locate and dig out these hidden sources of protein.

    Bears succeed because they don’t rely on one strategy—they adapt, innovate, and learn. Whether deep in forests, near rivers, or even on the edge of human towns, their diets reflect intelligence, persistence, and fearless adaptability. Their feeding behavior is not only fascinating—it’s a clear testament to their evolutionary resilience.

  • Largest Polar Bear on Record –Biggest Polar Bear Ever

    Polar bears are the one of the biggest bears—second only to Kodiak bears. Big male bears are twice the size of adult tigers. But where is the world’s biggest polar bear? Is it alive or dead? Did scientists find the world’s largest polar bear in captivity or in the natural habitat? We are going to address these vital questions in this article.

    Largest Polar Bear on Record – Biggest Polar Bear Ever

    According to the Guinness Book of World Records the adult male averages 385 to 410 kg (849 to 904 lb) in the overall body weight with the height of 133 cm (4 feet 4 inches). The Beaufort Sea population is thought to be slightly bigger with the weight estimated at 450 kg (992 lb).

    Nonetheless, the biggest polar bear ever found was the male in the northwestern Alaska. It was killed in 1960 in Kotzebue Sound—leaving scientists to wonder that there may be bigger polar bears out there. The largest polar bear weighed as much as 1,002 kilograms (2,209 pounds), twice the weight of male bears living today. The length of the world’s largest polar bear measured at 3.39 meters (11 feet 1 inches) with the shoulder height estimating at 122 to 160 cm (4 feet 0 inches to 5 feet 3 inches).

    Scientists claim that polar bears of today are probably slightly smaller than those found in the 19th century. Global climate change bears much of the blame. As global temperature rises, the Arctic sea ice melts forcing white bears to spend months in starvation. Polar bears find it extremely hard to hunt seals which are the primary prey. The climate change has also adversely affected the overall lifespan of a polar bear.

    References & Further Reading

    Polar bear Ursus maritimus – Appearance/Morphology: Measurement and Weight (Literature Reports). Wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org. Retrieved 15 September 2011.

    Polar bear Ursus maritimus – Appearance/Morphology: Measurement and Weight (Literature Reports). Wildlife1.wildlifeinformation.org. Retrieved 15 September 2011.

  • Polar Bear Liver – Polar Bear Liver Vitamin A Toxicity

    According to a legend, many centuries ago one of the individuals of some indigenous group consumed a polar bear liver and he got ill and soon died of it. Although it isn’t clear if that individual fell ill or actually died of eating polar bear liver, he nevertheless left many of the researchers to wonder if the polar bear liver is really poisonous. Let us study some facts about its liver and see if we can come up with some conclusive evidence in respect to the toxicity of a polar bear liver.

    Polar Bear Liver – Toxicity and Symptoms

    Even so, the Arctic explorers of the 16th century had reported that the Inuit were probably aware of the toxic contents in a polar bear liver. There is written evidence in the form of a diary which was written in 1597. The one who wrote the diary was living in Novaya Zemlya, Russia then. He mentioned quite clearly the dangers associated with eating polar bear liver. However, many of the later researchers appeared to ignore this particular evidence because they thought that early Arctic explorers would make numerous writing tales of woe such as this.

    Is Polar Bear Liver Poisonous? – If So, How?

    In March 1907, about 19 men ate the polar bear liver and their condition was reported by a Danish physician. While the polar bear liver doesn’t seem to be just as fatal, the early Inuit claimed that eating a polar bear caused immediate death. Let’s see scientifically if it is really poisonous to consume liver of a polar bear.

    Soon after the World War II ended, researchers carried out a study in which they fed polar bear liver to laboratory rats. You know what might have happened to the rats? The rats died immediately! However, when the researchers removed Vitamin A from a polar bear liver and fed it again to other rats—the rats lived.

    Eventually they concluded that eating a polar bear liver is most likely to cause hypervitaminosis A not only in rats—but in humans too. Hypervitaminosis is a condition that occurs when you take in excessive Vitamin A.

    A Polar Bear liver.

    Studies suggest that in any organism, the percentage of Vitamin A is highest in its liver. There are fat droplets which are present in the hepatic stellate cells also called Ito cells. The Vitamin A is mainly found in these fat droplets.

    Compared to humans, polar bear liver contains 20 to 100 times the content of Vitamin A; however, they have equally greater number of Ito cells to counter toxic contents of a liver. The polar bear liver has 4 times as many Ito cells as of human liver.

    According to scientists, the content of a Vitamin A (in your liver) primarily depends on your ranking in a food web. If you’re at the top of your food web then you’ll probably accumulate the highest levels of Vitamin A. Similarly, since polar bears are the apex predators and for the most of their consumption they rely on seals, their liver is rich in Vitamin A perhaps not surprisingly. Just to let you know that seals also contain high levels of Vitamin A. The bottom line is that the level of Vitamin A is highest in a polar bear liver.

    What Happens If you Eat a Polar Bear Liver? – Symptoms

    • There are quite many symptoms that begins 2 to 3 hours after eating a polar bear liver. These symptoms include excessive sleep, sluggishness, headaches, vomiting, constipation, diarrhea, and pain in the eyeballs.
    • The symptoms might not be limited to the above pains if you’ve consumed a significant amount of polar bear liver. You’re most likely to suffer from cramps or muscle spasms in your legs and arms.
    • You might feel (perhaps not as much) a little loss of appetite.
    • Your mouth becomes distasteful.
    • Your tongue turns grey in color.
    • After 24 hours your skin likely peels around your mouth, feet, and hands. The skin will continue to peel for as long as 30 days.

  • Do Polar Bears Eat Seals? – Why Do Polar Bears Eat Seals?

    Seals make up much of the polar bear’s diet. And luckily for polar bears seals are quite abundant in the Arctic. Polar bears would consume as much seals they possibly can. Seals are clearly the top priority on the polar bear’s menu. White bears would eat just about any kind of seal. The reason why polar bears fancy eating seals is that they get blubber from it. Not only do they consume adult seals, polar bears love to feed on seal pups. If you want to know how many different species of seals polar bears eat you can just visit the link. As of now, let’s see how do polar bears eat seals.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Seals?

    Ringed seals are the smallest but the most abundant species in the entire Arctic. The ringed seal’s population is in millions. According to estimates, there are 2.5 million ringed seals inhabiting the Arctic. That is why they are the most common prey of polar bears. Studies suggest that the entire polar bear population eats up to one million seals each year.

    Similarly, bearded seals are the second most essential polar bear prey species. Though they are the biggest of the seals, bearded seals do not stand a chance against the Arctic’s deadliest predator—polar bear. Although less so often polar bears also prey on harbor seals, spotted seals, and hooded seals.

    Read More: Do Polar Bears Eat Penguins

    Harbor seals are temperate species and thus they are less likely to be on the polar bear’s menu. However, polar bears inhabiting Greenland, North America, and Svalbard are known to prey on harbor seals more than any other polar bear population. Spotted seals particularly fall prey to those polar bear populations which are found in the Chukchi and Bering seals.

    While ringed seals are the most common prey the ribbon seals are probably the most uncommon prey for polar bears. Nonetheless, polar bears are opportunistic hunters and they will be more than willing to consume ribbon seals if they find one along the way.

    Hooded seals are probably not the easiest of the preys. They weigh more than 600 pounds. They are much bigger than harp seals. Bears rarely take the risk of feeding adult hooded seals. They will mostly feed on hooded seal’s pups that lounge on the sea ice for weeks until they take to the water and begin feeding.

  • Do Polar Bears Eat Walruses? – Polar Bear-Walrus Relationship

    Yes, polar bears eat walruses but they don’t feed on adult walruses for they are too big to fall prey to polar bears. Polar bears are the supreme predators of the Arctic—they are the lord of the Arctic. However, there are a few Arctic mammals that are way too big as compared to polar bears. Walrus is one of them, in fact it is the heaviest mammal of all Arctic mammals. Let us see how do polar bears eat walruses in the wild.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Walruses?

    • Walruses are definitely one of the polar bear’s preys but they are equally dangerous too. For that reason, polar bears are less likely to hunt walruses and only male polar bears can take the risk of predating walruses.
    • Walruses are huge, they are massive in size. The female walrus which is only half the size of a male, weighs no less than 1,870 pounds.
    • The adult male polar bear weighs only 800 pounds—half the weight of an adult female walrus.
    • Adult male walrus averages 3,740 pounds which is 4 to 5 times the weight of an adult male polar bear. That indeed makes adult walruses almost immune to polar bear predation.
    • Walruses are not only safe by virtue of their mammoth size, they have strong defense too. All walruses, let alone adult males, have tusks. Males have greater tusks than females. However, they don’t really use it against polar bears. The walrus’ tusks typically serve as sledge to feed on bottom dwelling species.
    An adult polar bear is looking for a walrus calf. Do Polar Bears eat Walruses? Photo by THE POLAR BEAR PROGRAMME
    • The range of walruses and polar bears often overlaps in Baffin Bay, Foxe Basin, Barents, Chukchi, Laptev, Lancaster Sound, Kara, western Beaufort Seas, and Bering Seas. Walruses are shallow divers and they are protected by a 2 – 4 cm thick skin.
    • Therefore, only the largest polar bear can afford to take on adult walruses but that too happens in extreme circumstances. Generally polar bears are most likely to feed on walrus’ calves.
    • Walruses usually congregate in large groups consisting of thousands of individuals. It is not easy for a polar bear to hunt a walrus’ calf that lies among the largest walruses. And so, polar bear sometimes stampedes a large herd and by so doing, they can get a chance to grab a calf.
    • The large herd runs towards the sea as the polar bear intrudes them. On their way they sometimes kill their own calves which indeed become the polar bear’s meal.
    • Walruses on land are thought to be rather more vulnerable to polar bears as compared to those that occur in water or on ice. The reason why they are so susceptible on land is that walrus, unlike polar bears, are not really agile on land.
    Although I have seen a lot of both polar bears and walruses in the same areas in Franz Josef Land, I have never seen a bear chase a walrus. The walruses were absolutely indifferent to the bear; it could go close by them without their noticing it. They obviously feel quite safe and superior…Fridtjof Nansen, a 19th century Norwegian Explorer

    • Many polar bear populations are unable to prey on walrus for they live far apart. However those that live near walrus population likely prey on walrus but only adult male bears do the hunting.
    • Studies suggest that male polar bears attempt about 60% of attacks on walrus, while females attempt only 17%. The subadult bears attempt the remaining 23% of the attacks but most, if not all, of their hunts ends up in waste.
    • Scientists estimate that on Wrangel Island, about 6% of polar bear’s predation ends up in success. The walrus’ calves turn out to be the most common target.

    Why Do Polar Bears Eat Walruses?

    Now, you would probably be wondering as to why polar bears eat walruses when they know it’s a dangerous meal. They will hunt walrus only as a last resort. That is to say that when polar bear’s primary prey becomes scarce, they go after the walrus. It so happens that sometimes the polar bear starves for months and thus it becomes so desperate that it doesn’t afraid to take more chances.

    Walrus’ meal is particularly dangerous because it can sometimes cause serious injuries to a polar bear. The meal is heavy and so is the price. The bottom line is that the polar bears must have been much larger than they actually are, in order to hunt walruses pretty safely.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Walruses? – Video showing adult polar bear intruding a walrus colony

  • How Much Does a Baby Polar Bear Weigh?

    Baby polar bears are way too small as compared to adult bears. They are usually born in November and February. At birth, the baby polar bear typically shows light down fur which is probably not dense enough to protect it from the chilling cold of the Arctic. Now let us see how much do polar bear cubs weigh at birth.

    How Much Does a Baby Polar Bear Weigh?

    The newborn baby polar weighs only 2 pounds or 0.9 kilogram—nearly the weight of an adult ground squirrel. It is curious that an animal weighing only a couple of pounds at birth reaches the size of the biggest land carnivore in the world. However small it is at birth, the baby polar bear grows pretty quickly especially in the initial days of its birth. The polar bear cub stays in a den for up to mid-April after which the cubs leave the den. By the time the cubs leave the den they weigh 22 to 33 pounds.

    A polar bear cub. How much does a baby polar bear weigh?. Photo by DailyMail

    Scientists wonder why do baby polar bears are born so little at birth. One probable reason (according to researchers) might be that the female polar bear doesn’t eat anything during the hibernation-like state so the baby polar bear comes out just as weak. The mother starves for months in dormancy period which indeed renders the baby polar bear rather feeble.

    How Much Does a Baby Polar Bear Weigh? – Video

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  • 49 Polar Bear Facts for Kids

    Polar bears have long been admired for their cuddly appearance particularly polar bear cubs which do not only look loveable they actually display white fluffy hairs. Children love just about anything about polar bear so that they may prepare polar bear worksheets, polar bear essays, polar bear research projects, and so on. Well, here we’re bringing some of the most fascinating polar bear facts for kids that reflect on the entire life of polar bears in the Arctic.

    49 Polar Bear Facts for Kids

    1. The scientific name of a polar bear is Ursus maritimus. Constantine John Phipps was the first person who gave polar bear a scientific name back in 1774. The word means ‘sea bear’ or ‘maritime bear’.
    2. The polar bear is the only bear species that can continuously swim for days.
    3. Polar bear is not white; it only appears to be one. The polar bear hairs are hollow and they reflect the light.
    4. Polar bear’s skin color is black. One can notice its black skin when the bear sheds its fur possibly due to some disease.
    5. Polar bears have very sharp sense of smell. They can smell their prey from as far as 1.5 kilometers away.
    6. They do not make too much noise. During the breeding season male bear growls in order to show aggression to the other male.
    7. A polar bear is a super carnivore which means that it lives on meat. Unlike other bears, a polar bear never eats grass.
    8. It is adapted to living in extreme cold weather conditions. Polar bears can survive in temperatures as low as minus 40 degree Fahrenheit.
    9. Polar bears can spend months in starvation. A mother polar bear does not eat anything during hibernation.
    10. Polar bears are not true hibernators. They do however enter into dormancy state but scientists do not call it hibernation.
    11. A female polar bear remains inactive for as long as 4 – 5 months in a year.
    12. It is one of the few mammals which are quite badly hit by global warming.
    13. Polar bears are strong swimmers. The longest swimming record by any polar bear is 9 days. This is the record of a female bear.
    14. The female bear is only half the size of an adult male.
    15. Adult males sometimes eat polar bear cubs.
    16. Polar bears sleep and give birth in dens. They will build dens on ice packs.
    17. The polar bear is the largest bear species.
    18. It has the shortest tail of all bears.
    19. A polar bear is the biggest of all carnivorous land mammals.
    20. Polar bears do not eat penguins.
    21. Polar bears live in the Arctic whereas penguins are found in the Antarctic.
    22. During summer, the polar bear coat turns yellow
    23. Polar bears can run fast but they do not chase their prey for long because they get overheated.
    24. They do not seem to have any natural predators in the wild.
    25. Polar bears love to feed on ringed and bearded seals.
    26. They will not eat humans. A male polar bear is comparatively more aggressive than female bears.
    27. They have poor eyesight. Polar bears do not depend on sight for hunting prey.
    28. Polar bears are found in Russia, United States, Canada, Norway, United States, and Denmark.
    29. The largest population of polar bears occurs in Canada.
    30. Currently there are 25,000 polar bears living in the Arctic.
    31. Adult male bears weigh up to 772–1,543 pounds while female averages 331–551 only.
    32. The length of an adult male is about 7 ft 10 in–9 ft 10 inches with the female measuring up to 5 ft 11 in–7 ft 10 inches.
    33. Kodiak brown bear is probably the only species which goes about the size of a polar bear.
    34. Polar bears have quite heavy and sharp claws—perfect for digging ice.
    35. Polar bears have 42 teeth in total.
    36. They have long hairs of about 2 – 6 inches in length.
    37. As the bear grows older the white coat turns yellow.
    38. The maximum distance covered by any polar bear is estimated at 400 miles in swimming.
    39. Unlike other bear species, polar bears do not maintain territories.
    40. They are known to travel alone. However sometimes a group of polar bears is found feeding at the whale carcass.
    41. During distress, polar bears produce sounds like chuffs and
    42. Polar bear uses still-hunting method to hunt seals. The bear likely waits for several hours sitting at the same spot—waiting for seal to show up.
    43. Polar bears eat seals because it provides them blubber as well as calorie-rich skin.
    44. The polar bear cubs weigh only 2 pounds at birth.
    45. The female produces two cubs but when the food is scarce she only raises one.
    46. Males attain maturity at 6 years of age while females become mature at 4 years age.
    47. The average lifespan of a polar bear is about 20 – 25 years in the wild. One polar bear died at the age of 32 in the wild. The maximum lifespan in captivity is about 43 years.
    48. Brown bears and polar bears do fight over the food.
    49. The overall population is stable. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has listed polar bears as Vulnerable.

    Read More: How to Draw a Polar Bear for Kids?

  • Polar Bear Habitat for Kids

    Habitat is a place where an animal lives. It is the animal’s home. Polar bear habitat is different from other land predators or even other bear species. Most other bear habitats consist of green vegetation but the polar bear habitat is the combination of ice and water. Although the bear is a land animal it is also called marine mammal because polar bear spends half of its life in swimming. It is now time to explore some of the most interesting facts about polar bear habitat for kids.

    Polar Bear Habitat for Kids

    • The polar bear makes home on an annual sea ice especially the ice floes that float in water. It will build dens on the ice to protect their cubs from potential predators.
    • This shows that the primary habitat of a polar bear lies where the sea ice actually meets the Arctic water.
    • Polar bears prefer to choose icy habitats because they hunt seals by standing over the ice floes. They will rarely chase seals into the water.
    • The polar bear habitat is not composed of freshwater because it is mostly locked up in snow.
    • Annual ice doesn’t necessarily occur throughout the year—it melts during the summer. In the James Bay and Hudson Bay the ice completely disappears—making it hard for polar bears to hunt seals.
    • The female polar bear generally builds dens on large frozen ice packs.
    • Polar bears do not make habitats in North Pole because the density of seals is pretty low at the Pole.
    • The temperature of a polar bear habitat is 10 °C (50 °F).

    Polar Bear Habitat for Kids – Video

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  • What Seals Do Polar Bears Eat? – Polar Bear Primary Diet

    Polar bears rely on seals for the most part of their diet. While they eat just about any kind of seal, polar bears do have special preference for a few seal species. For instance, they love to feed on ringed seal and bearded seal. Ringed and bearded seals are the top menu items of polar bear’s diet. According to an estimate, the entire population of polar bears eats one million seals a year. That’s pretty much! Let us see now what kind of seals do polar bears eat in the tundra.

    What Kind of Seals Do Polar Bears Eat?

    As I said before, polar bears consume any kind of seal species no matter what. However, there are certain seals which are probably much more nutritious than others. But polar bears need them all to survive in the Arctic.

    Perhaps the most widely distributed seal species is the ringed seal which occurs in millions in the Arctic waters. But they also make up the essential and major portion of the polar bear’s diet.

    Read More: What Do Polar Bears Eat?

    There are two reasons as to why polar bears like ringed seals the most. First, ringed seals can be easily found as compared to other seals since they are most common. Secondly, they are smaller in size in comparison to the bearded seals. Not only do adult polar bears consume adult ringed seals, subadult bears can also fancy their chances feeding on adult ringed seals.

    Apart from ringed and bearded seals, polar bears also prey on harbor seal, hooded seal, and harp seal.

    On the contrary, bearded seals (which are also quite abundant perhaps not as much as ringed seals) are not only bigger than the ringed seals—they grow pretty quickly. Once they reach adulthood they become less vulnerable to the polar bears—at least to subadult bears.

    The adult bearded seal averages 500 – 800 pounds. Nonetheless, adult polar bears know it all too well. They mostly go for bearded seal’s pups which are easy to prey on. However, if a bear catches an adult bearded seal it can go by weeks without hunting anymore. It’s as if the bear has consumed 6 to 7 ringed seals at one time.

    Apart from ringed and bearded seals, polar bears also prey on harbor seal, hooded seal, and harp seal. They will eat seals in spring and summer because winter comes with the frozen arctic waters. Hooded seals are pretty hard to find as studies suggest that polar bears are able to eat hooded seals only 20 days in a year.

    As it turns out, hooded seals make up only 2 – 3 % of the bear’s diet. Hooded seals are also pretty much bigger and heavier than the ringed seals so only adult polar bears can afford to take down adult hooded seals.

    What Seals Do Polar Bears Eat? – Video shows a hungry polar bear catches a ringed seal and surprises the seal with its attack!

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  • Do Polar Bears Eat Orcas?

    Polar bears and orcas do not appear to have any direct predator-prey relationship. While both inhabit the same environmental conditions they seldom go after each other. However, since both are apex predators as well as opportunistic in nature—they are most likely to look at other as a potential food source. You may not find any video or still in which polar bears are eating orcas but scientists do believe that the Arctic bears always feast on orcas if they find one along the way. Let’s find out how do polar bears eat Orcas in the Arctic Sea.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Orcas?

    Yes, polar bears do consume orcas but in a way they prey on ringed seals. Orcas are bigger, much heavier than seals and any other marine prey. Besides, killer whales are supreme predators so polar bears find it extremely hard to kill animal such as this. Nonetheless, polar bears are scavengers too and whenever they smell large dead whale lying ashore they just go for it.

    Read More: Do Killer Whales Eat Polar Bears?

    A polar bear feeding on a dead whale carcass–probably not an Orca. Do Polar Bears Eat Orcas?
    • So, this shows that polar bears fancy eating dead orcas. Another reason why they prefer to eat orcas is that it provides a large quantity of meat—enough to satisfy 15 – 20 bears at a time.
    • That is why you’ll see as many as 20 polar bears feeding on a single carcass of a killer whale. Having said that however orcas can never make up the polar bear’s top menu and so polar bears don’t really rely on them.
    • Thus, we can conclude that polar bears eat orcas perhaps not as a regular part of their diet. But if they get one, they’ll eat one!