Polar Bear Facts

Tag: Polar Bear Facts

  • How Do Polar Bears Communicate?

    Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) communicate with each other not only through words but also by actions. They speak to one another just like we humans do. One of their body postures is known as head wagging which is a sign of excitement and suggests that the bear wants to play. Polar bears also communicate through smell, sight, and touch. They will utter growling call or grind their teeth when they are offended. Polar bear cubs are likely to smack their lips which indicate that they are scared.

    How Do Polar Bears Communicate?

    Adult males often fight in playing and they do so when one of the individuals advances towards the other by lowering down its head; not looking into other’s eyes, with mouth closed and front paws to the side. The first contact is typically made by mouthing and touching the other’s neck. Minutes later they both stand only on hind legs which shows they are ready to play-fight. During play-fight one polar bear will push the other with her forepaws.

    How Do Female Polar Bears Communicate with her Cubs?

    A female polar bear is known to communicate with her cubs by touching her muzzle, body, and paws. When mother is angry she just touches cubs with her forepaws or utter a low growling sound but when she wants to show affection she might use her muzzle against the cub’s muzzle. In order to give comforts to the cubs the mother mostly nuzzles her snout. When she wants to send warning or threat signal to her cubs then she utters chuffing sound. The cubs respond to her call and get as close to her as possible.

    When polar bears growl it means that they are extremely angry. A deep growling may also suggest the mother bear is protecting her food—she is just telling others to stay away. If an intruder doesn’t listen to her warning then she might charge with her heads down and ears back. However apart from that mother usually avoid getting into conflict with adult males and they only do so when provoked. She would also stay downwind of aggressive bears so that it may not smell her.

  • Greenland Shark Eat Polar Bear

    The Greenland shark is one of the largest shark species reaching a length of about 21 to 24 feet and weighs up to 2,200 pounds. Scientists were surprised to discover that Greenland sharks eat polar bears. They found remnants of polar bears in one of the shark’s stomach which was quite astonishing. However they do not know if shark ate the dead carcass of a bear or she actually pursued the bear and killed it. Besides, the feeding behavior of a Greenland shark has been poorly studied.

    Greenland Shark Eat Polar Bear

    Greenland shark is also an apex predator but it has never been reported to kill such an unusual prey animal such as this. It might be possible that the shark consumed the polar bear cubs that drowned while swimming. Polar bear cubs are not expert swimmers but they remain close to their mother during swimming. The primary preys of Greenland shark are eels, cod, small sharks, herring, redfish, lumpfish, skates, and squid.

    Size and Weight

    Greenland sharks measure up to 6.4 m (21 ft) and 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) but the largest specimens grow as large as 1,400 kg (3,100 lb). Polar bears grow up to 350 – 700 kg. In Greenland sharks males are slightly smaller than the females whereas in polar bears males are twice the size of a female.

    Greenland Shark Behavior

    The Greenland shark is a deep water diver for it is found at a depth of about 2,200 meters (7,200 ft). Polar bears on the other hand dives in shallow water for they must come to the surface every one or two minutes to breathe.

    Polar bears can swim at a speed of about 10 km/h (6 mph) whereas Greenland shark cruises at 2.6 km/h (1.6 mph). The bear’s swimming speed is clearly ahead of a shark’s. Greenland shark cannot attain the given speed because this is the top speed. Sharks mostly cruise when they follow seals. The average speed of a Greenland shark is around 1.3 km/h.

    Greenland Shark Lifespan

    Greenland sharks are the longest living vertebrates on earth. Recent findings suggest that they can live 270 years to 512 years.

    The oldest polar bear died at the age of 42 years. The bear was bred in captivity. Bears have a typical lifespan of about 15 – 25 years. There is virtually no comparison between the two Greenland species—not at least in longevity.

    Conservation Status

    Polar bears are threatened in much of its range but Greenland sharks are listed as Near Threatened species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

  • Female Polar Bear | Size, Weight, Denning Behavior, Affection  

    A female polar bear is less than half the size of a male polar bear. She is also much less in weight as compared to their mating partners. A female bear attains maturity in just 4 – 5 years but if the food is abundant she becomes mature in 3 years. Every spring she enters into hibernation sort of state (dormancy) and remains inactive in her den. This is a period of pregnancy and she leaves the den only after the cubs are able to run along with her. The female polar bear is thought to be highly devoted and dedicated mother as she continues to nurse her cubs for as long as 1 – 2 years.

    What is a Female Polar Bear Called?

    A female polar bear is called sow. Sow remains inactive for almost half of the year. She spends these inactive hours in her den.

    How much does a Female Polar Bear Weigh? | Female Polar Bear Weight

    Adult females weigh no more than 150 – 250 kg (331–551 lb) with the overall length measuring up to 1.8–2.4 meters (5 ft 11 in–7 ft 10 in). The maximum weight ever recorded in adult females is about 260 kg (573 lb). During pregnancy when they are about to enter den they weigh as much as 500 kg (1,102 lb).

    Soon after mating the sows will eat large amount of food in order to store fat reserves. These fat reserves are pretty useful during dormancy. During these days sows put so much weight that they become compatible with adult males.

    Denning Behavior

    A sow is adaptable to survive many weeks in starvation especially during late summer and early fall. During warmer months when the ice floes break up sows begin to dig maternity dens in which they are going to spend the next four months in hibernation. The den consists of 3 to 4 chambers with a narrow opening. They preferably make dens in drift snows but if the snow is not thick enough the dens may be shifted underground. The underground dens are usually made 2 – 3 kilometers from the coast.

    female polar bear
    A Female polar bear nursing her cubs. Chelsea Tischler — National Geographic Your Shot

    Hunting Seals

    She prefers to hunt young bearded or ringed seals because the adult seals are too large to be handled by sow alone. Only mature boars are strong enough to take down adult seals.

    How Do Female Polar Bears Communicate with their Young?

    When adult females want to communicate to their young they produce a couple of sounds such as chuffs and moans. However the distress or a mayday call consists of bleats. She utters huffs or snorts or growls when she feels threatened or nervous.

    Female bears will communicate with adult males by leaving their scents behind so that males follow the track. The verbal communication and chemical composition go side by side in bears.

    Affection with her Cubs

    Sows are one of the most affectionate mothers in the carnivorous mammals. They never leave the cubs unattended. Many a times it happens that a female polar bear adopts a wild cub and a cub becomes the permanent member of her family unit. She actively guards her cubs against any potential predator including mature bears. The boars are known to kill cubs and sometimes eat them when they are hungry.

    Female Polar Bear Lifespan

    The maximum lifespan of a female polar bear is 43 years which is of a captive specimen that died in 1991.

    Female Polar Bear – Video

  • Do Polar Bears Live in Antarctica? – Are there Polar Bears in Antarctica?

    Polar bears do not live in Antarctica. They never had. Polar bears live in the Arctic which occurs at the northernmost part of the planet. Antarctica on the other hand lies at the south pole of the Earth. Arctic and Antarctica shares many geographical features. Both regions are the coolest places on earth. But they are opposite to each other. Still many people wonder do polar bears live in Antarctica.

    The temperature can drop down to minus 50 degree Celsius in Arctic as well as in Antarctic. One is the frozen desert while other becomes the frozen ocean in winter. More than a century ago scientists possibly tried to introduce polar bears in Antarctica but they couldn’t. As of now the Convention on the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources (CCAMLR) discourages any such attempt because it would eventually disturb the ecosystem of arctic and Antarctica. Now let us study why do polar bears not live in Antarctica.

    Do Polar Bears Live in Antarctica? – Are there Polar Bears In Antarctica?

    They would never live in Antarctica precisely because the evolution of polar bears likely occurred in the northwestern Europe much less Scandinavia. During the late Weichselian and early Holocene period about 10,000 – 15,000 years ago polar bears had begun occupying the lands of Denmark, Sweden, and Norway. If they had colonized the southernmost regions they would have occurred in Antarctica beyond doubt.

    So, here is the question: Why can’t polar bears live in Antarctica? Polar bears’ absence in Antarctica is not due to their inability to survive the extreme weather. They can and they do go by many days when the temperature falls below 30 degree Celsius. Besides, the polar bear’s dense fur always keeps the animal warm no matter how cold the weather turns out to be. The marine life and the sea ice characteristics in both Arctic and Antarctic are almost similar.

    do polar bears live in antarctica?
    A mother polar bear actively defends her cubs even from a large dominant male polar bear. Polar bears are only found in the Arctic Circle. Do polar bears live in Antarctica? Photo by National Geographic.
    • Should polar bears live in Antarctica they would have thrived in the same way as they do in the arctic. They would have loved to consume Antarctic fur seals which are fairly abundant. Also, penguins are the permanent residents of the Antarctic; they are the easiest of all marine prey.
    • Polar bears are not choosy hunters—they are opportunistic predators. It is just that their evolution occurs at far north—opposite end of the pole. One cannot assume that polar bears would migrate all the way to the south just to have the same kind of habitat and prey. Polar bears are bears not arctic terns that they would fly thousands of miles in a year.
    • Furthermore, during the Holocene periods when polar bears evolved the land between north and the south were not fully covered with sea ice. Therefore the question of connecting southern with northern hemispheres does not arise since polar bears prefer to walk on sea ice.
    • Arctic is home to millions of seals which is the primary diet of polar bears. About 80% of polar bear’s diet consists of ringed and bearded seals. Bears kill seals because they need blubber in order to pass months in starvation. Antarctic also provides the similar nutritious food sources however in the early 19th and 20th centuries humans have hunted Antarctic fur seals so heavily that seals are becoming redundant in their own habitat.
    • The quantity of food could have a negative impact on the lifespan of polar bears should they live in Antarctica. Else, both Arctic and Antarctic are appropriate habitats for polar bears.

    Do Polar Bears Live in Antarctica? – Video

  • Do Polar Bears have Tails? – Polar Bear Tail Facts

    Yes, polar bears do have tails. However the size is so small that one can barely notice it. It is almost as if the bear lacks one. Arctic bears have tiny tails as is typical of all bears. Unlike other bear’s characteristics, tail appears to be quite irrelevant in polar bear’s behavioral adaptations. It doesn’t seem to be a defining feature of a large, potentially dangerous polar bear. Let’s find out why do polar bears have tails.

    Do Polar Bears have Tails?

    But…the question is why don’t polar bears have long tails? Studies suggest that millions of years ago polar bears had possessed possess long tails. As the bear evolves it eventually loses the length of its tail so much so that one can easily classify polar bear as a tail-less predator.

    Currently, polar bears have only 5-inches-long stubby tails which are in absolute contrast to the massive body size.

    Polar bear’s tail not only has an extra blood vessel—it possesses an additional layer of fat which prevents the tail from freezing in extreme temperature. The tail is all covered with furs and its only possible function is to protect the polar bear’s anus.

    READ: [Polar Bear Organs]

    do polar bears have tails?
    The bear’s tail is quite visible but it’s probably not the defining feature in polar bears. Polar bears have got the shortest tails of all bear species. Do polar bears have tails? Photo by Polarbearsinternational.org

    Researchers believe that bears let alone polar bears lose their tail-length in the process of evolution because they probably didn’t need one. This is quite rare in other land carnivores such as dogs. Dog’s tail serves as an important tool in communication.

    Dogs wag tails when they are happy. Similarly macaques use their long tails to balance their bodies while moving between the trees. Cheetah’s tail helps her to steer as well as to stabilize while sprinting at 70 miles per hour.

    Polar bears on the other hand prefer to communicate head on. They will stand on hind legs to send specific signals to their counterparts. But polar bears will never use tails in the same way as other mammals do. In fact, ironically perhaps they don’t know if they ever had one on their back.

    Do Polar Bears have Tails? – Video

  • Do Polar Bears Eat Whales?

    A part from ringed seals polar bears also consume bigger prey animals such as whales. But they do not seem to actively hunt live whales (may be they do but very few evidences are there to support the argument). Depends on the location ice bears love to feed on whale carcasses. In the Western Hudson Bay, Beaufort Sea, and the Davis Strait the bear has a varied diet. In these Canadian arctic regions, bears often smell whale carcasses miles away and begin feed in groups. This is quite unique behavior almost contrary what many believe that polar bears are lone feeders. While they wander alone for days across the polar ice polar bears mostly eat bigger meal such as whale carcasses in groups of three to four individuals.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Whales?

    Yes they probably do! In Kaktovik researchers found out that a group of 3 – 4 polar bears were feeding on a dead carcass of a beluga whale just like the scavengers in the African savannah. Thanks to their sharp canines with the help of which bears can rip off chunks of whale’s flesh. Every year in the Hudson Bay as many as 20 beluga whales are trapped in the sea ice. Polar bears know it—know it all too well. They smash the 2-feet thick ice with their powerful forepaws and kill the whales. Minutes later they will drag the whale out of water to take ashore.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Bowhead Whales?

    Yes! Polar bears eat bowhead whales. Many a times it happens that a bear drags a 10-meter bowhead whale off the shore and only in few hours’ time the arctic predator enjoys the taste of thick skin together with the whale’s blubber. The Inupiat of Kaktovik hunts whales every fall the remains of which are left on the edge of town for polar bears to consume. The authorities have allowed natives to hunt only 3 whales each season. This can provide the carcass meal to the adult polar bears that are too old to hunt seals.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Sperm Whales?

    Andrew Derocher, a biologist saw polar bears feeding on carcass of a sperm whale in the Svalbard. Sperm whales are usually found in the North Atlantic waters but they possibly traveled north to find food.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Whales? – Video

  • Do Polar Bears Eat Penguins? – Why Don’t Polar Bears Eat Penguins?

    Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are highly opportunistic feeders in that they will consume just about anything in the Arctic. That’s right! Nearly all living organisms in the arctic are likely to fall prey to polar bears. But penguins don’t live in the arctic do they? They occur in the Antarctic which lies at the South Pole whereas polar bears live in the North Pole. Arctic is located exactly opposite to the Antarctic. Perhaps it’s time to see why don’t polar bears eat penguins.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Penguins?

    There is virtually no comparison between the two species living far off from each other. The freezing weather of the arctic and Antarctica is what makes people confuse regarding the dietary behavior of animals. It’s a myth that polar bears eat penguins but they would if they had lived in the same habitat.

    No penguin lives in the arctic and the odds are that polar bears probably never saw one in their life. However if penguins had occurred in the North Pole than they would certainly become (though not essential) part of the polar bear’s diet. Since white bears fancy eating seals because of the seal’s fatty components which they need during winter penguins don’t seem to offer any such fatty component. Thus even if bears prey on penguins this can never replace their essential prey (seal). But polar bears could supplement their diet with some penguins. Nonetheless it doesn’t stand to any logic for polar bears and penguins might never see each other.

    Having said that, scientists do believe and few of them witnessed it that an isolated population of a penguin has begun to live in the north of the equator. Still much to prove regarding the statement. Arctic waters do not appear to provide suitable habitat for penguins. Besides, unlike polar bears penguins might not be able to swim in warm waters.

    Adult bears are fond of eating only the blubber of ringed seal (leaving the meat for the young bears) because the blubber not only gives them thousands of calories but it also provides fats so that the bear may spend days in fasting. No such component occurs in penguins. They are simply birds. Polar bears (if at all) eat penguins only when the primary diet is scarce. But penguins do not make up the ecosystem of the arctic.

    Yet another reason as to why polar bears would not have preferred to prey on penguins is that birds such as this cannot provide sufficient protein for young bears to survive the frigid arctic weather.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Penguins? – Video

  • Do Polar Bears Eat Fish? | Do Polar Bears Eat Salmon?

    Yes and probably no! Polar bears always prefer to hunt bigger animals such as seals or walruses. However during warmer months when the ice retreats and they are unable to hunt marine animals, polar bears fancy eating fish as their alternative food. Apart from that polar bears, unlike brown bears, do not often rely on fish for their daily consumption. Let us find out what type of fish do polar bears eat.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Fish?

    Unlike brown bears, polar bears do not usually eat fish. Brown bears are experts in catching fish. They just stand on rocks and as the fish jumps the bear grabs it with her jaws. Polar bears do not appear to possess any such technique and also the arctic is different from Alaska. But the question is; do polar bears need to catch fish like brown bears do when they spend most of their time in swimming? Certainly not! All they need is to swim and follow their traditional prey to supplement their diet.

    Over the past few years prolonged summers and short winters have forced polar bears to search for alternate prey. Therefore in the eastern Greenland and southern Svalbard polar bears are seen capturing fish. This is a tough ask for polar bears especially if the ice breaks. They need ice not only to hunt seals but also to catch fish.

    But if the prey is not big enough to satisfy the bear’s appetite it must be nutritious. Fish such as salmon is likely to be a nutritious food that keeps the bear warm in a freezing temperature. Polar bears are also thought to catch Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) as well as fourhorn sculpin during swimming.

    [table id=Fish /]

    Do Polar Bears Eat Fish? – Polar Bears eating Salmon – Video

  • Do Polar Bears Eat Dolphins?

    Norwegian scientists believe that polar bears have been forced to feed on species which they had never eaten in 50 years. Recently they discovered that polar bears are eating dolphins perhaps for the first time in the Norwegian arctic. Scientists however blame climate change for this much flexibility in the bear’s diet. Researchers also photographed polar bears consuming two carcasses of white-beaked dolphins. Now let us find out if polar bears really eat dolphins in the wild.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Dolphins?

    Dolphins are not rare in the Norwegian Arctic but polar bears have never fed on them. During warmer months when the ice floes break up dolphins are rather exposed to the arctic land predators such as polar bears. However in spring they are covered with thick ice sheets yet bears can smell beneath the snow. According to scientists the dolphins might have moved further north due to ice melts. Besides, ice-free winters in the arctic further provoke dolphins to travel northwards.

    Dolphins must come to the surface to breathe. White bears are always alert to the tiny hole in the ice and whenever a dolphin shows up it just smashes the prey with its powerful paws. Dolphins on the other hand do not seem to have choice; they must breathe through a tiny hole to breathe.

    Polar bears usually freeze the remains of dolphins (after eating) by covering it in snow. They do so in order to prevent arctic fox or other land predators from smelling it. Bears will get this frozen dolphin the next day when the food is scarce.

  • Do Polar Bears eat Caribou?

    The caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) is a large North American animal. The caribou’s range extends to Alaska where it meets apex predators of the Arctic Ocean. One of the predators is a polar bear that seems to rule the Arctic land in the midsummer. Polar bears eat caribou in summer when the ice floes disappear and bears must hunt on land. Polar bears are also responsible for the decline of caribou’s population in Alaska.

    Caribou can move relatively freely in winter because polar bears remain close to the ice floes (away from land) to hunt seals. A 200-kilogram caribou provides protein-rich food to polar bears and they can afford to spend days in summer without eating.

    Do Polar Bears Eat Caribou?

    The scientists at the American Museum of Natural History suggest that polar bears seem to be increasingly rely on caribou in the past 40 years. This is primarily due to gradual warming of the Arctic waters. As it turns out the warmer months stay longer than before. Polar bears are forced to hunt on land and thus they prey on caribou.

    Previously white bears didn’t seem to bother with the presence of animals such as caribou because they’ve had enough of seals in winter. However recent changes in climate forced polar bears to survive on offshore land animals.

    Similarly the isolated population in the western Hudson Bay is thought to survive on alternate food sources. Certain adult bears consume plants—indicating their adaptation to rapid changing circumstances. It goes back in time when polar bears shared characteristic behavior with brown bears some 600,000 years ago. The white bear might have adopted this behavior from brown bears.

    do polar bears eat caribou
    A Caribou trotting. Fred Lemire — National Geographic Your Shot

    Many researchers (in fact, the leading authorities in the field) are extremely concerned that adaptive behaviors and alternative food sources will not sustain polar bears in their present size or number.

    Scientists suggest that polar bears rarely preyed on snow geese and caribou in the early 20th century because ice froze early each year which makes easier for bears to hunt seals.

    Other Food Sources

    Polar bears likely eat several terrestrial and marine species when the ice disappears. Prominent among these species are berries, grasses, marine algae, fish, small mammals, waterfowl species, bird eggs, willow ptarmigan, and of course caribou.

    Polar bears were not known to prey on land until recently when it started eating eggs from waterfowl’s nesting colonies. The study also proves that bears are now beginning to rely on caribou which is a primary prey in ice-free months.

    Previously white bears didn’t seem to bother with the presence of animals such as caribou because they’ve had enough of seals in winter. However recent changes in climate forced polar bears to survive on offshore land animals. As of now polar bears not only run after the caribou but they can even climb the cliffs if they must in order pursue the prey. This is quite unusual in Ursus maritimus for they had never put so much effort in chasing down alternate prey (in the past). The reason behind this behavioral shift is not known. It may be partly due to the scarcity of primary meal or simply changing food source.