Like polar bear’s skull, polar bear paws are massive in size. The front paws points inwards as the polar bear walks. It does seem like a pigeon-toed. Polar bears most often walk rather than trot. They do however gallop on their paws. Do you want to know how big is a polar paw as compared to other animal’s paws?
How Big is a Polar Bear Paw? – Polar Bear Paw
The polar bear’s paw measures 30 cm (12 inches) in width—almost four times the size of a human’s paw. The Siberian tiger’s paw measures only 15 cm that is only half the size of a polar bear paw. Similarly, African lions have 12.9 wide paws. Clearly, polar bears have got the biggest paws of all land carnivores.
There are small soft papillae or bumps that cover the paw pads. These bumps essentially play a vital role in providing traction on the ice. The polar bear paws resemble other bear’s paws but the former are surprisingly dexterous.
Yes, polar bears have partially webbed feet one that facilitates them in swimming longer distances. However, the polar bear feet are not even close to the penguin’s or duck’s feet. These birds have fully developed webbed feet. The polar bear’s feet are broad and heavy because the bear must run equally fast on land as it swims. The wide feet help the bear to walk on the sea ice rather efficiently. Polar bears are strong swimmers, probably the strongest of all land carnivores.
A polar bear learning to swim. Do polar bears have webbed feet? Photo by DailyMail
Thanks to their powerful wide paws which allow them to propel through water. Siberian tigers are also excellent swimmers but their feet are not so well adapted to swimming and so they can only swim for short distances. Polar bears, on the other hand, can continuously swim for days. They are pretty comfortable in water so much so that scientists are beginning to wonder if they are marine mammals or land mammals. They typically use their feet to steer while front paws are primarily used in swimming.
Polar bears have pretty large feet—they are quite heavy too. Polar bear’s 12-inch wide feet are all covered with dense hairs that are not only meant to keep the bear warm it also provides perfect grip on the ice. The reason as to why polar bears have large feet is that their feet must be large enough to lift the 800-pound-animal. The larger feet also spread the entire weight of a polar bear over deep snow and thin ice to prevent it from falling into the water.
The large polar bear feet however does not prevent the bear from sprinting in that the bear can achieve the speed of 30 miles per hour in short bursts. Usain Bolt, the fastest human runner, can run at a speed of 27.49 miles per hour so there’s no chance that you can ever outrun a polar bear. While polar bear’s feet appear to be quite different from ours they walk in pretty much the same way as we humans do. This is quite rare in land predators. Let’s find out why do polar bears have such big feet.
Why Does a Polar Bear have very Wide Large Paws?
The polar bear paws are designed to assist it not only to carry the massive weight—it also provides an additional grip so that the bear doesn’t slip on the ice. Polar bears can also stand on their paws which they usually do whilst searching for the prey. Their paws also help them to climb up the hill but they are probably not so perfectly designed for climbing as the black bear’s paws.
Polar bears typically sprint on their paws but they also use it in walking. Unlike most other land carnivores, the polar bears are great travelers—covering as much as 70 to 80 miles on foot. They are thought to cover that much distance in a single day. Thanks to their wide paws and large feet without which they might not be able to walk comfortably on the sea ice.
