While polar bear’s white fur camouflages it into the white snowy background its black skin primarily serves to keep the bear warm nearly all the time. The reason why polar bears have black skins is that black color (as you probably know) absorbs heat and sunlight inasmuch as they can. That is why most people usually do not wear dark-colored clothes in summer. Now let us study in detail as to what color skin do polar bears have.
Why Do Polar Bears have Black Skin?
Polar bears inhabit one of the coolest places on planet earth. Like most other Arctic mammals, polar bears have quite many adaptations to survive the freezing cold of the North. One such useful adaptation is a bear’s black skin. The polar bear’s skin soaks up as much sunlight as it possibly can and so it keeps the animal warm.
Read More: Why are Polar Bears White?
Black color generally does not reflect light, it absorbs the light. Polar bears live in Canadian Arctic as well as Denmark, Russia, Norway, and Alaska—places where sun doesn’t shine like in Southern Hemisphere. Thus, it turns out to be extremely effective feature in absorbing the available sunlight.