POLAR BEAR

Polar bear, are huge mammals, can weight up to 700Kg, when are fully
grown are the largest carnivores on land.

HABITAT
Home is on the sea ice (The Artic). A polar bear's home range can be
enormous, far greater than any other species of bear. The size of a polar
bear's range depends on two main factors: habitat quality and availability of
seal prey.

DIET
The polar bear are the largest carnivores on land, their favorite food are
seals because the fat gives them lots of energy and keep them warm, when

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they are desesperate for food they also eat walrus or other meat when is
available.

CHARACTERISTICS
Skin, Ears, & Tail.- To keep them warm, polar bears have black skin over a
thick layer of fat that can measure up to 11.4 centimeters.

In the water, they rely more on their fat layer to keep warm; wet fur is a poor
insulator. This is why mother bears are reluctant to swim with young cubs in
the spring the cubs just don't have enough fat.

Their skin isnt the only thing working to keep them warm their ears are small
and round, and their tails short and compact, to conserve the most heat
possible.

Paws & Claws.- Polar bear paws are ideal for roaming the Arctic.

They measure up to 30 centimeters across, to help polar bears tread on thin

ice. When the ice is very thin, the bears extend their legs far apart and lower
their bodies to distribute their weight.

Polar bear paws arent designed to help just on land. When swimming, the
bear's forepaws act like large paddles and its hind paws serve as rudders.

Black footpads on the bottom of each paw are covered by small, soft bumps
known as papillae. Papillae grip the ice and keep the bear from slipping. Tufts
of fur between its toes and footpads can help with security as well.

As can their claws. Thick, curved, sharp, and strong each measures more than
five centimeters long. Polar bears use their claws to catch and hold prey and
to gain traction on ice.

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PHYSICAL ADAPTATIONS TO SURVIVE IN COLD
WEATHERS
Polar bear fur is made up of a dense underfur that is topped by guard hairs
that vary in length. The fur prevents almost all heat loss in fact, adult males
can quickly overheat when they run, the fur isnt a white it just looks that way.
Each hair is pigment-free and transparent, reflects visible light, much like
what happens with ice and snow, so they can hidde in the snow for hunting
prey. Fur has a gross fat coat to prevent freezing in winter and skin is black
to absorb energy from the sun.

PREDATORS OF THIS ANIMAL

They dont have natural predators at all. Ironically, the only one they have to
fear in their natural environment is their own kind. Most of the time the
injuries or even death that occur when males have battles for the right to
mate. Sometimes the polar bears kill the cubs of another one to have their
own cubs with the female.

5 IMPORTANT FACTS

Polar bears are the largest and longest species of bear. Males
can measure up to 3 meters when standing on their hind legs.
When they arent hunting, polar bears are resting up to 20 hours
a day.
Their nose is so powerful it can smell a seal on the ice 32
kilometers away, smell a seals den that has been covered with
snow, and even find an injured animal or seals air hole up to 1.6
kilometers away.
Polar bears typically kill and eat prey every four to five days.

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 Except for females with cubs, polar bears are solitary.

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