What is the name of a polar bear? What do polar bears eat? Does a polar bear eat penguins? Polar bears in the polar latitudes

Adapted to low Arctic temperatures and long hunger strikes. Unlike their dark brothers, alone, on their own.

This animal has the most sensitive sense of smell, however, it is not deprived of both hearing and sharp vision, which allows them to easily hunt agile seals in the water, which constitute the main diet of the furry predator.

Habitat area

Polar bears live in perhaps the most severe climatic zone, they are typical inhabitants of the Far North. The Arctic is their home. It happens that a polar bear enters the tundra of the mainland - the coastal zones of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Russia and Norway. Today, these countries have concluded an agreement on the protection and conservation of the polar bear population.

White predator doesn't lead sedentary image life and constantly moves with the help of floating drifting ice. For example, it moves across the ice to Alaska from Russia, from Canada to Greenland and Norway. Territorial ownership is not typical for polar bear, so he easily shares living space with his relatives and other animals. But nepotism, on the contrary, is developed.

It is known that polar bears are able to swim without rest at sub-zero air temperatures in icy water for about eighty kilometers.

The male leaves immediately after the birth of the puppy, and the female raises and trains the cub for a long time. In the event of the death of a female, the cubs, as a rule, die quickly, with the exception of litters of three or four puppies, where the very fact of the need to fight for maternal attention and food makes the cubs more adaptable and independent already in the first year of life.

Survival Secrets

The polar bear has well-developed paws. They have convex soles with a rough surface, which help the animal move well on ice. These white predators have much larger paws in relation to the whole body than their fellow bears. The favorite type of food is, of course, fish, which the polar bear easily catches in open areas of water, as well as small land and sea animals.

On land, the polar predator stays mainly near river valleys or sea ​​coasts and tries not to go onto the glaciers themselves, although sometimes polar bears even appear on the Greenland ice dome.

It is also noteworthy that the polar bear does not go into traditional hibernation and does not drink water, because it receives the required amount of moisture from its food.

Changing ice conditions have a serious impact on seasonal migrations polar bears. When the ice melts and collapses, the polar bear, excellent swimmer, is shifting towards the Arctic border, closer to the north. With stable seasonal ice formation, bears migrate back. It is observations of the behavior of white clubfoot that allow scientists to draw conclusions about the planet’s glacial reserves and predict global warming.

Polar (or polar) bear - carnivorous mammal, belonging to the Bear family. Ursus maritimus is its Latin name. Where does a polar bear live and what does it eat? How does it reproduce and interact with other animals? What is its population? Where does the animal live? More on this later in the article.

Origin

It was initially assumed that the separation of the brown and polar bear happened about 45-150 thousand years ago, possibly in the territory occupied by modern Ireland. But in the course latest research it was revealed that the division occurred about 338-934 thousand years ago. About one hundred to two hundred years ago, representatives of species crossed, which resulted in hybridization. As a result, all polar bears inhabiting the planet today are descendants of the resulting hybrids.

External data

The polar bear is considered one of the most major representatives terrestrial mammals from the order of predators. The height of individuals can reach 3 m, weight - up to a ton. The most common are males, whose weight is from 400 to 450 kg, and their body length is up to 250 cm. At the withers, the height is from 130 to 150 centimeters. Females weigh significantly less - from 200 to 300 kg. The smallest representatives live on Spitsbergen, and the largest ones live in the Bering Sea. The white bear is distinguished from other bears by its flat head and long neck.

Skin color - black. The fur can have a color from yellowish to white (in summer the “fur coat” may turn yellow due to constant exposure to direct sunlight). The fur is hollow, and the fur itself is devoid of pigment. Translucent hairs are capable of transmitting, due to which the cover acquires thermal insulation properties. When carrying out UV photography, a polar bear may appear dark, and sometimes it may even turn green. This usually happens if a white bear is in a zoo, in a hot climate. Due to the special structure of the hairs, microscopic algae grow in them - hence green color skins. In order not to freeze and not slide on the ice, the soles of all limbs are lined with wool. There is a swimming membrane between the toes, and hard bristles are present on the front of the paws. Further in the article we will learn more about what polar bears eat.

Life

Polar bears live on fast ice and drifting ice. There they hunt and get their main food. What do polar bears eat? Their main food is ringed seal, walrus and others. They catch their prey by sneaking from behind cover or near holes. As soon as the victim removes its head from the water, the animal stuns it with a blow from its paw and drags it ashore. A polar bear can also knock over an ice floe on which seals are sitting. Walrus hunting is carried out only on land. As a rule, it eats lard and skin. In case of severe hunger, it devours the entire walrus carcass. But usually the remains of the caught animal are then eaten by arctic foxes. But that's not all that polar bears eat. On occasion, they can also pick up carrion, dead chicks, fish, and eggs. Their diet also includes grass. If polar bears appear in human-inhabited areas, they can be seen in garbage dumps, near waste dumps and food waste.

There are even known cases of them robbing food warehouses of polar expeditions. Everything that polar bears eat contributes to the accumulation of vitamin A in their liver. This compound is contained in their body in sufficient quantities large quantities. There are even reports of several cases of liver poisoning. Does a polar bear eat penguins? This question may arise from those who are new to the habitat of these animals. It is known that penguins inhabit the South, and polar bears - North Pole. There is no way they can meet under natural conditions. It was described above what polar bears eat. And representatives South Pole are not included in their diet.

Nomads

In accordance with the annual change of borders polar ice Polar bears make seasonal transitions. IN summer time they retreat closer to the pole, and in winter they migrate to the southern territories, entering the mainland. Despite the fact that polar bears mainly stay on ice and coasts, they can lie down in dens on islands or on the mainland, in some cases fifty kilometers from the sea. Winter hibernation, the duration of which varies from 50 to 80 days, is usually characteristic of pregnant females. Single females and males do not mate annually and for a fairly short period.

Behavior

Despite their apparent slowness at first glance, bears are fast and agile even on land. In water they dive and swim quite easily. The bear's body is protected from getting wet and cold in the water by dense and very thick hair. A special adaptive task is performed by subcutaneous fat with a layer of up to ten centimeters. The camouflage of a predatory animal is greatly facilitated by its light coloring. Polar bears have very well developed hearing, vision and sense of smell. They can see their prey from several kilometers away, and, for example, they can smell a seal from 800 meters away.

Reproduction

The rut for polar bears begins in March and ends in June. In estrus, a female is usually followed by three or four males. By October, females begin to dig dens in the sediment. Bears have favorite territories where they gather (Wrangel Island, for example). Every year there are about 150-200 burrows in such places. Mother bears settle in dens only by mid-November, after the latent stage of bearing cubs has ended. The entire pregnancy lasts 230-250 days. At the end or in the middle of the Arctic winter, cubs are born. The female herself remains in hibernation until April. It should be said that female bears have a low reproductive potential. The first offspring appears at 4-8 years. Childbirth occurs every two to three years, with one to three cubs in one litter. As a result, a female brings no more than ten to fifteen cubs in her entire life. Newborns weigh from 450 to 750 grams. After three months, the female leaves the den with them and begins a wandering life. The cubs remain with their mother for up to one and a half years. During this entire period, she feeds the cubs with milk.

Social structure

It should be said that mortality among cubs reaches 10-30%. The life expectancy of bears is no more than 25-30 years, the record for longevity in captivity is forty-five years. As a rule, animals are peaceful relative to members of their own species. But in mating season Skirmishes between males may occur. Sometimes adult males attack cubs, mostly males. Polar bears can interbreed with brown bears. As a result, fertile (reproductive) offspring appear - polar grizzlies.

Population status and economic importance

The polar bear is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation as rare view. Because of high mortality young animals and slow reproduction, this animal becomes quite easily vulnerable. But even despite this, today it is considered relatively stable, even growing in some way. Eskimos hunt polar bears for meat and skins. In Russia, hunting of animals has been prohibited since 1956. In other countries (Greenland, Canada and the USA), polar bear hunting is limited. On the territory of Russia today there are about 5-7 thousand individuals. At the same time, poachers shoot about 150-200 bears per year.

In the Arctic, where the northern lights play in the sky and where the night continues for three months, and the polar day lasts half the year, the ruler of the North, the polar bear, lives in the white silent desert.

This Arctic inhabitant has no natural natural enemies- only walruses can compete with them. And bears take this into account, avoiding encounters with them.

Polar bear and walruses.

What does a polar bear look like?

Clumsiness, clumsy and clubbed gait are only the first superficial impression made by polar bears. In fact, polar bears are hardy and agile animals, capable of overcoming a height of two meters in one jump, making a day's journey of sixty kilometers and not freezing while swimming in icy water.

Thanks to deposits of subcutaneous fat and thick, luxurious fur, polar bears feel very good in the polar cold. And their fur even covers their feet. It is hollow inside, very dense and thick. The snow-white color of the animal's fur allows it to be almost invisible against the background of polar ice and snow. Only the eyes and black nose indicate the location of the hidden white bear. During the polar day, due to prolonged exposure to sunlight, the animal's fur may acquire a golden-yellow hue.

The body length of a polar bear reaches three meters, and the height at the withers is up to one and a half meters. The weight of an adult male, as a rule, is eight hundred kilograms, but can reach a ton. Females are much smaller: their weight does not exceed three hundred kilograms. The population of the largest polar bears is distributed on the shores of the Bering Sea, and the smallest - on Spitsbergen.

Archipelago Franz Josef Land, o. Alexandra Land, July.

Where does the polar bear live?

Polar bears live on the Russian coast of the Arctic Ocean, Greenland, Canada, Alaska and northern Norway. Their life takes place year-round on fast and drifting ice. If animals stay on land, it is only for a short time. The exception is pregnant bears who lie in dens to give birth to babies. In the winter-spring period, bears gather near the boundaries of stationary polynyas and behind the fast ice zone, and in the summer-autumn season - at their southern tip.

White bears.

Polar bear and tourists.

Two polar bear cubs grabbed onto their mother, who decided to swim to the neighboring island. All three are running out of strength.

What does a polar bear eat?

Polar bears are predators and their main food is of animal origin. They hunt such inhabitants northern seas like seal, sea hare, seal. The bear is hunting different ways. It can hide near a hole and wait for prey to appear, approach the chosen victim for several hours and overtake it with a swift rush. Sometimes a bear dives under an ice floe with seals, tilts it and drowns out the animal that happens to be next to it.

A polar bear almost never completely eats its prey, limiting itself to eating fat and throwing away the rest of the carcass. In search of food, these inhabitants of the Arctic migrate all the time. Animals often use ice floes drifting off the coast for such travel. It happens that “traveler” bears are carried far from their permanent habitats: to the shores of islands or the mainland coast. There, bears inevitably become vegetarians, eating lichens, berries, and grains. Back to their native places, they make their way overland.

Polar bear on a polar night.

White bears.

At the Hannover Zoo, polar bears are saved from the heat by frozen desserts of yoghurt and fruit.

A polar bear in the pool of the Roev Ruchey Zoo in Krasnoyarsk.

The resident of the Moscow Zoo is a bear named Milana.

Polar bear Felix at the Roev Ruchey Zoo in Krasnoyarsk.

Polar bear underwater in the zoo.

About reproduction

Mating time for polar bears occurs from March to July. With the beginning of autumn, pregnant bears set up snow dens. Apart from them, other bears do not hibernate. In February or March, cubs are born, of which, as a rule, there are two. They are born completely helpless and blind. And only two months later, when the babies begin to see clearly and acquire the ability to follow their mother, the family leaves the den and leads a wandering lifestyle. The cubs spend the first year and a half of their lives under maternal care.

Polar bears reach sexual maturity in their fourth year of life, and give birth once every two years.

The one-and-a-half-year-old bear cub will soon enter adulthood.

About population status

The current estimated number of polar bears across all populations is thirty thousand individuals.

Polar bear in the Novosibirsk Zoo.

Polar bear, also known as polar or northern bear (lat. Ursus maritimus) is a predatory mammal that belongs to the suborder Canidae, family Ursidae, genus Bears. The name of the beast is translated from Latin as “sea bear”, and the predator is also called oshkuy, nanuk or umka.

International scientific name : Ursus maritimus(Phipps, 1774).

Security status: vulnerable species.

Polar bear - description, structure, characteristics

The polar bear is the largest land predator and one of the largest predators on the planet, second in size only to elephant seal. The largest polar bear weighed just over 1 ton and was about 3 meters long. The height of this bear, standing on its hind legs, was 3.39 m. On average, the body length of males is about 2-2.5 m, the height at the withers ranges from 1.3 to 1.5 m, and the average weight of a polar bear varies in within 400-800 kg. Bears are 1.5-2 times smaller, usually their weight does not exceed 200-300 kg, although pregnant females can weigh 500 kg. Interestingly, in the Pleistocene era (about 100 thousand years ago), a giant polar bear lived on earth; its size was about 4 meters in length, and its body weight reached 1.2 tons.

The polar bear has a heavy, massive body and large, powerful paws. Unlike other representatives of the genus, the neck of polar bears is elongated, and the head with small ears has a flattened shape, but with an elongated facial region characteristic of all bears.

The beast's jaws are extremely powerful, with well-developed, sharp fangs and incisors. A polar bear has a total of 42 teeth. Facial vibrissae are absent in animals.

The tail of a polar bear is very short, ranging from 7 to 13 cm in length and is almost invisible under its dense fur. The polar bear's paws end in five fingers, armed with sharp, non-retractable claws of impressive size, which allows predators to hold the largest and strongest prey.

The soles of the paws are covered with coarse hair, which prevents slipping on ice floes and prevents the paws from freezing. In addition, polar bears are excellent swimmers and divers, and between their toes there is a swimming membrane that helps during long swims.

The polar bear's fur is quite coarse, dense and extremely thick, with a well-developed undercoat. Such a rich fur coat and an impressive layer of subcutaneous fat up to 10 cm thick make the animals practically invulnerable even in the most severe frosts and when in icy water. Only the paw pads and the tip of the muzzle are not protected by fur.

Polar bears are powerful and hardy predators, very agile and fast for their weight and impressive dimensions. On land, the speed of a polar bear averages 5.6 km/h, and when running it reaches 40 km/h. During the day, the animal can cover a distance of up to 20 km. A polar bear pursued in water is capable of accelerating up to 6.5-7 km/h, and if necessary, can swim without stopping for several days. It is a known fact that a female polar bear swam non-stop to a feeding place for 9 days, although during this time she lost up to 22% of the weight of her body and her cub.

Polar predators have well-developed hearing, vision and sense of smell. The animal senses prey at a distance of more than 1 kilometer, and standing above the shelter of potential prey, it is able to detect the slightest movement. Through a meter-thick layer of snow, a polar bear can smell a seal's vent site (a hole in the ice through which the seal breathes).

Life expectancy of a polar bear

IN natural conditions Polar bears live about 20-30 years (males up to 20 years, females up to 25-30 years), and the recorded life expectancy record in captivity is 45 years.

Where do polar bears live?

Polar bears live in the polar regions of the northern hemisphere, and their range extends to 88 degrees northern latitude in the north and to the island of Newfoundland in the south. The distribution area on the mainland passes through arctic deserts to the tundra zone in the territories of Russia, Greenland, the USA and Canada. The animals' habitat is closely connected with the Arctic belt, covered with drifting and multi-year ice, replete with large polynyas with a high density of marine mammals, the main source of food for polar bears.

Today, the polar bear habitat includes several large populations:

• Laptev, distributed in the Laptev Sea, eastern regions of the Kara Sea, in the west of the East Siberian Sea, on the New Siberian Islands and archipelago New Earth;
• Kara-Barents Sea, whose representatives live in the Barents Sea, the western regions of the Kara Sea, in the eastern part of the Greenland Sea off the coast of Greenland, as well as on the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Spitsbergen;
• The Chukchi-Alaskan population is distributed in the Chukchi Sea, in the northern part of the Bering Sea, in the east of the East Siberian Sea, as well as on Wrangel and Herald Islands.

In the north, the population distribution area covers part of the Arctic basin, although polar bears are found here much less frequently than in more southern seas. Interestingly, the largest polar bears live in the Barents Sea, and the smallest live on the island of Spitsbergen.

The existence of predators is tied to seasonal changes polar ice boundaries. With the onset of warmth, polar bears retreat to the pole along with the ice, and in winter they return further south, and although their usual environment is coastal zones covered with ice, at this time predators often visit the mainland.

Polar bear hibernation

Pregnant females hibernate first of all; other polar bears do not overwinter in a den every year and at the same time fall into suspended animation for no more than 50-80 days.

What does a polar bear eat?

Main power supply polar bear constitute various marine mammals and fish (seal, ringed seal, less commonly bearded seal (sea hare), walrus, beluga whale, narwhal).

First of all, the polar bear eats the skin and fat of the killed victim, and only when very hungry does it eat the meat of its prey. Thanks to this diet, a huge amount of vitamin A enters the animal’s body, which accumulates in the liver. At one time, an adult polar bear eats about 6-8 kg of food, and when very hungry - up to 20 kg. The remains of the meal are eaten by arctic foxes, the eternal guides and parasites of the polar bear. If the hunt is unsuccessful, the animals are content with dead fish, carrion, and destroy bird nests, eating eggs and chicks. Polar bears are quite tolerant of their relatives when eating large production, for example, a dead whale, around which they can gather large group predators. When wandering onto the mainland, polar bears willingly dig through garbage dumps in search of food waste and rob food warehouses of polar expeditions. The plant diet of predators consists of grasses and algae.

By the way, polar bears do not eat penguins, since penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere (Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America, on the islands), and polar bears live in the Northern Hemisphere (in the north of Russia, Canada, Alaska, Greenland and some islands).

In summer, the ice retreats from the shores and may completely melt, depriving animals of their feeding grounds. Therefore, in the summer, polar bears live off their fat reserves and starve for 4 months or more. Given the lack of competition for food during this period of the year, animals can gather in groups and lie peacefully on the shore.

A unique feature of the polar bear’s behavior is its attitude towards humans, whom it sometimes purposefully tracks and views as prey. But most often, polar bears do not show aggression at all; they are quite trusting and curious. Usually only females with cubs or a wounded animal pose a danger to humans.

How does a polar bear hunt?

The polar bear lies in wait for potential prey near the ice hole, and as soon as the prey’s head appears above the water, it stuns the animal with a powerful blow of its paw, after which it drags the carcass onto the ice.

Other no less effective method hunting involves turning over an ice floe on which seals are resting. Polar bears often hunt walruses, especially young and weak ones, but they can only cope with an enemy armed with deadly tusks on ice. The bear creeps up to the prey at a distance of about 9-12 meters, and then with a sharp jump attacks the victim.

When a polar bear discovers seal vents (holes in the ice through which seals breathe), it tries to expand them by breaking the ice with its front paws. Then he plunges the front part of the body into the water, grabs the seal with sharp teeth and pulls it out onto the ice, after which the victim can no longer cope with the unequal opponent.

Polar bear breeding

Northern bears lead a solitary lifestyle and treat their relatives quite peacefully; fights between males occur only during the breeding season, but then aggressive males can attack cubs.

Polar bears reach reproductive age by 4-8 years, and females become ready to reproduce offspring earlier than males. The bear rut is extended over time and lasts from the end of March to the beginning of June, and the female is usually accompanied by 3-4, sometimes up to 7 males. The pregnancy of polar bears lasts from 230 to 250 days (about 8 months), and it begins with the latent stage, when implantation of the embryo is delayed.

In October, female polar bears begin to dig dens in the snow drifts, and choose certain places for this: for example, on the Wrangel Islands and Franz Josef Land, where up to 150-200 dens are established in the coastal zone at the same time. In mid-November, when it begins embryonic development fruit, the female bears go into hibernation, which lasts until April. Thus, offspring are born in the middle or at the end of the Arctic winter.

Taken from: polarbearscience.files.wordpress.com

Usually 1 to 3 cubs are born (usually 2 bear cubs), completely helpless and tiny, weighing from 450 to 750 g. In very exceptional cases, 4 cubs can be born. The fur of bear cubs is so thin that they are often called naked. At first, the offspring intensively feeds on mother's milk. A month later, the cubs' eyes open, after another month, small polar bears begin short forays out of the den, and at the age of 3 months they already leave the den and, together with their mother, set off to wander through the icy expanses of the Arctic. Until one and a half years old, the cubs continue dairy nutrition and are under the protection of their mother, and then begin independent life. The mortality rate among polar bear cubs ranges from 10 to 30%.

A female bear gives birth once every 3 years and throughout life cycle produces no more than 15 cubs, which indicates that the potential for increasing the population of these animals is too low.

Security status

Polar bears are listed in the Red Book of Russia as a vulnerable species, and since 1956, hunting for predators in the country has been completely prohibited. As of 2013, approximately 5-6 thousand polar bears lived in Russian polar ice. Other countries have established restrictions on the fishing of these animals, regulated by an annual quota.

Enemies of the polar bear in nature

Due to their gigantic size, polar bears do not have many enemies. natural environment a habitat. In water, an animal can be attacked by a walrus or killer whale; on land, small bear cubs, left unattended by a not-too-vigilant or careless mother, sometimes become victims of wolves, arctic foxes and dogs. The main threat to the polar bear is a man with a gun: unfortunately, even protective status does not always save this giant of the Arctic from armed poachers.

Differences between polar and brown bears

According to paleontologists, the bear genus appeared on earth about 5-6 million years ago, and the polar bear is considered the youngest species, which separated from the common ancestor of all bears about 600 thousand years ago. Modern polar and brown bears are genetically similar, and by interbreeding they form viable offspring, called polar grizzlies, which are also capable of reproducing.

Taken from the website: www.spiegel.de

Polar and brown bears occupy completely different ecological niches, have distinctive phenotypic characteristics, feeding habits and social behavior, due to which they are classified as individual species. Below are the differences between polar and brown bears.

• the largest polar bear reached a length of 3 meters, while the length brown bear does not exceed 2.5 meters;
• the weight of a polar bear can reach one ton, a brown relative weighs no more than 750 kg;
• Among brown bears, there are many subspecies that live in different territories. Unlike the brown bear, the white bear has no subspecies.
• the polar bear’s neck is long, while that of its brown counterpart is thick and short;
• the head of a polar bear is not very large and flattened, while that of a brown bear is more massive and rounded;
• polar bears are inhabitants of harsh and snowy expanses arctic belt, their southern border of habitat is the tundra zone. Brown bears, unlike white bears, live in warmer climates in Russia, Canada, the USA, Europe, from Western Asia to northern China and Korea, as well as in Japan (see habitat maps below). The northern border of their range is the southern border of the tundra;

• The polar bear differs from the brown bear in the food it consumes. If polar bears are carnivorous predators, then the brown bear’s menu consists not only of meat and fish: most of the diet includes berries, nuts, insects and their larvae;
• In polar bears, mostly only pregnant females hibernate, and their winter sleep lasts no more than 50-80 days. The winter sleep of a brown bear, both in females and males, can last from 75 to 195 days - it all depends on the area where the animal lives;
• The polar bear's rut ​​lasts from March to early June, for the brown bear it lasts from May to July;
• polar bears usually give birth to 2, rarely 3 cubs. Browns can give birth to 2-3, and occasionally 4-5 cubs.

On the left is a polar bear, on the right is a brown bear. Photo credits: PeterW1950, CC0 Public Domain (left) and Rigelus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (right)

• Since ancient times, the indigenous population of the North has hunted the polar bear for its skin and meat, and reveres this strong and ferocious beast, as the embodiment of formidable natural forces. According to Eskimo legends, the confrontation between a man and a polar bear becomes a kind of initiation and formation of a man as a hunter.
• Polar bears in search of food are able to swim gigantic distances: the record for the duration of the swim belongs to a bear who swam across the Beaufort Sea from Alaska to multi-year ice. During the 685 km swim, she lost a fifth of her body weight and her one-year-old cub.
• The largest male polar bear was shot in Alaska in 1960; the weight of the predator was 1002 kg.
• Living in extreme conditions low temperatures, the polar bear is an extremely warm-blooded animal: its body temperature is about 31 degrees, so in order to avoid overheating, predators run extremely rarely.
• The image of a polar bear is actively used in cinema, for example, as characters in the popular cartoons “Elka”, “Bernard” and “Umka”.
• These animals are depicted on the logo of the Sever confectionery production and on the wrappers of the Bear in the North sweets created by the Krupskaya confectionery factory.
• February 27 is the officially recognized Polar Bear Day, which is celebrated by fans of these animals all over the world.

The predatory mammal polar bear, or polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a close relative of the brown bear and the largest land predator on the planet today.

Characteristics and description

The polar bear is one of the largest terrestrial representatives of mammals from the order of predatory animals.. The body length of an adult individual is three meters and weighs up to a ton. The average weight of a male, as a rule, varies between 400-800 kg with a body length of 2.0-2.5 m. The height at the withers does not exceed one and a half meters. Females are much smaller, and their weight rarely exceeds 200-250 kg. The category of the smallest polar bears includes individuals inhabiting Spitsbergen, and the largest specimens are found near the Bering Sea.

This is interesting! A characteristic feature of polar bears is the presence of sufficient long neck and a flat head. Skin black in color, and the color of the fur coat can vary from white to yellowish tints. IN summer period The animal's fur turns yellow as a result of prolonged exposure to sunlight.

The fur of polar bears is completely devoid of pigmentation, and the hairs have a hollow structure. A feature of translucent hairs is the ability to transmit only ultraviolet light, which gives the wool high thermal insulation characteristics. There is also fur on the soles of the limbs to prevent slipping. Between the fingers there is a swimming membrane. Large claws allow the predator to hold even very strong and large prey.

Extinct subspecies

A closely related subspecies to the well-known and fairly common polar bear today is the extinct giant polar bear or U. maritimus tyrannus. Distinctive feature this subspecies had significantly larger body sizes. The body length of an adult individual could be four meters, and the average weight exceeded a ton.

On the territory of Great Britain, in Pleistocene deposits, it was possible to discover the remains of a single ulna belonging to a giant polar bear, which made it possible to determine its intermediate position. Apparently, the large predator was perfectly adapted to hunting enough large mammals. According to scientists, the most likely reason for the extinction of the subspecies was an insufficient amount of food at the end of the glaciation period.

Habitat

The polar bear's circumpolar habitat is limited to the northern coasts of the continents and southern part distribution of floating ice floes, as well as the border of northern warm currents seas. The distribution area includes four areas:

• permanent habitat;
• habitat of high animal numbers;
• place of regular residence of pregnant females;
• territory of distant calls to the south.

Polar bears inhabit the entire coast of Greenland, the ice of the Greenland Sea south to the islands of Jan Mayen, the island of Spitsbergen, as well as Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya in the Barents Sea, the islands of Bear, Vaigach and Kolguev, and the Kara Sea. A significant number of polar bears are observed on the coast of the continents of the Laptev Sea, as well as the East Siberian, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The main habitat of the highest possible abundance of the predator is represented by the continental slope of the Arctic Ocean.

Pregnant female polar bears regularly den in the following areas:

• northwest and northeast Greenland;
• southeastern part of Spitsbergen;
• western part of Franz Josef Land;
• the northern part of the island of Novaya Zemlya;
• small islands of the Kara Sea;
• Severnaya Zemlya;
• northern and northeastern coast of the Taimyr Peninsula;
• the Lena delta and the Bear Islands of Eastern Siberia;
• coast and adjacent islands of the Chukotka Peninsula;
• Wrangel Island;
• southern Banks Island;
• Simpson Peninsula coast;
• northeastern coast of Baffin Island and Southampton Island.

Dens with pregnant polar bears have also been observed on pack ice in the Beaufort Sea. From time to time, usually in early spring, polar bears make long trips towards Iceland and Scandinavia, as well as the Kanin Peninsula, the Anadyr Bay and Kamchatka. With ice and when crossing Kamchatka, predatory animals sometimes end up in the Sea of ​​Japan and Okhotsk.

Nutritional Features

Polar bears have a very well developed sense of smell, as well as hearing and vision, so it is not difficult for a predator to notice its prey at a distance of several kilometers.

The diet of a polar bear is determined by the characteristics of its distribution area and the characteristics of its body. The predator is ideally adapted to the harsh polar winter and long swims in icy water, so its prey is most often marine representatives of the animal world, including sea ​​urchin and walruses. Eggs, chicks, young animals, as well as carrion in the form of corpses of sea animals and fish that are washed up on the coast are also used for food.

If possible, the polar bear's diet can be very selective. In captured seals or walruses, the predator primarily eats the skin and fat layer. However, a very hungry beast is capable of eating the corpses of its fellows. Relatively rare large predators enrich their diet with berries and moss. Change climatic conditions had a significant impact on nutrition, so in Lately Polar bears are increasingly hunting on land.

Lifestyle

Polar bears make seasonal migrations, which are caused by annual changes territories and boundaries of polar ice. In summer, animals retreat towards the pole, and in winter, the animal population moves to southern part and enters the mainland.

This is interesting! Despite the fact that polar bears mainly stay on the coast or ice, in winter the animals lie down in dens located on the mainland or island part, sometimes at a distance of fifty meters from the sea line.

Duration hibernation Polar bear life usually varies between 50-80 days, but hibernates, most often pregnant females. Males and young animals are characterized by irregular and fairly short winter hibernation.

On land, this predator is fast, and also swims well and dives very well.

Despite the apparent slowness, the slowness of the polar bear is deceptive. On land, this predator is distinguished by its agility and speed, and among other things, large animal swims well and dives very well. To protect the polar bear's body, it has very thick and dense fur, which prevents it from getting wet in icy water and has excellent heat-retaining properties. One of the most important adaptive characteristics is the presence of a massive layer of subcutaneous fat, the thickness of which can reach 8-10 cm. The white color of the coat helps the predator to successfully camouflage itself against the background of snow and ice..

Reproduction

Based on numerous observations, the rutting period for polar bears lasts about a month and usually begins in mid-March. At this time, predators are divided into pairs, but there are also females accompanied by several males at once. The mating period lasts a couple of weeks.

Polar bear pregnancy

Lasts approximately eight months, but depending on a number of conditions, can vary between 195-262 days. It is almost impossible to visually distinguish a pregnant female from an unmarried polar bear. About a couple of months before giving birth, behavioral differences appear and females become irritable, inactive, lie on their stomachs for a long time and lose their appetite. A litter often contains a pair of cubs, and the birth of one cub is typical for young, primiparous females. A pregnant bear comes to land in the fall, and spends the entire winter period in a snowy den, most often located near the sea coast.

Caring for cubs

In the first days after birth, the polar bear lies curled up on her side almost all the time.. Short and sparse hair is not sufficient for independent heating, so newborn cubs are located between the mother’s paws and her chest, and the polar bear warms them with her breath. The average weight of newborn cubs most often does not exceed a kilogram with a body length of a quarter of a meter.

The cubs are born blind, and only at the age of five weeks do they open their eyes. A mother bear feeds her month-old cubs while sitting. The mass emergence of female bears occurs in March. Through a hole dug outside, the bear begins to gradually take her cubs out for a walk, but with the onset of night the animals return to the den again. During walks, the cubs play and dig in the snow.

This is interesting! In the polar bear population, approximately 15-29% of cubs and about 4-15% of immature individuals die.

Enemies in nature

In natural conditions, polar bears, due to their size and predatory instinct, have practically no enemies. The death of polar bears is most often caused by accidental injuries as a result of intraspecific clashes or when hunting walruses that are too large. Also, the killer whale and polar shark. Most often bears die from starvation.

Man was the most terrible enemy of the polar bear, and such peoples of the North as the Chukchi, Nenets and Eskimos hunted this polar predator from time immemorial. Fishing operations that began in the second half of the last century became disastrous for the population. During one season, St. John's worts destroyed more than a hundred individuals. More than sixty years ago, polar bear hunting was closed, and since 1965 it has been included in the Red Book.

Danger to humans

Cases of polar bear attacks on people are well known, and the most striking evidence of the predator’s aggression is recorded in the notes and reports of polar travelers, so you need to move around in places where a polar bear may appear, you need to be extremely careful. In the territory settlements located near the habitat of the polar predator, all containers with household waste must necessarily be inaccessible to a hungry animal. In the cities of the Canadian province, so-called “prisons” have been specially created in which bears approaching the city limits are temporarily kept.