Polar Bears

Polar bears are the largest bears in the world and are stated to be one of the Arctic's biggest predators. In the Arctic polar bears are a sign of strength and endurance. Their Latin name is Ursus maritimus which is translated into “sea bear”. This name refers to the bear predominantly spending most of its life on top of the sea ice. Alaska, United States is a subpopulation to two polar bears. Their status remains to be unfortunately vulnerable, with a population of approximately 22,000-31,000. Males weigh 800-1,300 pounds and the females weigh about 300-700 pounds with about a 6-9 feet length. They inhabit the Arctic Ocean, sea ice and adjacent coastal areas.

They are considered talented swimmers, as they can paddle with their front paws keeping their legs straight and swim at a pace of 6 miles per hour. They also have this layer of body fat and a thick coat which shields and insulates them from the cold water and air.

Polar bears depend on a carnivorous diet and feed themselves on ringed and bearded seals. Seals contain a lot of fat which is necessary for the polar bear to keep itself warm. They are at the top of the food chain, making them the main predators of their ecosystem. Polar bears spent 50% of their time hunting for food, however, they are likely to catch only two of ten seals it hunts.

Polar bears are vulnerable to extinction as they depend on ice glaciers for hunting, traveling, and resting, and due to the melting of ice glaciers and the rising sea levels, their population has decreased dramatically. Climate change is a result of global warming, caused by the gases which are trapped in the atmosphere creating the greenhouse effect, trapping the sun’s heat in the atmosphere (leading to melting ice caps). As the ice caps generally recede in early spring and form later in autumn, polar bears are spending more and more time on land, where they are often attracted to areas inhabited by humans.