Polar white bear. The polar bear is a large predator of the north

At the moment, the largest mammal on our planet is the polar bear.

It is also called white. This predatory animal is a relative of the brown bear.

General indicators

The polar bear is a predator. An adult beast reaches three meters in length and can weigh about a ton. On average, the weight of a male is 500-800 kg with a length of 2-2.5 meters.

Female individuals are more modest in size. They usually weigh no more than 250 kg. The largest individuals inhabit the area near the Bering Sea. The smallest specimens live on the islands of the Svalbard archipelago.

Polar bears are characterized by having a long neck and a flat head. Fur color can be either white or yellowish. The skin is black in color.

The wool of the animal provides it with high thermal insulation protection due to the ability of the hairs to pass only ultraviolet rays.

On the soles of the paws are hairs that prevent slipping. Between the fingers is a swimming membrane. The bear has large and sharp claws that help him in the extraction of food.

Where do bears live

Polar bears prefer to live on the northern shores and the borders of warm northern currents.

This animal lives mainly on the shores of the island of Greenland, the islands of Svalbard, on some lands in the Barents Sea, on the islands of Vaigach, Kolguev and Medvezhiy, as well as near the Kara Sea.

Also, many individuals of this species live off the coast of the Laptev Sea, the Chukchi and East Siberian Seas. A favorite place for the settlement of polar bears is the coastal part of the Arctic Ocean.

During pregnancy, females look for a secluded place for themselves, wintering in dens. To do this, they choose their main habitats: the north of Greenland, the small islands of the Kara Sea, the Svalbard archipelago, the northern coast of Taimyr Island and other small islands and lands of the Barents Sea.

Also, lairs are found on the Beaufort ice. Sometimes in early spring, she-bears can leave towards the Scandinavian countries, Kamchatka and the Gulf of Anadyr. On ice floes, animals can get into the Sea of ​​Okhotsk and the Sea of ​​Japan.

Diet

Polar bears see and hear very well, and also have a sensitive sense of smell, so they can easily feel prey, even if it is several kilometers away.

The nutrition of an animal depends on its characteristics, as well as on its environment and habitat. Individuals of this species live in the harsh polar winter and are well adapted to this. They are very good swimmers and can stay in cold water for a long time.

For these reasons, the subjects of their hunting are often marine life, such as walruses or sea urchins. Their diet also includes chicks, eggs, young and defenseless animals, as well as carcasses of animals and fish washed ashore.

If there is enough food, then the animals do not eat everything. First of all, they will prefer to eat the subcutaneous fat and skin of seals and walruses. If food is completely lacking, then the predator can eat the corpses of other bears, even their cubs.

Rarely, predators feed on berries and vegetation. Climate change has greatly affected the diet of these animals. For this reason, animals began to obtain food to a greater extent on land than in the sea.

Lifestyle

Due to changes in the ice area during the year, bears have to roam. In summer, they move towards the pole, and in winter they move south, closer to the mainland.

In the cold season, animals climb into dens, which are located near the sea line. Bears spend up to two and a half months in dens. Males and representatives of the younger generation do not hibernate for long.

Representatives of this species are distinguished by speed, the ability to swim and dive well. Although outwardly they may seem clumsy, but in reality this is not at all the case. Thanks to thick and dense wool, as well as a layer of subcutaneous fat, reaching 8-10 cm, the animal does not freeze even in ice water. The color of the coat helps to camouflage among the snow-white plains.

Pregnancy and childcare

In early spring, individuals usually separate into pairs. The mating season usually lasts about 14 days. Pregnancy lasts long enough and can lead to childbirth only after 200-260 days. There are no outward signs of pregnancy.

If the birth is the first, then one baby is born more often. Subsequent births can bring two bear cubs.

Newborn cubs weigh about 1 kg, and their height is about 25 cm. Their wool is not as thick and warm as that of their mother, so they need her warmth and care. At first, the babies and their mother are in the den and she warms them with her warmth.

When the cubs grow up, the mother takes them out into the big world. This usually happens in the spring. During the day they play in the snow, and at night they return to their lair.

Is it dangerous for humans?

There were cases when a polar bear attacked people. Therefore, you need to be very careful, being in the possible habitats of this animal.

Photo of polar bears

The polar bear is one of the species of large mammals of the bear family and lives in the Arctic.

This animal is the largest species of bear. Its size is even larger than that of the mighty North American grizzly or.

Polar bear habitat

Polar bears live in the Arctic, Greenland and the northern regions of North America and Asia. They prefer to stay in areas of ice with open water. These animals are well adapted to life in the icy Arctic environment. Their thick and long white or yellowish fur provides excellent protection from the cold.

What does a polar bear eat

The main diet of the polar bear includes seals. Bears hunt alone. Through the hole in the ice, they, like spies, penetrate closer to the victim, who carelessly rest on the ice floe. On such a hunt, the behavior of a bear can be compared with that of a cat, such as, for example, or. Hiding behind blocks of ice, the polar bear gets closer and closer to the prey, and when the distance becomes small, a few large steps separate the predator from the prey. Polar bears are very strong and one blow of the paw is enough to kill the victim.

In summer, the bear's menu is replenished with berries, mosses and other plants available at this time. They do not disdain carrion and often walk along the coast in search of dead animals.

Listen to the voice of the polar bear

The polar bear population has drastically declined in recent years. Hunting for them is currently strictly limited. In all countries where these amazing animals live, there is a program to protect polar bears. Every year, the Eskimos kill a small number of bears, mostly for their fur and nutritious fat.

Dimensions and dimensions of the polar bear

Most adult males weigh from 300 to 800 kg (and even more than one ton!) and reach a length of 2.4-3.0 m. The height at the withers of an adult male polar bear reaches from 1.3 to 1.5 m. If an adult predator stands on its hind legs, then will reach 3.4. m. Females are usually two times smaller and weigh between 150-300 kg. and 1.9-2.1 m long. After birth, little cubs weigh only 600-700 grams.

The largest polar bear weighed over a ton. This record male was caught in northeast Alaska in 1960. The weight of the animal was 1002 kg.

At the moment, the polar bear population is estimated at 20-25 thousand individuals.

Do you know that…

• The polar bear feels great on smooth, slippery glacial slopes. He lies on his stomach and rolls over them, using his hind legs to brake at the right moment.

• Bear milk contains a lot of fat. Thanks to this, the cubs grow very quickly and almost never freeze.
• These animals are excellent swimmers and divers and can easily withstand up to 2 minutes under water.
• Polar bears have an excellent sense of smell. They can smell smells even under a meter layer of ice.
• This predator can reach speeds of up to 40 km / h
• Bear cubs at birth are no larger than an adult rat.
• The skin of a polar bear is completely black, in contrast to its white or yellow fur.
• The polar bear's coat turns yellow with age.

The polar bear is the largest species of the bear family (Ursidae). In its homeland, in the Arctic, it is, without a doubt, the "king of beasts", which has practically no natural enemies. But what do we know about polar bears, besides the fact that they live in northern latitudes? This article will tell you in detail about the life and behavior of polar predators and help you understand what they really are, the rulers of the Far North?

Polar bears live in the ice of the circumpolar Arctic. There are about 20 populations that almost do not mix with each other and vary greatly in size - from 200 to several thousand individuals. The number of the entire world population is approximately 22-27 thousand animals.

The permanent residence of polar bears is the coastal ice of continents and islands, where the number of their main prey - the ringed seal - is quite high. Some individuals live among the less productive perennial ice in the central Arctic region. From the south, their distribution is limited by the southern boundary of the seasonal ice cover in the Bering and Barents Seas and in the Labrador Strait. In areas where the ice completely melts in the summer (Hudson Bay and southeast Baffin Island), animals spend several months on the coast, depleting their fat reserves until the water freezes.

Description and photo of the polar bear

The polar bear is the largest member of the bear family. As an independent species, it was first described in 1774 by K. Phipps, receiving the Latin name Ursus maritimus, which means "sea bear" in translation.

Polar bears evolved from brown bears during the late Pleistocene period, the oldest find dating back 100 thousand years was discovered in the Royal Botanic Gardens in London.

The body length of males is 2-2.5 m, females - 1.8-2 m; the mass of males is 400-600 kg (especially well-fed individuals can weigh a ton), females - 200-350 kg.

In the photo, a polar bear jumps from an ice floe. Despite the massive body, these animals are surprisingly mobile. If necessary, they can swim for several hours, and on land they can cover up to 20 km in a day, although sometimes this leads to overheating.

Features of the structure are associated with living conditions in a harsh climate. The body of the polar predator is stocky; they do not have the raised withers characteristic of brown bears. Compared to other species, the polar bear's head is narrower and longer, with a flat forehead and long neck. The ears of the beast are small, rounded.

Thanks to thick wool and a thick layer of fat, polar predators feel quite comfortable at a temperature of -50°C. By nature, their coat is white; it serves as an ideal disguise for the beast. However, often the fur takes on a yellowish tint due to pollution and fat oxidation, especially in summer. Interestingly, with a white coat color, the animal's skin is dark. This feature serves as a natural accumulator of solar energy for animals, which, as is known, is in great deficit in their habitats.

The large, paddle-like front paws are excellent for swimming, and there are swimming membranes between the toes. Hind legs when swimming play the role of a steering wheel. Wide feet increase the footprint when walking on snow.

An interesting fact: despite the fact that outwardly polar and brown bears are very different, they are close relatives and in captivity can interbreed. A hybrid of such a cross is called grolar or pizzly.

Lifestyle of polar bears

Polar bears lead a predominantly solitary lifestyle; They stay in pairs only during the rutting season. Cases of their accumulation, sometimes up to several tens of individuals, in places where there is a sufficiently large amount of food, are quite rare. Groups of polar predators are quite tolerant of each other's company while feeding on large prey, such as a dead whale. However, ritual battles or games are not uncommon, but each beast does not forget about its hierarchical status.

Animals lead a predominantly nomadic lifestyle, with the exception of time spent in dens. Dens are primarily used by females to give birth and feed their young. It is also a refuge for winter sleep, but animals hibernate for a short time and not every year.

How are lairs arranged?

The dens of breeding females can be divided into generic and temporary. In tribal she-bears bring offspring. The time of their stay in such dens is on average 6 months. The temporary lair serves breeding females for a short time - from 1 day to 2-3 weeks, and in isolated cases up to 1 month or more.

The birth lair consists of one or more chambers. The length of the chamber is on average from 100 to 500 cm, width - from 70 to 400 cm, height - from 30 to 190 cm, the length of the corridor varies from 15 to 820 cm. The inlet is often poorly visible from a distance of several meters.

Temporary dens differ from generic ones in terms of arrangement. Usually they are of a rather simple structure: with one chamber and a short (up to 1.5-2 m) corridor, as a rule, with completely “fresh” walls and a vault, and a slightly iced floor.

Depressions, pits and trenches without a vault and a distinct entrance are sometimes referred to as temporary lairs, but it would be more correct to call them shelters. Such shelters usually serve polar bears for a short time - from several hours to several days. They provide the animal with minimal comfort, such as shelter during bad weather.

In conditions of particularly severe weather (blizzard, frost), bears, in order to save energy, can lie down in temporary shelters for several weeks. The northern predator has one interesting physiological feature: while other bears can only hibernate in winter, our hero can hibernate at any time.

What does the lord of the north eat?

The ringed seal (ringed seal) in the diet of polar bears is food No. 1, to a lesser extent, the bearded seal becomes their prey (the beast catches it when it floats up to breathe). Animals hunt for seals, waiting for them near the “vents”, as well as at their breeding grounds on ice floes, where inexperienced cubs become easy prey for predators. The bear quietly sneaks up to the victim, then makes a sharp throw and plunges into the water. To expand small "vents", the beast breaks the ice with its front paws, using its impressive mass. Having immersed the front part of the body in the water, it grabs the victim with powerful jaws and pulls it out onto the ice. Bears can find the location of a seal's hole through a meter-long layer of densely packed snow; they go to her from a kilometer away, guided solely by smell. Their sense of smell is one of the most acute among all mammals. They also hunt walruses, beluga whales, narwhals, and waterfowl.

For the nutrition of hungry polar predators, sea emissions are essential: the corpses of dead animals, the waste of fishing for sea animals. A large number of bears usually accumulate near the carcass of a whale thrown ashore (photo).

The polar bear, being a typical carnivore, however, being hungry and not being able to hunt its main prey - seals, can easily switch to other foods, including plant foods (berries, seaweed, herbaceous plants, mosses and lichens, shrub branches). This, apparently, should be regarded as an evolutionary adaptation of the species to harsh environmental conditions.

In one sitting, the beast is able to eat a very large amount of food, and then, if there is no prey, starve for a long time.

In modern conditions, an increase in the technogenic impact on ecosystems can lead to a deterioration in the food supply of the polar bear, forcing it to increasingly switch to secondary food, visit landfills in settlements, devastate warehouses, etc.

Eternal nomads

Constantly changing ice conditions force polar bears to regularly change their habitats, looking for areas where seals are more numerous and among the ice fields there are open or covered with young ice leads, channels and cracks that make it easier for them to prey. Such areas are very often confined to the shore ice zone, and it is no coincidence that many animals concentrate here in winter. But from time to time, the shore ice zone is completely closed due to pressure winds, and then the bears again have to migrate to other areas in search of more favorable hunting grounds. Still ice remains stable, and then only for the period of winter and the beginning of spring, but they are not everywhere suitable for the existence of seals, and consequently, polar bears.

In search of more suitable places for hunting, animals sometimes travel hundreds of kilometers. Therefore, their habitat varies significantly even during one season, not to mention inter-seasonal and annual differences. In the absence of territorialism in a polar bear, individual individuals or family groups develop a relatively small area for some time. But, as soon as the conditions begin to change dramatically, the animals leave such areas and migrate to other areas.

procreation

The mating season falls on April-May. Between males at this time there is a rather tense struggle for females.

Females are induced ovulators (they must mate many times over several days before ovulation and fertilization occur), and therefore pairs remain together for 1-2 weeks to successfully reproduce. In addition, polar bears are characterized by a delay in implantation until mid-September-October, depending on the latitude at which the animals live. After 2-3 months, cubs are born in most areas. It happens in a snowy lair. Babies are born weighing about 600 grams. At birth, their hair is so thin that it seems as if they are naked. Until the age of 7-8 months, the mother's milk is the basis of the nutrition of the cubs. This milk is very fat - 28-30%, but it seems to be separated in small quantities.

Sometimes the female bear leaves the den that has become "unfavorable" when the cubs are still weak. They move with difficulty and require constant care. If such a family is disturbed at this time, then the female, saving the cubs, carries them away in her teeth.

When the cubs reach a mass of 10-12 kg, they begin to accompany their mother everywhere. They freely follow her up the steep slopes, often playing games during their walks. Sometimes the games end in a fight, while the cubs roar loudly.

Some she-bears who went for a walk do a kind of gymnastics in the snow. They clean themselves against the snow, rub their muzzles against it, lie down on their stomachs and crawl, pushing off with their hind legs, slide down the slope in various positions: on the back, side or stomach. For adult bears, these are apparently hygienic procedures aimed at keeping the fur clean. In cubs that imitate their mother, this behavior also has a playful coloration.

The she-bear's training of the younger generation probably lasts as long as the family group persists. Imitation of the mother is already manifested when the babies are in the den, for example, burrowing activities. They also sometimes imitate her when eating plants.

Finally leaving the lair, the family goes to the sea. On the way, the female often stops to feed the cubs, sometimes she feeds herself, digging plants out from under the snow. If the weather is windy, she lies with her back to the wind; in deep enough snow, it digs a small hole or temporary lair. Then the families go into the ice. In the first half of May, females and cubs are sometimes still seen on land, but probably from among those who, for some reason, left their lair belatedly.

Females can breed once every 3 years, since the cubs stay with her for up to 2.5 years. For the first time, females become mothers, usually at the age of 4-5 years, and then give birth every 3 years until death. Most often, 2 bear cubs are born. The largest broods and the largest cubs are found in females aged 8-10 years. Young and old she-bears often have 1 cub each. There is evidence that adult females in natural conditions can exchange cubs or adopt cubs that have lost their mother for some reason.

The life expectancy of female polar bears is 25-30 years, males - up to 20 years.

Diseases, enemies and competitors

Among polar bears, such a dangerous intestinal-muscular invasive disease as trichinosis is widespread. Other diseases are very rare.

More often, they suffer from various injuries, including those inflicted in a fight with each other for possession of a female or food. But they do not have serious consequences for the population.

A polar bear can only compete with a person who hunts seals for skin, fur and meat, breaking the natural balance that has developed between predator and prey.

The wolf and arctic fox have a slight impact on the population, attacking and killing cubs.

Polar bears and man

Thanks to measures to protect polar predators, the risk of their extinction is low. Previously, they were considered a vulnerable species, but after the introduction of the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of the Polar Bear, the population has stabilized.

Provided that the hunting of northern bears is controlled, they are not threatened with destruction. However, there are fears that their numbers may decline due to the low rate of reproduction. They are shot mainly by the local population, whose representatives kill about 700 individuals per year. But the main danger for our heroes is climate warming and environmental pollution.

In the Arctic regions, due to population growth, the likelihood of a collision between a polar predator and a person has potentially increased. As a result, a conflict situation is created that is dangerous for both parties. Polar bears, however, cannot be considered aggressive towards humans, but there are exceptions. Most animals retreat when they meet a person, others do not pay attention to him. But there are those who pursue a person, especially if he runs away. Most likely, at this moment the instinct of persecution works in the beast. Therefore, to say that the polar bear is a completely harmless animal would be a dangerous delusion. The real threat is emaciated individuals. First of all, these are old animals that have lost the ability to successfully hunt for their usual food, as well as young ones that have not yet mastered hunting techniques to the proper extent. Females protecting their cubs also pose a considerable danger. The polar bear can also show aggression when it encounters a person unexpectedly or if it is being chased.

In contact with

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

This animal has the most sensitive scent, however, they are not deprived of both hearing and sharp eyesight, which allows them to easily hunt agile seals in the water, which make up the main diet of a furry predator.

Habitat

Polar bears live, perhaps, in 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 - in the coastal zones of Greenland, Alaska, Canada, Russia and Norway. Today, an agreement has been concluded between these countries on the protection and protection of the polar bear population.

The white predator does not lead a sedentary 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 characteristic of a polar bear, so it easily shares living space with 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 brings up and trains the cub for a long time. In the event of the death of a female, the cubs, as a rule, quickly die, with the exception of broods 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 beast well in moving on ice. These white predators have much larger paws in relation to the whole body than their counterparts, other 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 keeps mainly near river valleys or near sea coasts and tries not to enter the glaciers themselves, although sometimes polar bears appear even on the Greenland ice dome.

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

Changing ice conditions seriously affect the seasonal migrations of polar bears. When the ice melts and collapses, the polar bear, an excellent swimmer, moves to the Arctic border, closer to the north. With stable seasonal ice formation, bears migrate back. It is the observations of the behavior of white clubfoot that allow scientists to draw conclusions about the glacial reserve of the planet, to predict global warming.

Many of us believe that polar bears have white hair, but in reality this is not so: animal hair, like the undercoat, is transparent and completely colorless. And they seem white to us because there is an air pocket inside each guard hair. When a beam of light, consisting of all the colors of the rainbow, hits the wool, the colors from the air pockets are reflected and, mixing, give a white color.

Depending on the season and the location of the Sun, the animal's coat can be not only white, but yellow or brown (bears living in captivity can even be green due to algae from artificial reservoirs). But if someone managed to shave off all the hair from the animal, he would be surprised to find that the skin of a polar bear is black. Dark-colored skin helps to absorb and retain the sun's rays, protecting the predator from the frosts of the Arctic.

The polar bear or polar bear is the largest predatory mammal that lives on the surface of the earth (second only to the sea elephant). It is the closest relative of the brown bear and belongs to the bear family. In nature, there are about fifteen species of polar bear, and the total number of animals is about twenty-five thousand.

You can meet these animals in the subpolar latitudes of the northern hemisphere, starting from Newfoundland and ending at 88 ° N. sh., and they live on ice floating in the Arctic off the coast of Eurasia and America, so they can only be conditionally classified as terrestrial inhabitants.

If you think about the natural zone in which polar bears live, you might be surprised: they are the only large predators in the Arctic, ideally adapted for a normal existence in the polar latitudes. For example, during snowstorms, they dig holes in snowdrifts, lie down in them and, without going anywhere, wait out the elements.

The size and weight of these animals largely depend on their place of residence: the smallest animals according to the description live in Svalbard, while the largest live in the Bering Sea. The average height of a bear at the withers reaches about one and a half meters, while the weight of males significantly exceeds the mass of females:

• The weight of males ranges from 400 to 680 kg, the length is about three meters (the mass of large lions and tigers does not exceed 400 kg);
• The weight of females is from 200 to 270 kg, the length is about two meters.

According to the description, the polar bear differs from other representatives of its species by its large weight, powerful sloping shoulders, flat head and longer neck.

On the soles of the paws there is wool, which allows the animal not to slip and not to freeze. A membrane is located between the fingers, and the structure of the paws allows polar bears to swim gracefully, gracefully and quickly. Large curved claws are not only able to hold even strong prey, but also allow it to easily move on slippery ice and climb blocks.

It is noteworthy that these animals are quite capable of reaching speeds of up to 10 km / h and swim about 160 km without stopping. They also dive very well and are able to stay under water for about two minutes.

The polar bear does not freeze thanks to a thick, about 10 cm, layer of subcutaneous fat on the back, back of the body and hips, as well as very warm fur, which retains the heat generated. The predator's coat is very thick and dense, it not only reliably retains heat, but protects the animal's body from getting wet, and the white color makes it possible to perfectly disguise.

The teeth of polar bears are also noteworthy: in the context, they form annual circles from two cement layers. The tooth is tightly attached to the jaw, as the root of the teeth is connected to it by a layer of cement that grows throughout the life of the bear. At different times of the year, the layer grows differently and, as it were, consists of two parts: the winter layer is thinner than the summer one, which is located above it, and the older the animal, the smaller the distance between the rings.

Way of life

Although polar bears give the impression of a clumsy animal, in fact, both on land and in water, they are very fast, agile, dive and swim perfectly. For example, fleeing danger, a polar bear is able to move at a speed of about 7 km / h without any problems. They are capable of overcoming considerable distances: the record for the distance of movement was recorded by the polar bear, which, together with the baby, swam through the sea 685 km from Alaska to the north in search of a new home.

The main reason why she did this was that the place where the polar bears live was no longer suitable due to the melting of the ice floes: the seals left their habitat. Unfortunately, the bear cub died during such a nine-day swim, and its weight decreased by twenty percent.

Despite their ability to develop high speeds, polar bears still prefer to move slowly and slowly: although temperatures in the Arctic can drop to minus forty, these predators usually experience a problem not with freezing, but with overheating (especially when running).

Despite the fact that polar bears are solitary animals, they do not fight for their territory and have a positive attitude towards other representatives of their species: they often explore the area in groups, roam with each other. In the absence of food, they are able to eat their relative.

In one place, animals also do not live long and move along with the ice, which in summer floats closer to the pole, in winter - to the south, while being near the continent, the predator comes to land. The polar bear prefers to be either on the coast or on the glaciers, and in winter it may well equip itself with a lair at a distance of 50 km from the sea.

It is worth noting that the female sleeps the longest during pregnancy (two to three months), while males and non-pregnant she-bears hibernate for a short period, and even then not annually. When they go to bed, they always cover their nose with their paw: this helps them keep warm.

When they talk about where polar bears live, ice floes are immediately remembered - it is there that these predators are able to find food for themselves: seals, ringed seals, walrus, sea hare, and other sea animals that are included in the predator's diet live here. During the year, he walks about one and a half thousand kilometers in search of food. Due to the huge reserves of subcutaneous fat, he is able not to eat for quite a long time, but if the hunt is successful, he can easily eat up to 25 kg of meat at a time (usually a bear catches a seal every three to four days).

Thanks to its white color, excellent hearing, perfect vision and excellent sense of smell, the bear is able to smell its prey from several kilometers away (a seal - at a distance of 32 km). It catches prey, sneaking up from behind shelters, or guards it near the holes: as soon as the victim sticks its head out of the water, it stuns it with its paw and pulls it out. But for some reason, the polar bear hunts very rarely on the shore.

Sometimes, having swum up to the ice floe where the seals rest, it overturns it and catches prey in the water (it is these animals that mainly make up its diet). But with a heavier and stronger walrus, the polar bear is able to cope only on solid ground, where it becomes clumsy.

It is interesting that the polar bear does not eat its prey completely, but only fat and skin, everything else - only if it is very hungry (polar foxes, arctic foxes, seagulls eat up the carcass after it). If there is no usual food, the polar bear eats carrion, does not hesitate to eat dead fish, eggs, chicks and even algae. After a meal, a polar bear spends at least twenty minutes cleaning itself, otherwise the wool will reduce its thermal insulation properties.

Thanks to this method of feeding, the polar predator receives from prey a sufficient amount of vitamin A, which is deposited in its liver in such quantities that more than one case of liver poisoning of this animal has been recorded.

Polar bear disguise

Polar bears are able to perfectly camouflage, and they are able to become invisible not only to prey, but even to infrared cameras, with which scientists observe predators. This was discovered by zoologists during a flight over the Arctic, which was made to count the population of these animals. The equipment failed to notice the bears, as they completely merged with the ice surrounding them. Even infrared cameras could not detect them: only eyes, black noses and breath were reflected.

The bears became invisible due to the fact that infrared cameras can see not only the temperature of the surface, but also the radiation that comes from the observed objects. In the case of polar bears, it turned out that their fur has radio-emitting properties similar to those of snow, which prevented the cameras from capturing the animals.

Offspring

The mother bear for the first time brings offspring no earlier than four years old (and sometimes the first birth occurs at eight). She gives birth every two or three years, no more than three cubs. The mating season usually lasts from March to June, one female is followed by about three or four males who constantly fight with each other, and adults can even attack and kill cubs. Polar bears can interbreed with brown ones, resulting in offspring that, unlike many other animal species, are also able to reproduce.

Bears are preparing to give birth in October, starting to dig dens near the coast in snow drifts. For this, females often gather in one place, for example, about two hundred dens appear annually on Wrangel Island. They do not settle in them immediately, but in mid-November, and hibernate until April. Pregnancy lasts up to 250 days and the cubs appear blind and deaf, usually in the middle or end of the Arctic winter (eyes open after a month).

Despite the impressive size of an adult, newly born babies are not much longer than a rat, and their weight is from 450 to 750 grams. When the cubs are about three months old, and they are gaining weight, they begin to gradually leave the den with the she-bear, gradually moving to a wandering lifestyle. The cubs live with their mother for three years, and up to a year and a half she feeds them with milk, at the same time feeding them with seal fat. Mortality among babies is quite high and ranges from 10 to 30%.

Animal life in the modern world

Polar bears are listed in the IUCN Red List: despite the fact that their numbers are considered stable and even growing, the slow reproduction of white predators, poaching (about 200 animals are killed annually) and high mortality among cubs make the population easily vulnerable, and in some places they have disappeared at all.

Recently, a sharp decrease in the population has been recorded on the territory of Russia: animals living in the region of Yakutia and Chukotka have completely disappeared in some areas. The life expectancy of these predators in nature is about 25 years, while in captivity they can live up to forty-five.

In addition to poachers, global warming affects the life of polar bears: over the past century, air temperatures in the Arctic have risen by five degrees Celsius, which is why the area of ​​​​glaciers on which, in fact, these animals live, is constantly shrinking. This directly affects the population of seals, which are their main food, allowing them to accumulate the necessary fat reserves.

During melting, the ice becomes unstable, as a result of which the bears are forced to go to the coast, where there is not enough food for them, and they significantly lose weight, which negatively affects future cubs.

Another important problem is oil, which is in considerable quantities in sea water around oil rigs. While thick fur protects bears from dampness and cold, if it is stained with oil, it loses its ability to hold air, which causes the insulating effect to disappear.

As a result, the animal cools down faster, and the black skin of the polar bear runs the risk of overheating. If the predator also swallows such water or simply licks it off the wool, this will lead to kidney damage and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract.