Animals of the Red Book of Russia - polar bear. Polar white bear Polar bear brief description of the animal

An intellectual among bears, perfectly oriented in a three-dimensional, constantly changing space of water and ice, flexibly changing hunting tactics and having no natural enemies, the polar bear is the real master of the Arctic.

Systematics

Russian name - polar bear, polar bear, northern bear, oshkuy, nanuk, umka
Latin name - Ursus (Thalarctos) maritimus
English name- polar bear
Squad - Predatory (Carnivora)
Family - Bear (Ursidae) has 7 species
Genus - Ursus

The status of the species in nature

Polar bear listed in the International Red Book and the Red Book of Russia as a species whose abundance in nature is declining - CITES II, IUCN (VU). In Russia, polar bear hunting has been banned since 1956 and is currently only allowed in very limited areas in the US, Canada and Greenland.

View and person

These beasts were known to the ancient Romans at least in the first century AD. The archives of Japanese emperors testify that polar bears and their skins came to Japan and Manchuria already in the 7th century, but the population of these countries could get acquainted with these animals much earlier - bears sometimes reach the shores of Japan along with floating ice. The oldest written source containing information about polar bears and relating to the north of Europe dates back to about 880 - then two bear cubs were brought from Norway to Iceland. In 1774, the polar bear was first described in the scientific literature as an independent species. The author of this description is the English zoologist Constantine Phipps.

The peoples inhabiting the Arctic have long hunted these animals. With the development of the North by man, the number of bears decreased, but after the ban on hunting and the organization of protected areas in the places of ancestral dens, it began to increase. However, it is now declining again, as bears are suffering greatly due to climate change - in the Arctic, the ice cover is established late, which is necessary for successful hunting for seals. As a result, the animals are starving, and the bears, in addition, cannot get to the places of the birth lairs. Pollution plays a negative role natural environment and the anxiety factor.

Polar bears are very curious, they examine any new object and often visit polar stations. At the same time, they are not aggressive and, if people do not start feeding them, they leave.

Distribution area

The world for the polar bear is limited to ice fields. This is a beast of the Arctic belt - and he finds food and shelter among the endless ice and hummocks. It happens that together with floating ice, polar bears reach the shores of Iceland, even get into the Okhotsk and Sea of Japan. However, such animals always strive to return to their usual ice conditions and, once outside it, make large land crossings, moving due north.

Appearance, features of morphology and physiology

The polar bear is the largest animal not only among bears, but also among all predators. Among the males there are hulks, the body length of which reaches 280 cm, the height at the withers is 150 cm, and the weight is 800 kg; females are smaller and lighter. The polar bear has an elongated body, narrow in the front and massive in the back, a long and mobile neck and a relatively small head, with a straight profile, a narrow forehead and small high-set eyes. This animal has very strong paws with large claws. The bear's feet are wide, but the calluses are almost invisible under the thick dense coat. Such wool covers the entire body of the animal and has a monochromatic white color that does not change with the seasons of the year.

But the skin of a polar bear is dark, almost black, which contributes to the least heat transfer. All year round under the skin lies a thick - 3-4 cm layer of fat; on the back, it can reach a thickness of 10 cm. Fat not only protects the beast from the cold and serves as an energy storeroom, but also makes its body lighter, making it easier to stay on the water.
The brain of this animal differs markedly from the brain of other carnivores in its outline and more complex arrangement of furrows and convolutions. In this respect, it is similar to the brain of some pinnipeds, such as fur seals. More than brown bear, the development of the visual region of the brain and a smaller olfactory one may indicate that the polar bear has better developed vision and worse sense of smell than its brown counterpart.

The structure of the digestive tract is specific and different from other bears - the intestines are shorter, and the stomach is much larger than that of other members of the family, which allows a hungry predator to eat a whole seal at once.

Intellectual among bears, perfectly oriented in the space of water and ice

Lifestyle and social organization

In the harsh conditions of the Arctic, there is no alternation of day and night that we are accustomed to. There is no pronounced daily activity of the animals inhabiting it. During winter hibernation, which is widely known for brown bears, not all whites fall into it. Winter sleep is typical only for she-bears who are about to become mothers, and for elderly males, who thus wait out the most difficult time of the year. Strong, healthy males and non-pregnant females are active all year round, sitting out in freshly dug dens in the snow only during a strong snowstorm.

Polar bears do not adhere to certain individual areas, they own the entire Arctic. Adult animals, as a rule, roam alone. Having caught a seal and having had enough, the predator sleeps off right there, on the site of a successful hunt, and, waking up, wanders further. Meeting with a brother can take place in different ways. Well-fed animals are most often neutral in relation to each other. Females with small cubs try to stay out of sight of large males, who, being hungry, hunt cubs. If the meeting is unavoidable, the she-bear will desperately protect her cubs.

A seasoned male can take away the prey of a young one and even try to kill him and eat him. At the same time, sometimes dozens of bears gather near the carcass of a whale thrown out by the sea, which feed a few meters from each other, not showing any aggression to their brothers.

Females with small cubs are extremely loyal to orphaned cubs: there are cases when females accepted and fed them together with relatives.

Feeding and feeding behavior

The polar bear, unlike its omnivorous relatives, is a predator that actively hunts large animals. Its main prey are arctic seals, primarily ringed seals. When hunting for a seal, the bear shows amazing ingenuity and resourcefulness: it can sneak up on its prey, watch for leads, or get close to its reins. The bear is very patient - he can sneak up on his prey for several hours, as well as lie near the hole waiting for the animal to emerge to breathe. With a powerful blow of the front paw, the predator kills its prey and in one movement pulls it out of the ice. Most often, the bear is limited to only the subcutaneous layer of fat, eating it together with the skin, which it pulls together with a stocking from the victim. The meat is eaten up by arctic foxes and gulls, which often accompany it on travels. However, a very hungry bear eats a name from a seal, and at one time it can eat up to 20 or more kilograms. It is highly likely that the next portion of food will enter his stomach only after a few days.

Sometimes the bear preys on the young of large marine mammals - walruses, white whales and inarwhals. The real feast begins when the sea throws the carcass of a whale ashore. Utushi gathers several predators at once - there is enough food for everyone.

Being on dry land, bears feed on bird eggs, grab lemmings. In addition, in the summer on the mainland and islands they eat cloudberries, in the intertidal zone they eat algae such as kelp and fucus. Bears, after leaving the den, dig up the snow and eat shoots of willow or sedge leaves.

Reproduction and rearing of offspring

Polar bears mate in spring or summer. Animals can stay in pairs for about two weeks, at night up to 3 or even 7 males gather near the female, between which fights arise.

In October-November, when the ice fields are suitable for fires, the females come out of the rocky shores. Here our favorite places in powerful snow drifts they arrange lairs. The entrance to the den is always lower than the nesting chamber, due to which the shelter is much warmer than outside. Blizzards and winds complete the construction of the “house”, forming a solid roof over it, sometimes up to 2 m thick. Here, after 230-250 days of pregnancy (including the latent stage, characteristic of bears, when the egg does not develop), cubs appear in the middle of the Arctic winter. Newborns are as helpless as other types of bears, and weigh about 700 g. The ability to see and hear appears in them only at the age of one month, after another month the cubs erupt teeth. By this time they begin to leave the dens, but only at the age of 3 months they are able to follow their mother. In the snow, young animals do not separate for a year and a half. Ihotsy do not take any part in the upbringing of children, on the contrary, they pose a serious danger to them - cannibalism of polar bears is not uncommon.

For the first time, a female gives birth to one cub at the age of five or six, and then, most likely, she will give birth to 2 cubs once every three years.

Lifespan

In captivity, a polar bear can live for more than 30 years, less in nature.

Keeping animals in the Moscow Zoo

Throughout the existence of the zoo, there were only very short periods when we did not keep polar bears. There is evidence that the first polar bear appeared in 1871. In 1884 Emperor Alexander donated two more polar bears to the zoo. They had cubs, but, unfortunately, because of the concern on the part of the people, the mothers refused to feed them, and the first born captive cubs died. In subsequent years, the zoo was visited mainly by cubs brought from polar stations. In 1938, the zoo kept 8 polar bears at the same time. From them, offspring were obtained and grown. During the harsh war years, zoo enthusiasts made truly heroic efforts to save the animals, but some of them still died during the bombing. At the beginning of 1945 the zoo accepted another bear cub as a gift from the famous polar explorer Papanin.

Now three adult polar bears live in the zoo, only one of which was born in the zoo, the rest, left without parental care, were picked up and transferred to the zoo by winterers. Wrangel and Chukotka. They have been allocated two enclosures, the water of which, in addition to the obligatory pool, has an installation from which hot summer days it is snowing. The installation is a gift from the Moscow government, and it has greatly adorned the life of our furry pets. Bears like to rest near a snowdrift and hide leftovers of food in it, and their children play contentedly in the snow.

Females live each in their own enclosure, asamets move, resettle him only shortly before it is time for pregnant females to hibernate. At this time, expectant mothers are trying to disturb as little as possible. The cubs are born in October-November, but zoo visitors can see them in enclosures not earlier than February. The first 3-4 months of their life they, as it should be for all cubs, spend their time in a den. At the age of about one year, the cubs leave other zoos.

The feeding of polar bears in the zoo is very diverse. They prefer meat to everything else, they like fish, mostly large ones. From a variety of green vegetables, first of all, the bears choose a green salad. They eat various cereals.

Of course, life in a zoo is easier than in nature, but more boring. "Foreign" objects that you see in the enclosures are bear toys. If you don't see the bears sleeping, you will most likely see them playing.

Conservation Status: Vulnerable.
It is included in the Red Book of Russia and the Red Book
International Union for Conservation of Nature.

(Ursus maritimus)- This is a large bear species that inhabits the ice fields of the Arctic Ocean. He is considered the most close-up view in the world (with the exception of the Kodiak subspecies living in Alaska, which can reach similar sizes), males weighing about 600 kg are often found.

The polar bear is also called the "Sea Bear", in connection with the constant presence near the coast, as well as the strength and ability to swim perfectly. They have a thick layer of fat and a water-repellent layer that keeps out the icy air and cold water. These bears are considered talented and hardy swimmers, as they can withstand a pace of about 10 km / h for a long time. However, this species bear is in a vulnerable position, and this is due to global warming, affecting the habitat in a detrimental way - simply destroying it.

Description

Adult polar bears usually reach about 2 meters in length and half a ton in weight. Females are much lighter than males, which are almost twice their size. Polar bears are one of the few large mammals that live in such unfavorable conditions and are well adapted to life on the ice. They have thick and dense fur, consisting of a warm undercoat. The skin of a polar bear is black, and the hairs are in the form of transparent hollow tubes, the main purpose of which is absorption sunlight and keeping warm. Due to the black color of the skin, there is a maximum absorption of the sun's rays. Color can be white, yellow or green. Green color can form in hot climates, when algae start growing inside the coat. The body of the polar bear is strong and muscular, with wide front legs that help with swimming. There is fur on the soles of the paws, which not only keeps the feet warm, but also reduces the sliding force while moving on the ice. Compared to other types of bears, the white has a very long neck, allowing it to keep its head on the surface of the water while swimming. Also distinguishing features compared to other bears are more elongated muzzles and small ears.

area

Polar bears live on the icy shores surrounding North Pole south of Hudson Bay. About 60% of representatives of this species can be found in the northern part of Canada, and the rest - in Greenland, Alaska, Svalbard and Russia, where, as a rule, relatively small distances to the ocean. The polar bear population has rapidly declined due to the biggest threat to this huge predator - global warming, which has disrupted the natural habitat. Although polar bears are accustomed to seasonal changes, global warming it is very difficult for them to survive, because in the summer the ice begins to melt earlier than usual, and every year this process begins earlier, so the bears have less time to hunt on the ice. The total population of polar bears is divided into 19 units or subpopulations. Of these, 8 are in decline and the risk of further decline in the future is highly assessed due to habitat change.

Hunting

The polar bear is a solitary animal that can reach speeds of up to 40 km/h on land and about 10 km/h in water, this essential ability makes it one of the best predators. It hunts on ice and water, and is known to be able to swim long distances in the open ocean for food. To catch its prey, the polar bear dives under the water, while leaving its eyes open, and it can hold its breath for about two minutes. On land, they hunt using two main methods: either sneaking up and then attacking, or waiting for prey near the breathing ring in the ice for many hours. Polar bears spend more than 50% of their time hunting, but about two percent of these hunts can be called successful.

Food

Considered the largest carnivorous mammal, the polar bear must be hunted regularly in order to eat well and maintain an insulating layer of fat deposits to keep the body warm. The hide and blubber of ringed seals make up the bulk of their diet, and they often leave leftover meat, which is an important source of food for other animals such as. The diet mostly consists of ringed seals (seals) and bearded seals (sea hares). Although body fat is very important for a bear, polar bears can also eat birds, berries, fish, deer (especially in summer months), as well as walruses and even whales. Carcasses from large marine mammals are a regular food source for polar bears. As you know, bears of this species can tear open the underground burrows of seals and hunt their cubs. Eating seals is considered vital to the survival of the polar bear, as it can provide the predator with a high amount of energy. They have a layer of fat up to 10 centimeters. During the short Arctic summer, polar bears are forced to move farther north as the ice recedes and the opportunity to eat well disappears.

reproduction

Mating usually occurs in the spring months (April, May). The gestation period lasts about 9 months, at the end of which the female gives birth to 1 to 4 cubs. The offspring is born in dens dug by the female in the snow or earth, the temperature in which is 40 degrees higher than outside. Bear cubs are born hairless, blind and weighing just over half a kilogram. The females are with the babies until the severe winter frosts stop in the spring. Although babies begin to eat from 5 months of age, the period breastfeeding lasts until they reach 2-3 years of age. As you know, cubs can arrange play fights among themselves, which include fighting and hunting, along with baring teeth and even biting each other, while doing absolutely no harm. These games have essential for little cubs, as they learn to fight and defend themselves, which will come in handy as soon as they leave their mother and become completely independent.

Threats

The survival and protection of the polar bear's habitat are topical issues to date. Due to the fact that the polar bear is strong and ferocious predator, there are no animals that hunt them in . As a rule, conflicts arise between representatives of the stronger sex, fiercely protecting their females and cubs. Today, humans are the biggest threat to the bear population.

The number of polar bears, from the 1600s to the mid-1970s, was significantly reduced due to constant hunting. Thanks to the establishment of international hunting bans, the population gradually began to increase. Along with the receding ice, which is critical to the survival of the polar bear, caused by climate change, the drilling of gas and oil wells, increased shipping and the release of industrial chemicals that pollute the water also bring detrimental effects. The polar bear has a relatively low reproductive rate, which means not only is the population rapidly declining, but it is also not growing fast enough to maintain the population at the required level. Some experts argue that the polar bear may become extinct in wild nature in the next 30 years.

Polar bear, aka polar or northern bear (lat. Ursus maritimus) is a predatory mammal that belongs to the canine suborder, the bear family, the bear genus. 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).

conservation status: vulnerable view.

Polar bear - description, structure, characteristics

The polar bear is the largest land predator and one of the largest predators on the planet, which is second only to sea elephant. 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 is 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 up to 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 jaws of the beast are extremely powerful, with well-developed, sharp fangs and incisors. In total, a polar bear has 42 teeth. Facial vibrissae are absent in animals.

The tail of a polar bear is very short, has a length of 7 to 13 cm and is almost invisible from under thick fur. The paws of the polar bear 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 wool, which prevents slipping on ice floes and does not allow the paws to freeze. In addition, polar bears are great swimmers and divers, and there is a swimming membrane between their fingers, which helps with long swims.

The fur of the polar bear is rather coarse, dense and extremely dense, with a well-developed undercoat. Such a rich fur coat and an impressive layer of subcutaneous fat up to 10 cm thick make animals practically invulnerable even in the most severe frosts and when they are in ice 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 size. 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 it can swim without stopping for several days. A fact is known when a female polar bear swam non-stop to the feeding place for 9 days, although during this time she lost up to 22% of her body weight and her cub.

Polar predators have well-developed hearing, sight and smell. The animal senses the prey at a distance of more than 1 kilometer, and standing over the shelter of potential prey, it is able to catch the slightest movement. Through a meter layer of snow, a polar bear can smell the place of the seal's air (holes in the ice, with the help of which the seal breathes).

Polar bear lifespan

AT natural conditions polar bears live for 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 subpolar regions of the northern hemisphere, and their range extends to 88 degrees north latitude in the north and 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 range of animals is closely related to the Arctic belt, covered with drifting and multi-year ice, abounding in large polynyas with a high density of marine mammals, the main source of food for polar bears.

Today, the habitat of polar bears has several large populations:

Laptev, common in the Laptev Sea, the eastern regions of the Kara Sea, in the west of the East Siberian Sea, on the New Siberian Islands and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago;
the 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 Svalbard;
the Chukchi-Alaska 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 the Wrangel and Herald Islands.

In the north, the distribution area of \u200b\u200bpopulations captures part of the Arctic basin, although polar bears are much less common here than in more southerly seas. Interestingly, the largest polar bears live in the Barents Sea, while the smallest ones live on the island of Svalbard.

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

Hibernation of the polar bear

First of all, pregnant females hibernate, the rest of the polar bears winter in the den not every year and at the same time fall into suspended animation for no more than 50-80 days.

What does a polar bear eat?

The main food source of the polar bear is various marine mammals and fish (seal, ringed seal, less often bearded seal (sea hare), walrus, white 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, the body of the animal receives great amount vitamin A, which is stored 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 remnants of the meal are eaten up by arctic foxes, eternal guides and freeloaders of the polar bear. In case of an unsuccessful hunt, animals are content with dead fish, carrion, ruin bird nests, eating eggs and chicks. Polar bears are quite tolerant of their relatives when eating large prey, such as a dead whale, which may gather around large group predators. Wandering to the mainland, polar bears willingly dig in 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 (in 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, in Greenland and some islands).

In summer, the ice recedes from the shores and can completely melt, which deprives the animals of their feeding places. Therefore, in 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 hunts down and treats 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 are dangerous to humans.

How does a polar bear hunt?

The polar bear lies in wait for potential prey near the polynya, and as soon as the head of the victim is shown above the water, it stuns the animal with a powerful blow of the paw, after which it pulls the carcass onto the ice.

Another equally effective method of hunting is to turn over the ice floe on which the seals rest. Often, polar bears hunt walruses, especially young and weak ones, but they can only cope with an enemy armed with deadly tusks on ice. The bear sneaks up to prey at a distance of about 9-12 meters, and then attacks the victim with a sharp jump.

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 of the body into the water, grabs the seal with his sharp teeth and pulls it onto the ice, after which the victim can no longer cope with an 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, at the same time 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 in time and lasts from late March to early 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 a latent stage, when the implantation of the embryo is delayed.

In October, female polar bears begin to dig dens in snow drifts, and they choose certain places for this: for example, on the Wrangel Islands and Franz Josef Land, where up to 150-200 dens are set up in the coastal zone at the same time. In mid-November, when the embryonic development of the fetus begins, the 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

From 1 to 3 cubs are usually born (usually 2 cubs), completely helpless and tiny, weighing from 450 to 750 g. In completely exceptional cases, 4 cubs can be born. The fur of 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, the little polar bears begin short sorties from the lair, 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. Up to a year and a half, the cubs continue to feed on milk and are under the protection of their mother, and after that they begin an independent life. Mortality among polar bear cubs ranges from 10 to 30%.

The mother bear brings offspring once every 3 years and during the life cycle produces no more than 15 cubs, which indicates that the potential for increasing the population of these animals is too low.

conservation 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. In 2013, about 5-6 thousand polar bears lived in the Russian polar ice. Other countries have established restrictions on the harvest 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 in their natural habitat. In the water, a walrus or a killer whale can attack an animal, on land, small bear cubs, left unattended by a not too vigilant or gaping mother, sometimes become victims of wolves, foxes and dogs. The main threat to the polar bear is a man with a gun: unfortunately, even the protected status does not always save this giant of the Arctic from armed poachers.

Differences between white and brown bear

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

Taken from: www.spiegel.de

Polar and brown bears occupy completely different ecological niches, have distinctive phenotypic traits, nutritional habits and public behavior, due to which they are classified as certain types. Below are the differences between white and brown bears.

the largest polar bear reached a length of 3 meters, while the length of a brown bear does not exceed 2.5 meters;
the weight of a polar bear can reach one ton, the 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 neck of the polar bear is long, while that of the brown counterpart is thick and short;
the head of the polar bear is not very large and flattened, while that of the brown bear is more massive and rounded;
polar bears - inhabitants of harsh and snowy expanses arctic belt, their southern boundary of habitat is the tundra zone. Brown bears, unlike polar bears, live in a warmer climate in Russia, Canada, the USA, in 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 one in the food it consumes. If polar bears are carnivorous predators, then the menu of the brown bear consists not only of meat and fish: most of diet includes berries, nuts, insects and their larvae;
in polar bears, only pregnant females mainly hibernate, and their winter sleep lasts no more than 50-80 days. The winter sleep of a brown bear, both in females and in males, can last from 75 to 195 days - it all depends on the habitat of the animal;
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, less often 3 cubs. Browns can have both 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 the sake of obtaining skins and meat, and reveres this strong and ferocious beast as the embodiment of formidable natural forces. According to the legends of the Eskimos, the confrontation between a man and a polar bear becomes a kind of initiation and the 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 weight and her one-year-old bear 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 predators rarely run to avoid overheating.
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 confectionery production "Sever" and on the wrappers of sweets "Bear in the North" created by the Krupskaya confectionery factory.
February 27 is the officially recognized day of the Polar Bear, which is celebrated by fans of these animals all over the world.

Today, we still have a chance to see a polar bear in the wild, whether it's a TV show on Discovery or an exotic trip to its habitats. natural habitat. But it is likely that our children will be deprived of such an opportunity. Whatever happens in the lessons of the world around us, primary school students study the animals of the Red Book of Russia.

Children learn that many species of animals are endangered, how fragile animal world, you need to save this beautiful world nature.

Message around the world on the topic "Animals of the Red Book of Russia - a polar bear"

Polar bear - a short description for children

from the cycle "Animals of the Red Book of Russia"

The polar bear is one of the largest predators living on land. Its height at the withers (from the ground to the neck) is 1.5 m, the length is 2-2.5 m, the size of the foot is 30 cm in length and 25 in width; polar bear males weigh 350-650 kg, some even more, females 175-300 kg. The maximum life expectancy is 25-30 years, rarely more. With its size, it surpasses all predators in the world. But such dimensions do not prevent the animal from deftly moving through the snow, swimming and diving.

Polar bear coat color winter time snow white. With the advent of heat, the coat becomes yellowish. Also, thanks to fat reserves, the bear is perfectly kept afloat. The polar bear, like every predator of this size, must have a dangerous weapon. These are powerful jaws and strong claws.

Polar bear habitat

Polar bears are associated year-round with drifters and landfast sea ice where seals are hunted - ringed seal and, to a lesser extent, sea hare. If bears come to land, then, as a rule, not for long. The exceptions are pregnant females, which lie in dens for up to six months, and in some years, bears, for one reason or another, remained on land for several weeks.

For a polar bear, you need to be near the sea. Therefore, he spends his life near the ice-covered Arctic seas. This predator is mainly distributed in the Arctic Ocean, Hudson and Baffin Bays, in the north of the Bering Sea and on the Arctic islands.
White bears lead a nomadic lifestyle. Sometimes they are transported over long distances.

What do polar bears eat

The main prey of bears are seals, which predators lie in wait near the holes. When the seal sticks its head out, the polar bear throws the animal out with a powerful blow. Uses only bacon and seal skin. Only in times of famine can eat the whole carcass.
In addition to seals, polar bears feed on fish, chicks, and carrion. Can prey on large animals such as walruses.

In summer, it can consume cloudberries, algae, willow shoots and sedge leaves.

The main reasons for the decline in the number of polar bears:

For polar bears, the main natural limiting factor is the abundance and availability of seals.

Under natural conditions, the polar bear is not threatened by anyone except humans. A big threat to polar bears is poachers who can hunt cubs.

Climate change is a big threat. Due to a sharp drop in temperature, the ice cover began to decrease. This led to a decrease in the population of seals, walruses, which are the basis of polar bears' food. For these reasons, the protection of this animal is of great importance.

Although the polar bear is the largest predator on Earth, thanks to man, its species is endangered. Therefore, the polar bear is listed in Red Book and is under protection. It is also listed in the international red book. Harvesting of polar bears in the Russian Arctic has been banned since 1956.

Conservation of polar bear populations in the Russian Arctic, the organization of a special protection regime in places of concentration of family lairs (Wrangel and Herald Islands and Franz Josef Land) contributed. In order to improve the protection of polar bears, the following measures are proposed:

Expand the area of the Wrangel Island Reserve;

Organize specially protected natural areas and water areas in the areas of Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya;

Introduce stricter time limits on economic activity in areas of concentration of polar bears in the ice and in places of their occurrence in dens;

Implement preventive measures to reduce the likelihood of polar bears appearing in settlements and attacking a person (remove or move as far as possible the landfills with food waste, places for butchering sea animals and fish;

It is more reliable to isolate food stores and warehouses from animals;

Equip district environmental inspectorates with sets of immobilizing equipment, with the help of which it is possible to catch and remove bears that have entered the territory of a settlement to a safe distance, etc.).

The polar bear breeds regularly in the zoos of Kazan, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Perm, Rostov-on-Don.

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.

Feature and description

The polar bear is one of the largest terrestrial mammals from the order of predatory animals.. The body length of an adult is three meters with a mass of up to a ton. Average weight 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 Svalbard, and the largest specimens are found near the Bering Sea.

It is interesting! A characteristic difference between polar bears is the presence of enough long neck and flat head. The skin is black, and the color of the fur coat can vary from white color to yellowish shades. AT summer period animal fur turns yellow as a result of prolonged exposure to sunlight.

The wool 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 wool high thermal insulation characteristics. On the soles of the limbs there is also wool that prevents slipping. Between the fingers is a swimming membrane. Large claws allow the predator to hold even very strong and large prey.

extinct subspecies

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

On the territory of Great Britain, in the Pleistocene deposits, it was possible to find the remains of a single ulna belonging to a giant polar bear, which made it possible to determine its intermediate position. Apparently, a large predator was perfectly adapted to hunting fairly large mammals. According to scientists, the most likely reason for the extinction of the subspecies was the lack of food by the end of the icing period.

Habitat

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

permanent residence;
habitat of a high number of animals;
place of regular occurrence of pregnant females;
the territory of distant calls to the south.

Polar bears inhabit the entire coast of Greenland, the ice of the Greenland Sea south to the Jan Mayen Islands, the island of Svalbard, as well as Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya in the Barents Sea, Bear Islands, Vay-gach and Kolguev, Kara Sea. A significant number of polar bears is observed on the coast of the continents of the Laptev Sea, as well as the East Siberian, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The main range of the highest 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 Svalbard;
western part of Franz Josef Land;
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;
the coast and adjacent islands of the Chukotka Peninsula;
Wrangel Island;
southern part of Banks Island;
the coast of the Simpson Peninsula;
northeast coast of Baffin Island and Southampton Island.

Dens with pregnant polar bears are also observed on pack ice in the Beaufort Sea. From time to time, as a rule, in early spring, polar bears make long-distance visits towards Iceland and Scandinavia, as well as the Kanin Peninsula, the Gulf of Anadyr and Kamchatka. With ice and when crossing Kamchatka, predatory beasts sometimes they enter the Sea of Japan and the Sea of Okhotsk.

Nutrition Features

Polar bears have a very well developed sense of smell, as well as organs of 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 the 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 marine representatives of the animal world, including sea urchin and walruses. Eggs, chicks, baby animals, as well as carrion in the form of the corpses of marine animals and fish, which are thrown by the wave 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 able to eat 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 recent times polar bears are increasingly hunting on land.

Lifestyle

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

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

Duration hibernation polar bear, as a rule, varies between 50-80 days, but hibernate, most often pregnant females. Males and young are characterized by irregular and rather short hibernation.

On land, this predator differs in speed, and also swims excellently and dives very well.

Despite the apparent slowness, the slowness of the polar bear is deceptive. On land, this predator is distinguished by agility and speed, and among other things, a large animal swims excellently and dives very well. To protect the body of a polar bear, a very thick and dense coat is used, which prevents getting wet in icy water and has excellent heat-preserving 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. white coloring wool helps the predator successfully camouflage against the background of snow and ice.

reproduction

Based on numerous observations, the rutting period of 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

It lasts approximately eight months, but depending on a number of conditions, it can vary between 195-262 days. It is visually almost impossible to distinguish a pregnant female from a single polar bear. Approximately a couple of months before giving birth, behavioral differences appear and females become irritable, inactive, lie on their stomach 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 female bear comes out on land in autumn, and spends the entire winter period in a snowy lair, located, most often, near the sea coast.

Bear care

In the first days after childbirth, the polar bear almost all the time lies curled up on her side.. Short and sparse hair is not sufficient for self-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.

Bear cubs are born blind, and only at the age of five weeks open their eyes. Monthly bear cubs are fed sitting. The mass exit of bear females occurs in March. Through a hole dug outside, the she-bear begins to gradually lead her cubs for a walk, but with the onset of night, the animals return to the lair again. On walks, bear cubs play and dig in the snow.

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

Enemies in nature

Under 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 skirmishes or when hunting for too large walruses. The killer whale and polar shark also pose a certain danger to adults and young individuals. Most often, bears die of starvation..

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

Human danger

There are well-known cases of polar bear attacks on people, and the most striking evidence of predator aggression is recorded in the notes and reports of polar travelers, so you need to move in places where a polar bear may appear with extreme caution. Within the territory of settlements located near the habitat of the polar predator, all containers with household waste must be inaccessible to a hungry beast. In the cities of the Canadian province, so-called "prisons" have been specially created, in which bears are temporarily kept approaching the city limits.