The
polar bear, Ursus maritimus, or the sea bear, started to evolve about five
million years ago from brown bear ancestors. Unlike their land-based cousins,
polar bears are superbly adapted for survival in the Far North on a sea ice
habitat. The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with eight of
the nineteen
The
polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies
largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic
Ocean , its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a
large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear (Ursus
arctos middendorffi). A boar (adult male) weighs around 350–700 kg (770–1,540
lb), while a sow (adult female) is about half that size. At birth, polar bear cubs are 12 to 14 inches
long and weigh around one pound.
Polar
bears are the largest land carnivores in the world, rivaled only by the Kodiak
brown bears of southwestern Alaska .
Polar bears sit at the top of the food chain in the biologically rich Arctic . The most carnivorous of the bear species, polar
bears feed primarily on the fat of ice-dependent seals. The remains of these
seals provide food for many other Arctic wildlife species, giving polar bears a
vital role in their ecosystem.
Unlike
grizzly bears, polar bears are not territorial. Although stereotyped as being
voraciously aggressive, they are normally cautious in confrontations, and often
choose to escape rather than fight.
Polar
bears feed almost exclusively on ringed seals and bearded seals. Polar bears
usually hunt ringed seals by waiting for the seals surface to breathe at
openings (leads) in the ice or at breathing holes called aglus. They are also known
to eat walrus, beluga whale and bowhead whale carcasses, birds’ eggs, and
(rarely) vegetation. Polar bears travel great distances in search of prey.
Scientific
classification of Polar bears:
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Chordata
Class:
Mammalia
Order:
Carnivora
Family:
Ursidae
Genus:
Ursus
Species:
U. maritimus
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