polar bear

POLAR BEAR
FACT SHEET
POLAR BEARS, JUST THE FACTS
• Polar bears are also known as Ursus maritimus, which means sea bear. The polar bear is the only bear
considered to be a marine mammal.
• There are 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears.
• Male polar bears are two to three times bigger than females and weigh between 772 to 1,433 pounds!
• In reality, a polar bear’s hair is translucent or clear. It’s the reflection off the snow that makes the fur
look white.
• Polar bears are found throughout the circumpolar Arctic. Polar bear home ranges can range from less
than 100 square miles to more than a few hundred thousand square miles.
• The average air temperature in the Arctic is a bone-chilling -22° F (-30° C) in the winter and a balmy
32° F (0° C) in the summer.
• Polar bears weather the icy cold thanks to their thick fur, tough hide, a 4.5 inch layer of fat and
undersized ears, as well as their snowshoe-sized paws.
• Polar bears are amazing swimmers! They swim doggy paddle style, using their back legs as rudders. They
can swim for several hours at a time over long distances.
ICE MATTERS
For polar bears, it’s all about sea ice. The amount of sea
ice controls everything about their lives, from migration
to hunting to breeding to survival.
• Polar bears prefer to travel on sea ice and migrate
based on the amount of ice and its movement.
• They hunt on the sea ice, using it as a platform.
A perfect spot has cracks, channels and holes or
pools, where seals and other mammals come up
for air.
• Breeding takes place on ice, near popular seal
hunting areas and soon-to-be moms cross the ice to
build dens on land.
MOMS & BABIES
• Females typically breed once every three years, therefore there are three males for each breeding female
and the competition is fierce.
• For a female polar bear to have a successful pregnancy, she needs to gain up to 440 pounds! Luckily, she
has eight months to bulk up.
• Pregnant females spend fall and winter on land in maternity dens that they’ve dug into the snow or earth.
• Only pregnant female polar bears hibernate. They actually give birth while hibernating!
• Cubs are born between November and January, weighing 16 to 24 ounces. They emerge in the spring,
weighing 22 to 33 pounds.
• A litter is usually two cubs, sometimes one, occasionally three, and rarely four.
• As soon as her cubs are ready, mom takes them to sea ice for their first taste of solid
food and hunting lessons.
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POLAR BEAR
FACT SHEET
POLAR BEARS AND SURVIVAL
As a rule, polar bears have no natural predators other than themselves, and that’s usually due to hunger.
Human Impact
• Hunting is the greatest known cause of polar bear mortality. Arctic people hunted polar bears for food,
clothing, bedding and religious purposes for thousands of years. Commercial hunting began centuries ago,
exploding in the 1950s and 1960s when hunters began using snowmobiles, high-speed boats and
airplanes to kill polar bears. Today, hunting is banned in some areas and government-regulated in others.
• Climate Change: Increasing temperatures cause sea ice to melt, impacting migration, hunting, food
sources and breeding. Although well-adapted to survive in the extreme arctic climate, climate change is
the largest threat to polar bear populations.
• Toxic Chemicals: In the sea, the higher the animal is on the food chain, the higher their level of
toxicity. Polar bears are at the very top. Toxic chemicals from worldwide industrial activities are carried
to the Arctic by air currents, rivers and oceans. Toxins travel up the food chain and since polar bears are
top predators, they are exposed to higher levels of toxic chemicals.
PROTECTING POLAR BEARS AND THEIR HABITAT
• Agreements, Legislation and Organizations: International agreements state that the five polar bear
nations, Canada, Greenland, Norway, the United States and Russia, will protect habitats, ban certain
hunting practices, share information and have restrictions in place for taking polar bears. Polar bears are
also listed as “threatened.” In addition, there are organizations, groups and individuals dedicated to
conserving polar bears and their habitat.
• Research: Using radio collars and aircraft to track polar bears’ movements, scientists can study their behavior.
• SeaWorld®:
• In addition to increasing public awareness, engagement and stewardship, SeaWorld provides valuable
research and study in pivotal areas such as reproduction, birth and care of the young, physiology
and communication.
• SeaWorld works with other zoological institutions and organizations, such as Polar Bears
International, to promote polar bear conservation and research.
• Scientists from Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute (HSWRI) have studied polar bears’ hearing. This
may have great impact as human population increases and spreads, while polar bear habitats shrink.
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