Suborder Caniformia Scientific name Ursus maritimus | Phylum Chordata Family Ursidae Gestation period 195 – 265 days | |
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Speed 40 km/h (Maximum, Adult, Sprint) Height Female: 2 m (Adult, On hind legs), Male: 1.3 m (Adult, At Shoulder) Similar Bear, Giant panda, Brown bear, Penguin, American black bear | ||
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 (772–1,543 lb), while a sow (adult female) is about half that size. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals, which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. Their scientific name means "maritime bear" and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present. Because of their dependence on the sea ice, polar bears are classified as marine mammals; an alternative basis for classification as marine mammals is that they depend on the ocean as their main food source.
Contents
- Cool cute cubs amazing animal babies polar bear cubs ep 6 earth unplugged
- Naming and etymology
- Taxonomy and evolution
- Population and distribution
- Habitat
- Physical characteristics
- Life history and behaviour
- Hunting and diet
- Dietary flexibility
- Reproduction and lifecycle
- Maternity denning and early life
- Later life
- Life expectancy
- Ecological role
- Long distance swimming and diving
- Indigenous people
- History of commercial harvest
- Contemporary regulations