POLAR BEAR

The polar bear, an awesome-looking animal, is one of the world’s largest land carnivores. The pure white to shades of yellow helps the polar bear to merge into the snow-covered environment. This is not a cute and cuddly animal; this is actually a giant predator. The size of the species is pretty big: the height is 1.6m to shoulder, the length is 2.2-2.5m, its feet are 30cm long and 25cm wide. If you think that’s big, the weight is so heavy, the male weighs 400-500kg, female weighs 300-350kg. The breeding maturity is 3-5 yrs; mating season is late March to early June. The gestation is about 7-8 months and the litter size usually 2.

 The lifestyle, the habit is solitary, but polar bears sometimes come together to feed, the diet is mainly seals, carrion and berries.

How the polar bear hunts seal pups?

The polar bear mostly preys on seals and their pups; it catches adults by ambushing them at their breathing holes in the ice. With the polar bears amazing sense of smell, the bear can sniff out the pup in its den up to a metre underground, digging it out and devour its meal. Ringed seals live around or under the coastal ice. The cow gives birth in a den under the snow and ice, and usually provides her pup with a breathing hole. The den keeps the pup warm and offers a degree of protection from the predatory Arctic fox and the polar bear.

CONSERVATION

Conservation programmes and disgraceful hunting exist in all countries where polar bears are found. After a sharp decline in numbers to a low of about 5,000 in post war years, the present world population is reckoned at 40,000. Future depends on the protection of Arctic environments.