The habitat of a polar bear. Where do polar bears live?

Polar or polar bear is the only one that is classified in most countries (USA, Norway, Greenland and Russia) as a marine mammal. An exception is Canada, which currently lists the polar bear as a terrestrial mammal. Polar bears are at the top of the food chain in the Arctic, where they feed mainly on seals.

Who are polar bears?

According to the latest data from numerous studies, the ancient ancestor of polar bears is the brown bear. Their origin dates back to about 350 thousand-6 million years ago. Unlike their brown relatives who live on land, polar bears are perfectly adapted to survive in the Arctic seas of the Far North. There are different populations of polar bears. In total, there are 19 species of different subpopulations of polar bears. According to more recent studies, four main groups are distinguished. This classification takes as a basis the features of the place where polar bears live: divergent ice, ice converging, seasonal ice and archipelagoes.

The polar bear is the closest relative of the brown bear. Adult males usually weigh from 350 to 600 kilograms. Adult females are smaller - usually their weight ranges from 150 to 295 kilograms. Polar bears are considered long-lived. In the wild they live an average of 15 to 18 years, although biologists have recorded several 30-year-olds. In captivity, some long-lived bears reach 40 years of age. A vivid example of this can serve as a captive-born bear Debbie from Canada, who lived to 42 years.

Where do polar bears live?

The habitat of a polar bear is its natural environment, where it can hunt, foraging for itself, and multiply, constructing snow lairs for hibernation and protection of young. Polar bears are found throughout the Arctic. They most often live in areas where the population of ringed seals is found. The habitat of the polar bear covers the entire circumpolar Arctic.

These large mammals have adapted to live in water and on land. Unlike other bears, the polar bear is an excellent swimmer, and sometimes they can be seen more than 160 km from the ground or ice. Currently, more than 40 percent of all polar bears live in Northern Canada, on ice along the shores of numerous islands.

The threat of extinction

Polar bears are considered a fairly vulnerable species in terms of extinction. In Russia, animals are listed in the Red Book, which includes rare or endangered animals. In the United States, white bears as a vanishing species are listed in the "On Endangered Species" list. Canada believes that they require increased attention in the national threatened species. Measures to protect animals are undertaken at the legislative level.

The causes of concern are the loss of habitat due to climate change. Scientists predict that because of intensive melting of ice two-thirds of the world's number of polar bears can disappear already in this century. The study also shows that it is still reparable if measures are soon taken to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. Places where polar bears live should not be polluted due to commercial use of the Arctic.

Polar bears: habitat

Bears are adapted to the arctic climate, where the air temperature in winter can drop to -45º C. These animals have two isolated layers of fur that help them retain body heat. In addition, in good times they also have a thick layer of fat. Compact ears and a small tail also prevent heat loss. In fact, polar bears have more problems with overheating than from cold, especially when running around. Hunting is helped by an excellent sense of smell, and their claws can keep prey 40-90 kg.

The place of the polar bear in the food chain

The habitats of these furry predators are the Arctic deserts. The polar bear is in the upper part of the Arctic food chain. Thus, a natural balance is achieved in order to prevent overpopulation of the habitat. When an adult bear is in good shape, the formed fat stores support the body between meals.

Bears hunt for ringed seal, sea hares, mustachioed whales. These white and fluffy mammals are excellent swimmers: they use their front paws as paddles as long as their hind legs act as rudders. In addition, they have a wonderful nose: they can smell their prey at a distance of one kilometer.

Offspring

Depending on the state of the organism, females usually reproduce two to three cubs every 4 to 6 years. In this regard, polar bears have one of the slowest reproductive cycles in nature, bringing offspring, as a rule, no more than five times during life. The habitat of a polar bear allows you to choose a suitable shelter for the birth of young. Bear cubs are born in November or December in snow caves, called generic lairs.

At birth, babies resemble large white rats, which in length reach 30-35 centimeters and weigh slightly more than half a kilogram. Blind, toothless and covered with a short soft fur, they are completely dependent on their mother, receiving heat and food from her. The young grow quite fast due to the high-calorie milk of their mother, whose fat content is about 31%. Small bears stay with their mother until they reach 2.5 years.

Habitat features

The habitat of a polar bear can vary, since animals can make long-distance migrations by land and water along continental coasts or islands. Some individuals spend most of the year on land. Most pregnant females spend the fall and winter on the ground in their generic lairs.

The air temperature in the Arctic reaches an average of -34 ° C in winter and 0 ° C in summer. The coldest zone in the winter is the north-eastern part of Siberia, where the temperature drops to -69 ° C. The warmest areas in the summer are the inland regions of Siberia, Alaska and Canada, where the temperature can reach + 32 ° C.

Polar bears, whose habitat falls on the northern circumpolar regions, are often depicted in illustrations in popular art and children's books along with penguins. However, they live at different poles. Polar bears in Antarctica do not live: there live penguins on an ice-covered continent, surrounded by oceans, and the habitat of polar bears is the Arctic.

These are they, these amazing animals are polar bears.