Polar Bears
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Polar bears are the worlds largest land predators. They top the food chain in the Arctic, where they dine primarily on seals.
Adult males weigh from 775-1,500 pounds. Females are considerably smaller, normally weighing 330-550 pounds.
Polar bears can be found in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland and Norway.
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Female polar bears usually have two cubs. Newborns are 12-14 inches long and weigh little more than a pound.
Six out of ten cubs die in their first year, due to starvation, predation or accidents. The high rate is partly due to native hunters, who have been known to kill both mothers and cubs.
Females with cubs generally avoid adult males, which sometimes attack the young and eat them, highly protective mothers are capable of driving off much larger males.
An adult polar bears only enemies are humans and on rare occasions, other bears.
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In the wild, adult polar bears live on average 15-18 years, though biologists have tagged a few bears in their early 30's.
In zoos, many captive bears live until their mid to late 30's. One individual in London lived until the age of 41.
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Despite what our eyes tell us, a polar bears fur is not white. Each hair shaft is pigment free and transparent with a hollow core. They look white because the hollow core scatters and reflects visible light, much like snow and ice does.
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