A fact about polar bears, please!?

Question

I need help with my homework.

Answer 1

They only live naturally in the Arctic . Polar bears have fur that is made up of "hollow guard hairs." Sometimes when polar bears live in zoos that are in a warmer climate, they can have algae growing inside the hollow guard hairs of their fur. This makes them have a greenish tint to their fur. These hollow hairs also keep their hair from matting down when they swim in water. Their skin is actually black.

Answer 2

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear native to the Arctic. Polar bears and Kodiak bears are the world's largest land carnivores, with most adult males weighing 300-600 kg (660-1320 lb); adult females are about half the size of males. Its fur is hollow and translucent, but usually appears as white or cream colored, thus providing the animal with effective camouflage. Its skin is actually black in color.[2] Its thick blubber and fur insulate it against the cold. The bear has a short tail and small ears that help reduce heat loss, as well as a relatively small head and long, tapered body to streamline it for swimming.

A semi-aquatic marine mammal, the polar bear has adapted for life on a combination of land, sea, and ice,[3] and is the apex predator within its range. It feeds mainly on seals, young walruses, and whales, although it will eat anything it can kill. It is the bear species most likely to prey on humans.

The polar bear is a vulnerable species at high risk of extinction. Scientists and climatologists believe that the projected decreases in the polar sea ice due to global warming will reduce their population by two thirds by mid-century.[4][1][5][6] Local long-term studies show that 7 out of 19 subpopulations are declining or already severely reduced.[7][8] In the USA, the Center for Biological Diversity petitioned to up-list the legal conservation status of polar bears to threatened species in 2005.[9] This petition is still under review.

Answer 3

I want to expand on what others have said, because this is an AWESOME fact about polar bears. The fur is translucent, as others have said. Their skin is black. This allows sunlight to pass thorough the thick insulating fur like a fiber optic line to the black skin, which due to its color absorbs more heat from the sun. This means the polar bears have a triple line of defense against the cold arctic environment: a fatty layer, thick fur, and the fur/skin system.

Answer 4

Norway banned the hunting of Polar Bears in 1973.

Answer 5

Polar Bear,Thalarctos Maritimus. 98+7+55ins in size. Weight;up to 1,600lb. The thick coat consists of short wooly hairs and long smooth guard hairs;the fur is shorter on the head,neck and back,but the hairs on the sides,belly and hind quarters are often quite long. In winter the fur is almost pure white.but in summer usually yellowish white. Polar bears live on and near the drift ice and occur along the north and east coasts of Greenland,and in smaller numbers along the arctic coast of mainland America and Asia;occasionally they travel with the drift ice to Iceland and the coast of northern Norway.On the east coast of Greenland they drift southwards on the ice then wander back north again along the shore. They swim well using their broad paws,and a thick layer of fat under the skin allows them to remain in the water hours at a time. They may often be found swimming many miles from land. They are as good at diving as they are swimming. Polar bears feed mainly on seals,which they kill with a blow from the front paw;they approach such prey by swimming among the ice floes,or by creeping up over the solid ice,or sometimes they lie in wait at the breathing holes which the seals keep open in the ice. They also eat fish ,carrion,lemmings,bivalve and molluscs and crustaceans ,as well as some plant food,such as moss,grasses,bilberries and arctic willow. In winter the pregnant female digs a hole in the snow with a very long entrance tunnel .

Answer 6

Polar bears:
Largest carnivore of North Amercia
Only fully carnivorous bear. The rest are omnivores
Fur is hollow, appearing white. I read of a polar bear who got algae in their fur and it turned all green.
Their skin is actually black, to help retain warmth from the sun.
So efficient is their fur to guard against the cold, they can actually be seen rubbing along the ice to keep cool in temperature below zero.

Answer 7

Adult males generally weigh between 720 and 1,700 pounds (363 and 771 kilograms).
Polar bears swim using their large front paws to propel themselves through the water and their back legs to steer.



Polar bears live along shores and on sea ice in the icy cold Arctic. When sea ice forms over the ocean in cold weather, many polar bears, except pregnant females, head out onto the ice to hunt seals. Polar bears have been spotted on sea ice hundreds of miles from shore. When the warm weather causes the sea ice to melt, polar bears move back toward shore.

In fall pregnant polar bears make dens in earth and snowbanks, where they’ll stay through the winter and give birth to one to three cubs. In spring the mother emerges from her den followed by her cubs. Generally, she will nurse them for two and a half years. During that time she will protect them and teach them how to hunt.

Polar bears primarily eat seals. Polar bears often rest silently at a seal’s breathing hole in the ice, waiting for a seal in the water to surface. Once the seal comes up, the bear will spring and sink its jagged teeth into the seal’s head.

Sometimes the polar bear stalks its prey. It may see a seal lying near its breathing hole and slowly move toward it, then charge it, biting its head or grabbing it with its massive claws. A polar bear may also hunt by swimming beneath the ice.

The U.S., Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the Soviet Union signed an agreement in 1973 to protect polar bears. Each of these countries either banned hunting or established rules for how many polar bears could be hunted within its own boundaries. These rules help keep polar bear populations stable. Today, 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears roam the Arctic.

Answer 8

They have hollow hairs which trap air and help with insulation (keeeping the bear warm). They are also pretty dangerous.

Answer 9

watch planet earth, they have a whole section on polar bears. type it into youtube!

Answer 10

They are all left handed - I'm led to believe.

They are the most powerful land animal (lb for lb) - and can kill a whale with one swipe??



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