Sea Bear

Should we start this month's theme in the Arctic or Antarctic? Hmm.... let's start with the Arctic. Which animal? Let's go with something classic, like..... the POLAR BEAR!!

Polar Bear

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

Classification: Mammal
Size: 7.5-8.42 ft / 2.28-2.63 m (I wouldn't mess with them if I were you!)

Weight: 900-1600 lb / 410-720 kg
Diet: Carnivorous
Lifespan: 25-30 (in the wild)
Appearance: White fur, small ears, small tail, large body
Status: 
Vulnerable! Due to global warming, the polar ice caps are slowly starting to melt--causing them to slowly lose their home habitat. 
"Fun" Fact: Due to the melting polar ice caps, some polar bears are forced to move so south that some polar bears have mated with grizzly bears in North America, creating a subspecies crossbreed called "grolar bear."

Etymology
Different people across the world will have different names for this fascinating creature, so I thought it'd be interesting to tell you all about the polar bear's other names.

Native Inuits of Alaska call the polar bear "Nanuq," which means a great animal deserving lots of respect. When used in poetry, they are referred to as "Pihoqahiak," which means "the ever-wandering one." Considering the amount of traveling polar bears do across floating ice sheets in the Arctic, (hundreds and hundreds of miles each year!) I can see where the name comes from.

Russians call polar bears "Beliy Medved," which means "white bear." Norwegians and the Danish call polar bears "Isbjorn," which means "ice bear." Americans call this animal, well, polar bear. But the scientific name for polar bear is actually Ursus maritimus, which means "sea bear." Some other names for polar bears (not necessarily from the American culture) include "Lord of the Arctic," "Old Man in the Fur Cloak," and "White Sea Deer."

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

Life in the Arctic
The Arctic can get very cold during the winter, so polar bears have developed a long list of adaptations to help them survive. I will go over a few.

Polar bears have a thick layer of fat, which provides them with insulation when the weather gets cold. The bottoms of paws covered with fur, which help the polar have better grip and not slip on ice sheets. Their paws are also very large, which help with swimming and burrowing dens in the snow. Also, their skin underneath the fur is actually black! The color black absorbs heat more than any other color, so polar bears use this to maximize the amount of heat and sunlight they absorb. Very large paws. Due to their big size and weight, polar bears can easily overheat their bodies if they use too much energy at one. This is why they choose to walk at a slow and moderate speed most of the time. Beware though! They will and can run mighty fast if provoked!

Evolution has done its fair share of preparing polar bears for life in the Arctic. According to Polar Bears International, polar bears are descended from the common brown bear, and may have split into their own species around 350,000 to 6 million years ago! Since then, polar bears have gone under many adaptations to life in the Arctic, such as learning to swim long distances in the icy cold waters, and most importantly, consuming a "fat-rich diet" without causing any damage to their heart or blood vessels.

Food and Hunting

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

Polar bears mainly eat seals, and hunt them down by stalking cracks in the ice where the seals may come up to breathe or looking by water holes. Sometimes, they will dive into the water or under the ice to chase down these seals themselves. Recently, scientists in Norway have just discovered some polar bears diving off the coast to forage for kelp. The polar bear's high endurance and metabolism can allow it to swim for many miles and days without rest or food to look for more solid ice or food sources.

Declining Population

Courtesy: Polar Bears International

In the later half of the 1900's, sport hunting was a major cause for population decline in polar bears. Fortunately, the issue was soon stopped when Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and the United States came together on November 15, 1973 to sign the 1973 Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears.

However, the polar bears now face a new threat: melting polar ice caps. And of course, this occurring is indirectly caused by our mistakes, as humans. Greenhouse gases and global warming are the main reasons responsible for melting the ice caps, but deforestation also plays a role. With the ice sheets melting, polar bears are losing their habitat. They are forced to swim for days longer to find solid ice or land, and younger or unhealthy cubs are unable to hold out for so long. According to Polar Bears International, scientists tracked a mother polar bear who swam for over nine days, 463 miles in the ocean, before she was able to find a place to rest. Along the way, she had lost her own cub and 22% of her body fat. Read here for more information.

With your help, though, polar bears can slowly start to regain their home territory. Try to reduce your carbon footprint and recycle as much as possible to reduce pollution. Walk or bike to close places instead of driving a gasoline-run car. If pollution does not stop, the polar bears will continue to lose their habitat. I would hate to see these beautiful animals go extinct!

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I sincerely hoped you enjoyed the first informative post of the Antarctic/Arctic theme, and I will see you next weekend! (The topic will be released then)

~Cheri

Sources:

http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears