Polar Bear
(Ursus maritimus)
Facts
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IUCN VULNERABLE (VU)
Facts about this animal
A very large bear with a length of about 185-300 cm, a shoulder height of 130-160 cm and a weight of 300-800 kg (males) and 150-300 kg (females). They have a long neck, small and round ears, black nose, lips and skin and a white, greyish white or yellowish coat colour. The hair is dense with a pronounced sheen, 50-100 mm in length and longer on the limbs. The underfur is thick and white or yellowish. The hair is translucent and transfers heat from sun down to the base of the shaft where it is absorbed by the black skin. The feets are large and broad, the soles are covered with dense hair except for a narrow naked pad. The claws are relatively short and sharp and almost hidden by shaggy hair.
Polar bears make their home on the islands, coastlines and floating ice blocks of the Arctic. They spend most of their time in the water in search of food, mainly seals, especially Ringed Seals. Their webbed paws and streamlined body form help make them expert swimmers. Their whitish coat helps hide them in their snowy white world, an advantage when they want to sneak up on prey. As is the case with most bears, polar bears are not very social animals. Adults spend little time together, except during breeding season. The closest bond is between a mother and her young. Mother bears are very attentive to their cubs. Polar Bears do not hibernate, though the lactating females will not emerge from their cave while the cubs are very young, relying on stored body fat for both her own nutrition and that of the cubs.
Did you know?
That the Inuit (eskimo) people hunt the polar bear for fur and meat but cannot eat its liver, since its high content of vitamin A makes it poisonous for humans? So, be careful if you run across polar bear on a menu - 500 grams of polar bear liver will deliver about 9,000,000 IU vitamin A to your diet - a very lethal dose. Headaches, blurred vision, loss of hair, drowsiness and diarrhea, enlargement of the spleen and liver can all be indications when your intake is too high.
| Factsheet | |
|---|---|
| Class | MAMMALIA |
| Order | CARNIVORA |
| Suborder | FISSIPEDIA |
| Family | URSIDAE |
| Name (Scientific) | Ursus maritimus |
| Name (English) | Polar Bear |
| Name (French) | Ours blanc ou Ours polaire |
| Name (German) | Eisbär |
| Name (Spanish) | Oso polar |
| Local names | Danish, Norwegian: Isbjørn Icelandic: Hvítabjörn |
| CITES Status | Appendix II |
| CMS Status | Not listed |
Photo Copyright by
Photo © R. & C. Buchanan/Polar Bears International
Distribution
| Distribution | |
|---|---|
| Range | Circumpolar arctic region |
| Habitat | Ice floes and costal waters |
| Wild population | 20,000 to 25,000 (2008) |
| Zoo population | 180 reported to ISIS in April 2009. |
In the Zoo
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How this animal should be transported
For air transport, Container Note 72 of the IATA Live Animals Regulations should be followed.
Find this animal on ZooLex
Photo Copyright by
Photo © R. & C. Buchanan/Polar Bears International
Why do zoos keep this animal
The species is subject to many threats including environmental pollution, oil and gas exploitation, unsustainable or illegal harvest, and global warming. As total numbers are relatively small, and global warming will make the ecological situation for the species rather precarious, it is thus possible that the zoo population may increase in conservation importance in the years to come. With a view of building up a viable reserve population, an International Studbook has therefore been established in 1981 under the WAZA umbrella, and coordinated conservation breeding programmes are operated at the regional level by AZA, EAZA and JAZA.