We have already examined in detail and were surprised. Now let's take a closer look at the well-known Polar Bear and in more detail.

Polar bear- the largest bear, it is the largest predatory mammal in the world. The body length of an adult male can be up to 3 meters, and the mass can reach a ton. The largest representatives of the polar bear were seen along the shores of the Coastal Sea.

The polar bear is listed in the IUCN Red Book and the Red Book of Russia. Bear hunting is allowed only to the indigenous population of the North.




The skin of a polar bear is black, like a brown bear. But the color of the skin is from white to yellowish. Also, the fur of a polar bear has a feature: the hairs are hollow inside.

The bear seems clumsy due to its size and dimensions, but this is only an appearance. Polar bears can run fast enough, and even swim well. Bear north passes a day from 30 km. The bear's paw is unique. No deep snow can stop a bear, thanks to its size of feet and columnar legs, even compared to other polar animals, it very quickly and deftly overcomes any snow and ice obstacles. Cold tolerance is amazing. In addition to hollow hairs, the polar bear also has a subcutaneous layer of fat, which in winter can be up to 10 cm thick. Therefore, a white bear can easily overcome up to 80 km in icy water. In the summer, a bear can even swim to the mainland on an ice floe, then it is euthanized and sent back by helicopter.


In Russia, polar bears are found on the coast of the Arctic Ocean, in Greenland and Norway, Canada and Alaska.

The main food of the polar bear is seals. One bear eats about 50 seals a year. Catching a seal, however, is not easy. The northern bear can watch for prey at the hole for hours, waiting for the appearance of a seal on the surface. After the seal has surfaced to take a breath of air, the bear instantly beats the prey with its paw and throws it onto the ice. The predator eats the skin and fat, prefers to leave the rest, although in winter, in case of hunger, the bear eats the whole carcass too. The bear is often accompanied arctic foxes, who get the remains of the seal. Polar bears also do not disdain carrion, the bear smells the smell of prey at a distance of several kilometers. For example, beached whale will definitely become a meeting place for several bears. 2 bears or 3 bears may not share food, then there is a skirmish. How many bears can meet is unknown. That is why a bear can enter the territory of human habitation. More often, of course, this is a simple curiosity, although an evil hunger can drive the beast into a hopeless situation. Although the bear may be a vegetarian, they like cereals, lichens, sedges, berries and mosses.


Spring is the time of paradise for bears. Young marine animals are born, which, due to inexperience and weakness, do not offer proper resistance and often do not even run away.



The polar bear has an incomparable resistance to cold. Its thick long fur consists of hairs that are hollow in the middle and contain air. Many mammals have this protective hollow hair, an effective insulator, but those of the bear have their own characteristics. Polar bear fur retains heat so well that it cannot be detected by aerial infrared photography. Excellent thermal insulation is also provided by the subcutaneous layer of fat, which reaches 10 cm in thickness with the onset of winter. Without it, the bears would hardly be able to swim 80 km in the icy Arctic water.


By the way, polar bears are the only large predators on Earth, who still live in their original territory, in vivo. This is largely due to the fact that seals, their favorite and main food, live on drifting ice in the Arctic. There are approximately 50 seals per bear per year. However, hunting seals is not easy. The state of the ice changes from year to year, and the behavior of seals is unpredictable. Bears have to walk thousands of kilometers in search of the best places for hunting.


In addition, the hunt itself requires skill and patience. The bear spends hours guarding the seal at the hole, waiting for it to come up to get some air. He instantly strikes with his paw on the head emerging from the water. sea ​​animal and immediately throws it on the ice. First of all, the predator devours the skin and fat, and the rest of the carcass - only if great famine. A bear hunting a seal is usually accompanied by one or more arctic foxes, eager to take advantage of the remains of dead animals. White bears themselves do not disdain carrion, thus compensating for the lack of seal fat and meat. The owners of the ice kingdom can smell carrion for several kilometers. And if suddenly a whale, having fallen into shallow water, dries up and dies, a whole company of polar bears, always hungry, will immediately come running from all sides.


Hunting for seals is not at all easier. At the slightest danger, shy seals dive under the ice and emerge in another hole for breathing. And the bear vainly rinses his face in ice water. But in the spring, a fertile time comes for the bear - cubs of marine animals are born who have never seen a polar bear and therefore do not realize the danger. But here too clubfoot bear you have to show miracles of ingenuity. In order not to frighten off the cubs, the bear has to be very careful, because even the slightest crunch can betray its presence and deprive it of food.

Difficulties with the extraction of food are exacerbated by climate change on Earth. Due to the warming of the climate, the ice in the bays begins to melt earlier than usual, the summer is getting longer every year, the winter is getting milder, and the problems of polar bears are becoming more acute. Summer, in general, is a difficult time for polar bears. There is very little ice left and it is almost impossible to get close to the seals. Over the past 20 years, the hunting season for polar bears has been reduced by two to three weeks. As a result, the weight of animals has decreased: if earlier the male weighed about 1000 kg, now, on average, 100 kg less. The females also lost weight. This, in turn, has an extremely negative effect on the reproduction of the population. Increasingly, only one bear cub is born to females ...

However, polar bears suffer not only from warming and shortening of the hunting season. In the recent past polar bear was an important fishery. Fur and bear paws, which are the most important component of popular and expensive oriental soups, pushed members of polar expeditions to ruthlessly exterminate this beautiful beast. The profits from such a business are so great that the international black market continues to thrive, despite all attempts to stop it. The struggle in this area has reached the same intensity as the fight against drug smuggling.

In July, many of the polar bears that traveled with drifting ice move to the coasts of the continents and islands. On land, they become vegetarians. They feed on grasses, sedges, lichens, mosses and berries. When there are many berries, the bear does not consume any other food for weeks, eating them to the point that his muzzle and buttocks turn blue from blueberries. However, the longer the bears starve, forced to move to land ahead of time from melting ice as a result of warming, the more often they will go in search of food to people who have been actively developing the Arctic in recent decades.

It is difficult to answer the question whether a meeting with a polar bear is dangerous for a person. Sometimes bears attacked people out of curiosity, quickly realizing that they were easy prey. But most often, tragic incidents happen on campsites, where bears are attracted by the smell of food. Usually the bear goes immediately to the smell, crushing everything in its path. The situation is complicated by the fact that the animal, in search of food, tears to pieces and tastes everything that comes across to it, including people who have turned up by chance.

It should be noted that bears, unlike wolves, tigers and other dangerous predators, mimic muscles are practically absent. They never warn of impending aggression. By the way, circus trainers claim that because of this feature, it is most dangerous to work with bears - it is almost impossible to predict what to expect from them in the next moment.

Now, thanks to the efforts of Greenpeace, they try not to kill bears wandering into the city in search of food, resorting to temporarily sleeping shots from a special gun. The sleeping animal is weighed, measured and recorded. On inside a colored tattoo is applied to the lips - a number that remains for the whole bear's life. Females, in addition, receive a collar with a miniature radio beacon as a gift from zoologists. The euthanized bears are then transported by helicopter back to the ice so that they can continue their normal lives in natural environment a habitat. Moreover, females with cubs are transported in the first place.

The world for the polar bear is limited by ice fields, and this primarily determines the features of its behavior. Judging by the animals kept in captivity, this bear, in comparison with the brown one, seems less quick-witted and not so dexterous; he is less trainable, more dangerous and excitable, and therefore it is relatively rare to see him in the circus arena. True, he is characterized by some “straightforwardness” in actions, due to a rather monotonous lifestyle, narrow food specialization, and the absence of enemies and competitors. But even a short time to observe this beast in a natural setting is enough to make sure that high level his psyche, exceptional ability to assess the conditions natural environment, including the quality of ice, adapt to them and, depending on them, flexibly change hunting tactics, find the easiest and most passable paths among heaps of hummocks, confidently move through young, fragile ice fields or areas of ice, replete with cracks and leads.

The power of this beast is amazing. He is able to drag and lift up the slope the carcass of a walrus weighing over half a ton, with one blow of his paw to kill a large bearded seal, which has almost the same mass as his, and if necessary, easily carry it in his teeth a considerable distance (a kilometer or more).

Polar bears are eternal nomads. Ice carries them over great distances. It often happens that even such experienced "travelers" are in distress. So, animals that have fallen into the zone of the cold East Greenland Current are carried on drifting ice along the southeast of Greenland, and in the Davis Strait the ice is melting, and most polar bears, with all their dexterity, die.

It would seem that living in the deserted polar expanses, the polar bear should not have to suffer from a person. However, it is not. The Arctic is already fairly settled. Sailors, St. John's wort, people of other professions are now constantly meeting with polar bears, and these "contacts" do not always end favorably for huge, but very curious and generally harmless animals.

Yes, and the very biology of the beast has "weak" sides. During the mating season, the male has to travel great distances to find a female, and often endure a battle with a rival. Often searches are not crowned with success at all and families are not formed. Bears bring offspring (one or two cubs) every two years and become sexually mature only at the age of about four years.

The availability of food (seals and fish), suitable breeding sites, and the absence of human disturbance are the main conditions for the existence of polar bears in the Arctic. But there are not so many places like this at first glance. The unique "maternity hospital" of these animals is Wrangel Island. In addition, polar bears make lairs on the northeastern islands of Svalbard, on Franz Josef Land, in the northeast and northwest of Greenland, in the southwest of Hudson Bay and on some of the Arctic islands of Canada. The main territory of the Arctic, in fact, is not suitable for habitation, and even more so for reproduction of this species.

All pregnant female polar bears spend the winter in snowy shelters, relatively similar in design and located, with rare exceptions, on land; everywhere in the Arctic, they enter and leave their dens at almost the same time. The physiological state of animals in dens is similar to that of brown bears, That is, this is a shallow sleep or torpor with some decrease in body temperature, respiratory rate and pulse, but not hibernation (as, for example, in marmots, ground squirrels, etc.). Apparently, at the beginning of winter, the she-bears lying in the dens are more active than in the middle of winter, although in the spring in most dens one can see traces of the burrowing activity of females of different age.

The question of the winter activity of males, barren females, and young individuals is not clear enough. Obviously, in a significant part of the range, especially in the south of the Arctic, they are active all year round, with the exception of periods of strong snowstorm, from which the animals hide among hummocks or coastal rocks; finding here before. a fairly deep layer of snow, they even dig shallow shelters in it. With the end of the snowstorm, the bears leave such shelters and continue to roam and hunt.

In the high latitudes of the Arctic, especially in places with a harsh climate, frequent and strong winds, and possibly where the animals experience great difficulties in feeding, most of them relatively regularly lie down in dens. On the northern coast of Greenland, 90% of all animals spend the winter in shelters, in the northern part of Baffin Island - 50% and in the south of Greenland - 30%; in general, 70-80% of all bears overwinter in shelters throughout the range, and old males lie down in shelters earlier and leave them earlier.

In the Canadian Arctic, male polar bears use the shelter from early August to late March (most often in September, October and January); young, as well as females with one-year-old cubs, were met here in shelters from early October to early April. The state allocates funds for buildings made of laminated waterproof plywood, which greatly helps the animals.

In the north of the Taimyr Peninsula (the region of Cape Chelyuskin), all animals spend the winter in dens, but the duration of their stay there is different and depends on sex, age, and whether the female is pregnant or barren. For the most short term(at the latest 52 days - from mid-December to early February) young bears lie in shelters in the north of Taimyr; almost the same number of adult males are in them. Females with underyearlings spend 106 days in dens, barren females - 115-125, and pregnant she-bears - 160-170 days.

There is information in the literature about encounters in the dens of male polar bears on Franz Josef Land, in the east of Taimyr, in the Kolyma Territory, etc., although animals of various sexual and age categories observed and mined outside the den, which means that they were in active state throughout the winter. The dens of such animals (obviously, the shelters of barren females, young bears) are often located on sea ice and are more diverse in structure (shape, size) than the dens of pregnant bears. It is also obvious that the terms of their use are relatively inconsistent.










Today we still have a chance to see a polar bear in wild nature, whether it's a television show on Discovery or an exotic trip to its places natural habitat. But it is likely that our children will be deprived of such an opportunity. Whatever happens in the lessons of the world around us, students primary school study the animals of the Red Book of Russia.

Children learn that many species of animals are endangered, how fragile animal world, you need to protect this beautiful world of nature.

Message around the world on the topic "Animals of the Red Book of Russia - a polar bear"

Polar bear - a short description for children

from the cycle "Animals of the Red Book of Russia"

The polar bear is one of the largest predators living on land. Its height at the withers (from the ground to the neck) is 1.5 m, the length is 2-2.5 m, the size of the foot is 30 cm in length and 25 in width; polar bear males weigh 350-650 kg, some even more, females 175-300 kg. The maximum life expectancy is 25-30 years, rarely more. With its size, it surpasses all predators in the world. But such dimensions do not prevent the animal from deftly moving through the snow, swimming and diving.

Polar bear coat color winter time snow white. With the advent of heat, the coat becomes yellowish. Also, thanks to fat reserves, the bear is perfectly kept afloat. The polar bear, like every predator of this size, must have a dangerous weapon. These are powerful jaws and strong claws.

Polar bear habitat

Polar bears are associated year-round with drifters and landfast sea ​​ice, where seals are hunted - ringed seals and, to a lesser extent, bearded seals. If bears come to land, then, as a rule, not for long. The exceptions are pregnant females, which lie in dens for up to six months, and in some years, bears, for one reason or another, remained on land for several weeks.

For a polar bear, you need to be near the sea. Therefore, he spends his life near the ice-covered Arctic seas. This predator is mainly distributed in the Arctic Ocean, Hudson and Baffin Bays, in the north of the Bering Sea and on the Arctic islands.
White bears lead a nomadic lifestyle. Sometimes they are transported over long distances.

What do polar bears eat

The main prey of bears are seals, which predators lie in wait near the holes. When the seal sticks its head out, the polar bear throws the animal out with a powerful blow. Uses only bacon and seal skin. Only in times of famine can eat the whole carcass.
In addition to seals, polar bears feed on fish, chicks, and carrion. Can prey on large animals such as walruses.

In summer, it can consume cloudberries, algae, willow shoots and sedge leaves.

The main reasons for the decline in the number of polar bears:

For polar bears, the main natural limiting factor is the abundance and availability of seals.

IN natural conditions Polar bears are not threatened by anyone but humans. A big threat to polar bears is poachers who can hunt cubs.

Climate change is a big threat. Due to a sharp drop in temperature, the ice cover began to decrease. This led to a decrease in the population of seals, walruses, which are the basis of polar bears' food. For these reasons, the protection of this animal is of great importance.

Although polar bear the largest predator on Earth, thanks to man, its species is endangered. Therefore, the polar bear is listed in Red Book and is under protection. It is also listed in the international red book. Harvesting of polar bears in the Russian Arctic has been banned since 1956.

Conservation of polar bear populations in the Russian Arctic, the organization of a special protection regime in places of concentration of family lairs (Wrangel and Herald Islands and Franz Josef Land) contributed. In order to improve the protection of polar bears, the following measures are proposed:

Expand the area of ​​the Wrangel Island Reserve;

Organize specially protected natural areas and water areas in the areas of Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya;

Introduce stricter time limits on economic activity in areas of concentration of polar bears in the ice and in places of their occurrence in dens;

Implement preventive measures that reduce the likelihood of polar bears appearing in settlements and attacking a person (remove or move as far as possible a landfill from food waste, places for cutting sea animals and fish;

It is more reliable to isolate food stores and warehouses from animals;

Equip district environmental inspectorates with sets of immobilizing equipment, with the help of which it is possible to catch and remove bears that have entered the territory of a settlement to a safe distance, etc.).

The polar bear breeds regularly in the zoos of Kazan, St. Petersburg, Moscow, Perm, Rostov-on-Don.

Polar bear (lat. Ursus maritimus) - predatory mammal bear families. It is a typical inhabitant of the Arctic, only in some places entering the mainland tundra. The polar bear is the largest representative of not only the family, but the entire order of predators. Some males have a body up to 3 meters long and weigh more than 700 kilograms. Despite their enormous weight and seeming sluggishness, polar bears are fast and agile even on land, and in water they swim easily and far, diving freely.

The body of a polar bear is elongated, narrow in the front and massive in the back, the neck is long and mobile, the head is relatively small, with a straightened profile, a narrow forehead and small, high-set eyes. The polar bear has very strong paws with large claws. Unusually thick, dense wool perfectly protects the bear's body from cold and getting wet in icy water. Such wool covers the entire body of the animal and has a uniform white color that does not change with the seasons of the year. The skin of a polar bear is dark, almost black, which contributes to the least heat transfer. All year round under the skin lies a thick - 3-4 cm - layer of fat; on the back of the body, it can reach a thickness of 10 centimeters. Fat not only protects the beast from the cold and serves as an energy pantry, but also makes his body lighter, making it easy to stay afloat.

Currently, there are three populations of polar bears: the Kara-Barents Sea (Svalbard-Novaya Zemlya), Laptev and Chukotka-Alaska.

The material was prepared on the basis of information from open sources

The predatory mammal polar bear, or polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a close relative of the brown bear and the largest land predator on the planet today.

Feature and description

The polar bear is one of the largest terrestrial mammals from the order of predatory animals.. The body length of an adult is three meters with a mass of up to a ton. The average weight of a male, as a rule, varies between 400-800 kg with a body length of 2.0-2.5 m. The height at the withers does not exceed one and a half meters. Females are much smaller, and their weight rarely exceeds 200-250 kg. The category of the smallest polar bears includes individuals inhabiting Svalbard, and the largest specimens are found near the Bering Sea.

This is interesting! A characteristic difference of polar bears is the presence of a rather long neck and a flat head. Skin black, and the color of the fur coat can vary from white to yellowish shades. IN summer period animal fur turns yellow as a result of prolonged exposure to sunlight.

The wool of polar bears is completely devoid of pigmentation, and the hairs have a hollow structure. A feature of translucent hairs is the ability to transmit only ultraviolet light, which gives wool high thermal insulation characteristics. On the soles of the limbs there is also wool that prevents slipping. Between the fingers is a swimming membrane. Large claws allow the predator to hold even very strong and large prey.

extinct subspecies

A closely related subspecies of the now well-known and fairly common polar bear is the extinct giant polar bear or U. maritimus tyrannus. Distinctive feature of this subspecies were significantly larger body sizes. The body length of an adult could be four meters, and the average weight exceeded a ton.

On the territory of Great Britain, in the Pleistocene deposits, it was possible to find the remains of a single ulna belonging to a giant polar bear, which made it possible to determine its intermediate position. Apparently, a large predator was perfectly adapted to hunting enough large mammals. According to scientists, the most probable cause the extinction of the subspecies became insufficient food by the end of the icing period.

Habitat

The polar bear's circumpolar habitat is limited to the territory of the northern coast of the continents and southern part distribution of floating ice floes, as well as the border of the northern warm currents seas. The distribution area includes four areas:

  • permanent residence;
  • habitat of a high number of animals;
  • place of regular occurrence of pregnant females;
  • the territory of distant calls to the south.

Polar bears inhabit the entire coast of Greenland, the ice of the Greenland Sea south to the Jan Mayen Islands, the island of Svalbard, as well as Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya in the Barents Sea, Bear Islands, Vay-gach and Kolguev, Kara Sea. A significant number of polar bears is observed on the coast of the continents of the Laptev Sea, as well as the East Siberian, Chukchi and Beaufort Seas. The main range of the highest abundance of the predator is represented by the continental slope of the Arctic Ocean.

Pregnant female polar bears regularly den in the following areas:

  • northwest and northeast Greenland;
  • southeastern part of Svalbard;
  • western part of Franz Josef Land;
  • northern part of the island of Novaya Zemlya;
  • small islands of the Kara Sea;
  • Severnaya Zemlya;
  • northern and northeast coast the Taimyr Peninsula;
  • the Lena Delta and the Bear Islands of Eastern Siberia;
  • the coast and adjacent islands of the Chukotka Peninsula;
  • Wrangel Island;
  • southern part of Banks Island;
  • the coast of the Simpson Peninsula;
  • northeast coast of Baffin Island and Southampton Island.

Dens with pregnant polar bears are also observed on pack ice in the Beaufort Sea. From time to time, as a rule, in early spring, polar bears make long-distance visits towards Iceland and Scandinavia, as well as the Kanin Peninsula, the Gulf of Anadyr and Kamchatka. With ice and when crossing Kamchatka, predatory animals sometimes get into the Sea of ​​Japan and the Sea of ​​Okhotsk.

Nutrition Features

Polar bears have a very well developed sense of smell, as well as organs of hearing and vision, so it is not difficult for a predator to notice its prey at a distance of several kilometers.

The diet of a polar bear is determined by the characteristics of the distribution area and the characteristics of its body. The predator is ideally adapted to the harsh polar winter and long swims in icy water, so marine representatives of the animal world, including sea ​​urchin and walruses. Eggs, chicks, baby animals, as well as carrion in the form of the corpses of marine animals and fish, which are thrown by the wave on the coast, are also used for food.

If possible, the polar bear's diet can be very selective. In captured seals or walruses, the predator primarily eats the skin and fat layer. However, a very hungry beast is able to eat the corpses of its fellows. Relatively rarely, large predators enrich their diet with berries and moss. Change climatic conditions had a significant impact on nutrition, so in Lately polar bears are increasingly hunting on land.

Lifestyle

Polar bears make seasonal migrations, which are caused by annual changes in territories and boundaries. polar ice. In summer, the animals retreat towards the pole, and in winter, the animal population moves to the southern part and enters the territory of the mainland.

This is interesting! Despite the fact that polar bears mostly stay on the coast or on the ice, in winter, the animals lie in dens located on the mainland or island part, sometimes at a distance of fifty meters from the sea line.

Duration hibernation polar bear, as a rule, varies between 50-80 days, but hibernate, most often pregnant females. Males and young are characterized by irregular and rather short hibernation.

On land, this predator differs in speed, and also swims excellently and dives very well.

Despite the apparent slowness, the slowness of the polar bear is deceptive. On land, this predator is distinguished by agility and speed, and among other things, large animal swims very well and dives very well. To protect the body of a polar bear, a very thick and dense coat is used, which prevents getting wet in icy water and has excellent heat-preserving properties. One of the most important adaptive characteristics is the presence of a massive layer of subcutaneous fat, the thickness of which can reach 8-10 cm. white coloring wool helps the predator successfully camouflage against the background of snow and ice.

reproduction

Based on numerous observations, the rutting period of polar bears lasts about a month and usually begins in mid-March. At this time, predators are divided into pairs, but there are also females, accompanied by several males at once. The mating period lasts a couple of weeks.

polar bear pregnancy

It lasts approximately eight months, but depending on a number of conditions, it can vary between 195-262 days. It is visually almost impossible to distinguish a pregnant female from a single polar bear. Approximately a couple of months before giving birth, behavioral differences appear and females become irritable, inactive, lie on their stomach for a long time and lose their appetite. A litter often contains a pair of cubs, and the birth of one cub is typical for young, primiparous females. A pregnant female bear comes out on land in autumn, and spends the entire winter period in a snowy lair, located, most often, near the sea coast.

Bear care

In the first days after childbirth, the polar bear almost all the time lies curled up on her side.. Short and sparse hair is not sufficient for self-heating, so newborn cubs are located between the mother's paws and her chest, and the polar bear warms them with her breath. The average weight of newborn cubs most often does not exceed a kilogram with a body length of a quarter of a meter.

Bear cubs are born blind, and only at the age of five weeks open their eyes. Monthly bear cubs are fed sitting. The mass exit of bear females occurs in March. Through a hole dug outside, the she-bear begins to gradually lead her cubs for a walk, but with the onset of night, the animals return to the lair again. On walks, bear cubs play and dig in the snow.

This is interesting! In the polar bear population, approximately 15-29% of cubs and about 4-15% of immature individuals die.

Enemies in nature

Under natural conditions, polar bears, due to their size and predatory instinct, have practically no enemies. The death of polar bears is most often caused by accidental injuries as a result of intraspecific skirmishes or when hunting for too large walruses. The killer whale and polar shark also pose a certain danger to adults and young individuals. Most often, bears die of starvation..

Man was the most terrible enemy of the polar bear, and such peoples of the North as the Chukchi, Nenets and Eskimos have hunted this polar predator for centuries. Fishing operations that began to be carried out in the second half of the last century became disastrous for the population. During one season, St. John's wort destroyed more than a hundred individuals. More than sixty years ago, hunting for the polar bear was closed, and since 1965 it has been included in the Red Book.

Human danger

There are well-known cases of polar bear attacks on people, and the most striking evidence of predator aggression is recorded in the notes and reports of polar travelers, so you need to move in places where a polar bear may appear with extreme caution. In the territory settlements located near the habitat of the polar predator, all containers with household waste must be inaccessible to a hungry beast. In the cities of the Canadian province, so-called "prisons" have been specially created, in which bears are temporarily kept approaching the city limits.

Polar bears are one of the most majestic animals in the world. Close relatives of brown bears, however, they are much less studied and therefore more interesting.

What do polar bears look like?

The polar bear is the second largest land animal in terms of size and mass. More than him - only sea ​​Elephant. The largest bears reach three meters in length and weigh one ton.

The standard body length of an adult male is from two to two and a half meters, weight is 400-450 kilograms.

Females are smaller and weigh up to 300 kg.

Compared to its brown relative, the polar bear has a flatter head and long neck. Its fur is not always white - in summer it gives off yellowness.

Due to the special structure of the hairs (they are hollow inside), the polar bear has good thermal insulation.

Bears keep well on the ice, thanks to fur-lined paws. And in the water they are helped by swimming membranes between the fingers.

In nature, sometimes polar grizzlies are found - half-breeds, obtained from the union of polar and brown bears. But this phenomenon is rare: representatives different types dislike and avoid each other. To date, there are three recorded cases of crossing.

Hybrids have a mixed color, closer to brown, but lighter than usual.

These animals can live from 25 to 30 years. In captivity, this period increases, today the maximum life expectancy of a polar bear is 45 years.

Where do polar bears live

Polar bears are called polar bears for a reason. Their habitat is the northern hemisphere, polar regions. They also live on the mainland, in the tundra zone.

Bears inhabit the north up to the southern border of their habitat - the island of Newfoundland.

In Russia, they can be found from Franz Josef Land to Chukotka. Synod bears go deep into the mainland or get to Kamchatka on floating ice.

What do polar bears eat

Polar bears are predators. Moreover, they hunt in the water: these animals are excellent swimmers and can spend a lot of time in the sea or ocean. Thick skin and subcutaneous fat (its thickness can reach 10 centimeters) is an excellent insurance against the cold.

In the water, bears are much more dexterous and mobile, therefore they pose a serious danger to marine animals. These majestic animals can move over great distances. A record of 685 kilometers was recorded: the bear that set it was looking for a hunting place.

In hunting, bears also contribute a lot to natural coloring and excellent hearing.

Along with fish, they also feed on the inhabitants of the waters: walruses, sea hares, seals.

The polar bear is a cunning hunter. He attacks most often because of an ambush, often arranging it at the hole and stunning the leaning prey.

Sometimes bears turn over ice floes, on which seals make rookeries.

Walruses are hunted only on land: in the water it is more difficult for bears to cope with these animals.

How polar bears raise babies

During her life, one she-bear brings no more than 15 cubs. Females rarely give birth, once every two or three years.

The mating season is from March to June, and in October, expectant mothers begin to prepare the lair. And for this they have favorite places. Most of the bear dens made by females were recorded on Franz Josef Land and on Wrangel Island.

Bears are loners by nature, so the mother gives birth and raises the babies alone. They are born in the middle of winter or towards its end, but the mother remains in hibernation all this time.

Bears, along with grown-up babies, are born in April.

Up to a year and a half, the cubs remain in the care of their mother and all this time they feed on her milk. Together with the cubs, the she-bear leads a nomadic lifestyle.