Polar Husky A to Z

Everyone knows that zebras don't live in the Arctic!

Zebra

But did you know that penguins don't live there either? With the exception of zoos around the world, these aquatic, flightless birds live only in the southern hemisphere.

On a clear day a polar bear black nose can be seen from six miles away with a pair of binoculars.

As for any stories you may have heard of polar bears eating penguins, this just isn't possible, since penguins live only south of equator and polar bears only live north of equator - opposite ends of the world! The same goes for any cute illustrations you may have seen of penguins and polar bears playing or cuddling together.
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Polar bears are becoming extinct.

It is estimated that there will be no more polar bears in less than 100 years. While polar bears are one of nature's ultimate survivors, able to live and thrive in one of the world's harshest environments, the polar bears' habitat is literally melting. As sea ice continues to melt because of climate change, reduced ice coverage leads to more open water. So, polar bears may not be able to swim the increasing distances required to reach solid ice ... in 2004, four polar bears drowned off the coast of Alaska when trying to swim to the pack ice. This growing problem is making it harder for polar bears to reproduce and survive.

Polar bears live throughout the Arctic to the southern limits of pack ice. Living on the shifting ice-sheets and floes that surround the Arctic land masses, the ice provides a base from which the polar bear hunts its main prey, seals. It swims from floe to floe as the ice advances and retreats with the seasons. If it misses its floating ice connection to the seal-rich north during a summer thaw, the polar bear may be forced ashore and face lean times until the ice returns.

The polar bear is built to live in the cold! It uses its large, round front paws to swim and, when on land, these paws spread the bear's weight like snowshoes. Its dense, waterproof coat helps the polar bear survive some of the lowest temperatures on Earth. Add to this a 4-inch (10 cm) layer of fat underneath its black skin, and you have a bear that can sleep through biting blizzards or plunge into the Arctic's near-freezing waters. In fact, the polar bear's dense coat and body fat are so good at insulating (keeping warm) that the bear can easily overheat in the summer. To cool off, it may plunge into the sea or when possible relax in the snow.

The polar bear has a powerful and large body that helps it retain heat and stay warm in the cold. Measuring 7 - 10 feet (~2.5 - 3 m) in length, male polar bears can weigh up to 1,600 pounds (~730 kg); females weigh up to 550 pounds (~ 250 kg). It uses its 42 big, sharp teeth and powerful jaws to kill its favorite food-blubbery seals. A polar bear can eat 10% of its body weight in just 30 minutes... A big male's stomach can hold up to 150 pounds (~70 kg) of food (the weight of a medium-sized human)!

As for parenting, most polar bears don't mate until they are about eight to ten years old, and then have cubs every three to four years or so. Mating season runs through April and May, and a pregnant polar bear has to eat a lot to build up her fat reserves; she may double in size during pregnancy.

A polar bear is pregnant from 195-265 days before giving birth to its polar bear cubs. The cubs are born in a snow den between November and early January, and weigh only about a pound-about the size of a rat! These tiny cubs grow rapidly from their mother's milk, and may weigh up to 30 pounds (about 13 kg) by the time they emerge from the den in the spring. On average, polar bears live for about 15 to 18 years, though some may live to be as old as 30 years.

Polar bears can smell dead seals and whales from 20 miles (~ 32 km) away.

Because the polar bear is not as fast in the water as a seal (its favorite food), it must surprise its prey on the ice. The bear waits by a seal's breathing hole or at the edge of the ice. It stays silent and still until a seal noses to the surface for air. Lunging forward, the bear clubs the seal with a giant paw or strikes it with its open jaws. With a few more crushing bites, the polar bear drags the seal carcass onto the ice to eat its meat and thick, blubbery fat.

Except for breeding pairs and mothers with young, polar bears are solitary animals that like to live alone. Male polar bears are aggressive and will kill cubs, since male youngsters might grow up to become a breeding rival (competitor). Sometimes, though, polar bears will gather at a plentiful food source-such as a whale carcass.

The shifting ice the polar bear lives on means it must stay on the move. A strong swimmer, it can swim for up to 60 miles (about 100 km) without resting. Because of the great insulation its fur and fat provide, the polar bear doesn't need a permanent shelter. In a storm, it will simply lie down or shelter itself behind a snow bank.

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