Polar bears: their habitat and general characteristics. Interesting facts about polar bears Small polar bears

Polar, or polar bear is the largest land predator living on our planet. He lives in the polar regions, in harsh conditions. In order to replenish their strength and continue to live, these animals must be able to find the food that will help them with this. Since there is very little vegetation in the polar bear’s habitat, this animal feeds almost exclusively on food of animal origin. We can safely say that this animal is a skilled hunter.

The main food for polar bears is ringed seals. This is a real treat for them. But in order to catch them, the bear sometimes has to sit out long time near vents on the ice. And there can be many such holes, so the predator needs to have great patience in order to notice the emerging seal. As soon as the potential victim is within the reach of the bear, it crushes the animal with force with its paws.

They can hunt seals and watch for prey near the ice floe on which these animals are usually located. Sometimes a predator sneaks up on its prey by crawling towards it on its belly. The polar bear has another hunting tactic. From time to time, he tears apart the seals' homes, which they build under thick snow. The predator finds the habitat of prey and their cubs by smell.

To replenish lost energy, the polar bear first eats fat, which will be converted into energy over time. More often, the remains of the seal are eaten by other predators, such as the arctic fox. Every 5-6 days the bear needs to get a seal for itself. In addition to this prey, the predator can feed sea ​​hare, birds, and on land it can deal with a walrus.

Tough times for polar bears

This mighty beast does not always have the opportunity to catch a large animal. Especially for them hard time This is the period when the ice melts, and bears have no opportunity to get close to their prey. At this time, the polar bear does not disdain both algae and carrion, and hunts birds and their eggs.

After hibernation, it can also be difficult for a polar bear to find suitable nutrition. But sometimes the waters of the cold seas present them with a gift - the carcass of a sperm whale. At this time, usually solitary polar bears can gather in groups of several individuals.

Often these predators go to the wintering grounds of researchers or travelers. Here they, without much hesitation in their actions, literally rummage everywhere in search of food.

IN lately, in the background global warming, the polar bear's life is under threat. Melting ice has a detrimental effect on the availability of the main prey of this animal.

Female polar bears give birth to their offspring in the middle of winter. Bear cubs are born small, the size of a cat or rabbit. Polar bear cubs are completely helpless; they live in a den that is warm and dark, as if in an incubator.

Polar bear den

Even before the babies are born, but already in anticipation of offspring, the female begins to look for a suitable den. Usually she chooses a place somewhere on the shore, but sometimes she finds a convenient place on an ice floe. Since you will have to spend the whole winter in the den, the place should be near water. Having chosen a place, the bear arranges a bed measuring one meter by two meters and about a meter in height. Before the final choice of den, a female polar bear may try several options, but then choose the most convenient one.

In the den prepared by the bear, air will circulate well, but it will always be warm. The body temperature of the female in the den does not decrease as significantly as, for example, in brown bear, the deviation can be as little as five degrees. Throughout the entire winter in the den, the bear does not eat anything; her body uses previously accumulated reserves of subcutaneous fat.

Birth of cubs

Cubs are born in December, usually there are two of them. Their body length does not reach thirty centimeters, their weight is no more than eight hundred grams. The cubs feed exclusively on mother's milk. The mother periodically wakes up and checks if everything is okay with the cubs, then falls asleep again. Babies also sleep all the time when they are not eating. Female polar bears are able to begin bearing offspring at the age of about four to five years and sometimes remain fertile for up to 20 years or more.

Probably, each of us has seen the cartoon about Umka, and for many it has been their favorite since childhood. Lots and lots of snow, polar lights, ice holes filled with silvery fish, a big and infinitely kind bear, and with her a tiny and so funny bear cub who is just learning about the world. Have you ever thought about where polar bears live in the real world, not in a fairy-tale world, what they eat, whether they hibernate, how often a female bear gives birth?

Where do polar bears live: general information about the animal

The northern brother of the brown bear can boast of a powerful physique: the average, approximately 700 kg in weight, representative of this class reaches one and a half meters in height and three in length. He has thick, short, but very strong legs with wide feet. By the way, the latter are much longer than those of their relatives. They provide the animal with more comfortable swimming and movement when walking on ice or snow. But that's not all. The paws end in short toes with long, thickened and curved claws. The fingers are connected to each other by a fairly thick membrane. Have you ever read that a polar bear does not slide on ice? Why? Nature itself took care of this: the skin and hair on the paws guarantee traction on uneven surfaces. The animal's fur is thick, shaggy and very long, so low temperatures They are not afraid of him either under water or on land. In areas that require more protection from the cold, namely on the neck, back, back of the belly, legs and feet, the coat is thicker and longer. By the way, the change of seasons does not affect the color of the fur coat in any way. The polar bear is always milky yellow or snow-white. Both males and females must hunt almost around the clock to feed themselves, without hibernating. A pregnant female bear takes refuge for some time in a thoroughly dug den, from which she emerges in the spring with one or more often two cubs.

There is a fairly widespread belief that the polar bear can live wherever there is snow. This is a misconception. I'll probably surprise many people now by saying that this type animals can only be found on the banks of the Northern Arctic Ocean. They never lived in Antarctica, although they were by no means less snow, enough food, and comfortable climatic conditions are preserved throughout the year. As you can see, the polar bear (photos above and below) cannot help but touch you. It seems that a kinder creature simply does not exist. But nevertheless it is considered dangerous predator, who has excellently developed not only smell and vision, but also all other senses. A bear can smell a potential victim several kilometers away. The bear is very curious; one might say, he is attracted to everything new and unknown, and each item will definitely be tested for taste. This giant is known as a real gourmet. Hunting mainly in water, he, of course, does not disdain any living creatures, however, when he gets out on land, he strives to destroy bird nests, and with great pleasure feasts on both the eggs of polar birds and chicks.

Where do polar bears live: debunking myths

Probably, in films or cartoons, each of us has seen how penguins and bears live side by side on the icy coast. In reality, this cannot be. Some live at the North Pole, others only at the South Pole. That is why it is possible for them to meet only in an artificially created environment, for example, in a zoo. This one has arctic mammal, thanks to his impressive physique, there are no enemies, so he is not afraid of any other animals. By the way, polar bear meat is unsuitable for food.

I was very surprised when I learned that the polar bear, it turns out, is not white at all. His skin is completely black. Did you know about this? I decided to collect interesting facts about one of the symbols of the Sochi Olympics and tell you about them. You will find out where polar bears live and why polar bears are white.

Polar bear - the largest representative of predators on Earth. Some bears are up to 3 meters long and weigh more than a thousand kilograms. Despite their size and apparent clumsiness, they are very agile and fast. They can walk 40 kilometers a day and easily overcome ice hummocks almost two meters high.

They live on the borders polar ice. For these bears, the cold sea is their native element. Bears are saved from the cold by a thick layer of fat, which can be 10 centimeters, and a skin with thick warm wool. Even the soles of their paws are protected by fur. The northern bear is an excellent swimmer.

The toe pads on its paws are connected by swimming membranes, with the help of which it swims tens of kilometers. He dives well, while his eyes are open, and the polar bear knows how to close the openings of his nostrils and ears.

The bear has excellent hearing and vision. He smells prey behind 5-7 kilometers and is able to detect a barely noticeable smell through a layer of snow one and a half meters deep.

Why are polar bears white?

Interestingly, although polar bear and is called white, his skin is absolutely black. And the hairs of the fur are completely transparent and hollow inside, like thin tubes. Their inner surface splits light and reflects it at different angles, which creates the appearance white . In summer, the fur turns yellow due to constant exposure to sunlight.

After eating, polar bears like to sleep in order to save energy for the future. But in hibernation Among the polar tramples, only she-bears, expecting offspring, fall into water.

All polar bears are left-handed.

The bear, with a big sweet tooth, easily opens a metal can of condensed milk, crushing it between his front paws. The jar is flat, and the condensed milk is on the paws.

Due to the structure of the hairs, a polar bear can sometimes turn green. This happens in hot climates (in zoos), when microscopic algae grow inside the hairs. And if you spray antiseptic on his fur, he will turn purple.

Polar bears build multi-room dens in the snow, even with an exhaust hood.

My daughter really loves watching the cartoon about Umka. And today she asked where Umka lives and whether he is friends with penguins. Then a series of questions followed, and I had to answer. I’ll tell you about all the subtleties of my answer.

Polar bear habitats

Polar bears, as my daughter expected, live at the North Pole. But with penguins natural conditions they don't meet. All because they live on opposite ends globe. Penguins live exclusively on South Pole, and polar bears in the North. The largest part of these bears lives in Northern Canada. In Russia Polar bears live on Vrungel Island.

Survival in extreme conditions

Polar bears look very cute and funny, but they live in the harshest places. What helps them survive:

Bears feed mainly on seals. In one season, a polar bear can eat up to 50 seals. But they eat meat very rarely. They mainly eat skin and fat, and the meat behind them is eaten by arctic foxes, which often follow polar bears. During the day the bear passes and swims long distancesin search of prey. He can spend several hours at the hole, waiting for the next seal.

With the advent of global warming, the climate is changing, glaciers are receding, and polar bears have to travel thousands of kilometers in search of seal habitats. And during the summer, when it gets warm, bears can fast for up to four months.. At this time, they lie peacefully on the shore and bask in the sun.