Polar Bear (Report Text)

7/22/2019 Polar Bear (Report Text)

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Member of Group :


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Polar Bear The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is

a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largelywithin the Arctic Circle, encompassing the ArcticOcean, its surrounding seas and surrounding landmasses. It is a large bear, approximately the samesize as the omnivorous Kodiak bear (Ursus arctosmiddendorffi). A boar (adult male) weighs around

350700 kg (7701,540 lb), while a sow (adultfemale) is about half that size.

The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species,with eight of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations indecline. For decades, large scale hunting raised

international concern for the future of the species butpopulations rebounded after controls and quotasbegan to take effect. For thousands of years, the polarbear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual,and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, andpolar bears remain important in their cultures.


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Scientific Classification of Polar Bear

Kingdom : Animalia

Phylum : Chordata

Class : Mammalia

Order : Carnivora Family : Ursidae

Genus : Ursus

Species : U. marit imus


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Evolution of Polar Bear

The polar bear closest relatives are the brownbears, and it is believed 1 million years ago some

of these bears became isolated and lived along

the edges of the Arctic Ocean . Here the

abundant food source of marine mammals; seals, walruses , and even whales, as they learned to

prey on these species the polar bear evolved to a

harsher environment. Developing white coats of

fur and thick layers of fat, over a short period ofevolutionary time the polar bear has become

what we know of today.


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Physicall Appearances

The size of Normal Polar bear is : Head and body,

7.25 to 8 ft (2.2 to 2.5 m); Tail, 3 to 5 in (7.5 to 12.5cm) and their Weight is around 900 to 1,600 lbs (410to 720 kg)

Polar Bear have average life span in the wild about 25to 30 years.

Polar Bear have white fur, but the white fur of PolarBear usually yellows with age. When kept in captivityin warm, humid conditions, the fur may turn a paleshade of green due to algae growing inside the guardhairs. Males have significantly longer hairs on their

forelegs, that increase in length until the bear reaches14 years of age. The male's ornamental foreleg hair isthought to attract females, serving a similar function tothe lion's mane.


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Physicall Abilities

The polar bear has an extremely well developed

sense of smell, being able to detect seals nearly1.6 km (1 mile) away and buried under 1 m (3 ft) of

snow. Its hearing is about as acute as that of a

human, and its vision is also good at long distances.

The polar bear also an excellent swimmer andindividuals have been seen in open Arctic waters as

far as 300 km (200 mile) from land. With its body fat

providing buoyancy, it swims in a dog paddle fashion

using its large forepaws for propulsion. Polar bears

can swim 10 km/h (6 mph). When walking, the polar

bear tends to have a lumbering gait and maintains an

average speed of around 5.6 km/h (3.5 mph). When

sprinting, they can reach up to 40 km/h (25 mph).


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Habitat of Polar bear Most polar bears in the high Arctic live

permanently on the frozen Arctic Ocean followingthe sea ice edges as its slowly extends

southwards moving between ice flows the polar

bear will swim for miles to another floating ice

pack searching out for food. Some individualbears will travel a few thousand square miles on

stable year-round ice, others have been known to

cover 116,000 sq miles (300,000 km) some ice

like the Bering Sea will move 620 miles (1000 km)between the summer and winter months.


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Polar Bears and Their Families

Pregnant females polar bears (called

sows) build snow dens.

Give birth to 1-3 cubs. Cubs are born12 to 14 inches long and weigh little

more than a pound.

They are blind, toothless, and covered

with short, soft fur.

Completely dependent on mother for

warmth and food.

Cubs normally stay with the mother forthe first two years.

Cubs are much smaller than human

babies when born.


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The Diet of Polar Bear

The polar bear is the most carnivorous member ofthe bear family, and throughout most of its range,

its diet primarily consists of ringed (Pusa hispida)

and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus). The

Arctic is home to millions of seals, which becomeprey when they surface in holes in the ice in order

to breathe, or when they haul out on the ice to

rest.


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Hunting Method of Polar Bear The polar bear's most common hunting method is

called still-hunting: The bear uses its excellent senseof smell to locate a seal breathing hole, and crouchesnearby in silence for a seal to appear. The bear maylay in wait for several hours. When the seal exhales,the bear smells its breath, reaches into the hole with a

forepaw, and drags it out onto the ice. The polar bearkills the seal by biting its head to crush its skull.

The polar bear also hunts by stalking seals resting onthe ice: Upon spotting a seal, it walks to within 90 m(100 yd), and then crouches. If the seal does notnotice, the bear creeps to within 9 to 12 m (30 to 40 ft)of the seal and then suddenly rushes forth to attack.

A third hunting method is to raid the birth lairs thatfemale seals create in the snow.


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Polar Bears Behaviour

Unlike grizzly bears, polar bears are not territorial.Although stereotyped as being voraciously

aggressive, they are normally cautious in

confrontations, and often choose to escape rather

than fight. Satiated polar bears rarely attackhumans unless severely provoked. However, due

to their lack of prior human interaction, hungry

polar bears are extremely unpredictable, fearless

towards people and are known to kill andsometimes eat humans.


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Where we can find

Polar Bear?

The polar bear or the sea/ice

bear are the world's largest

land predators.

Can be found in the artic, the

U.S. (Alaska), Canada,

Russia, Denmark (Greenland),

and Norway.

Each of these countries eitherbanned hunting or established

rules for how many polar

bears you can hunt.

Today, 25,000 to 40,000 polar


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Polar Bear (Report Text)