A polar bear’s stomach can hold up to 20% of its own mass. Females approach their smaller full size at 6. [2], The bear family, Ursidae, is thought to have split from other carnivorans about 38 million years ago. [131] Polar bears are especially susceptible to Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm they contract through cannibalism,[132] although infections are usually not fatal. A. Baker, M. E. Obbard, and B. Malloch, eds.). [73], Mature bears tend to eat only the calorie-rich skin and blubber of the seal, which are highly digestible,[92] whereas younger bears consume the protein-rich red meat. [125] Adult bears of either gender occasionally kill and eat polar bear cubs. He was 22. [23] Polar bears are thought to have diverged from a population of brown bears that became isolated during a period of glaciation in the Pleistocene[4] from the eastern part of Siberia (from Kamchatka and the Kolym Peninsula). By the time the mother breaks open the entrance to the den, her cubs weigh about 10 to 15 kilograms (22 to 33 lb). They can do this remarkably quickly too. [98] It can kill an adult walrus (Odobenus rosmarus),[95][99] although this is rarely attempted. One bear lost 51 pounds (23 kilograms) in just nine days. Polar bears are ready to mate when they are five or six years old. [62][152] However, since polar bear fur has always played a marginal commercial role, data on the historical harvest is fragmentary. She must store excess fats in order to spend days in the without eating. [149], The Nenets of north-central Siberia placed particular value on the talismanic power of the prominent canine teeth. Female polar bears are referred to as sows. At this time they weigh up to 33 pounds (115 kg). Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates. [68] Males have significantly longer hairs on their forelegs, which increase in length until the bear reaches 14 years of age. Ursus jenaensis [36] While they are rare north of 88°, there is evidence that they range all the way across the Arctic, and as far south as James Bay in Canada. [82] Cubs may hum while nursing. Polar bear fieldwork can also be hazardous to researchers. The greatest weight recorded for a polar bear in the wild is an incredible 1002 kg ( 2,210 pounds ) for a white colossus shot by Arthur Dubs of Medford, Oregon, U.S.A., at the polar entrance to Kotzebue Sound, NW Alaska, in 1960. It is faster than the Polar Bear… (0.8% in the 1970s, 7.1% in the 1980s, and 14.6% in the 1990s)[165] Nunavut polar bear biologist, Mitchell Taylor, who was formerly responsible for polar bear conservation in the territory, has insisted that bear numbers are being sustained under current hunting limits. [31] However, the feet are very large to distribute load when walking on snow or thin ice and to provide propulsion when swimming; they may measure 30 cm (12 in) across in an adult. Disturbance of these sensitive sites may trigger the mother to abandon her den prematurely, or abandon her litter altogether. Seal meat, the polar bear snack of choice, has a very high fat content. Ten of the sows had a cub swim with them and after a year, six cubs survived. [128] The proportion of maternity dens on sea ice has changed from 62% between the years 1985 through 1994, to 37% over the years 1998 through 2004. [200] However, most polar bear biologists think that polar bears will be unable to completely offset the loss of calorie-rich seal blubber with terrestrial foods, and that they will be outcompeted by brown bears in this terrestrial niche, ultimately leading to a population decline. However, a Kodiak Bear does prove a tough opponent. [64] Polar bears gradually moult from May to August,[65] but, unlike other Arctic mammals, they do not shed their coat for a darker shade to provide camouflage in summer conditions. [32] This distinction has since been invalidated. Most maternity dens are in snowdrifts, but may also be made underground in permafrost if it is not sufficiently cold yet for snow. Polar bear. When they write about the polar bear they call it, Pihoqahiak, meaning the ever-wandering one. – National Geographic Blog", "PBSG statement on proposed transfer of polar bear to CITES Appendix I", "Nunavut hunters can kill more polar bears this year", "Rethink polar bear hunt quotas, scientists tell Nunavut hunters", "Melting Under Pressure: The Real Scoop on Climate Warming and Polar Bears", "Nunavut hunters still enraged over bear quotas", National Polar Bear Conservation Strategy for Canada, "Russia tries to save polar bears with legal hunt", "Red Data Book of Russia: Marine Mammals: Carnivores", "Strategy for Polar Bear Conservation in the Russian Federation", "Environmental Conservation Online System", http://www.fws.gov/alaska/PDFs/PBRT%20Recovery%20Plan%20Book.pdf, "Possible effects of climate warming on selected populations of polar bears (, "Polar bear distribution and abundance on the Southwestern Hudson Bay coast during open water season, in relation to population trends and annual ice patterns", "Observations of mortality associated with extended open-water swimming by polar bears in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea", "Next up from climate change: More polar bears on land, potentially running into humans", "As Sea Ice Shrinks, Can Polar Bears Survive on Land? 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