Overview

The polar bear is a marine mammal in all but name, spending much of its life on Arctic sea ice hunting ringed and bearded seals. Adults can weigh over 600 kilograms, with thick blubber, broad paws for swimming, and a keen sense of smell that detects a seal breathing hole from a kilometre away.

Polar bears are solitary hunters, except when mothers raise cubs for two to three years on the ice. Climate change is shortening the sea-ice season in many regions, forcing bears to spend more time ashore and increasing conflict with human communities.

Habitat

Circumpolar Arctic sea ice, coastal tundra, and frozen bays across Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and Alaska. Bears follow the ice edge where seals congregate, and den in snow drifts on land during winter.

Countries found

Polar Bear in Canada

Interesting facts

01
Polar bears have black skin under white fur to absorb heat from the sun.
02
They can detect a seal in the water from nearly a kilometre away.
03
A polar bear's stomach can hold the equivalent of 10% of its body weight.

Conservation status

VU — Vulnerable

Polar bears are Vulnerable, with populations projected to decline as Arctic sea ice shrinks. Canada holds roughly two-thirds of the world's polar bears, making Churchill, Manitoba one of the best places to see them.