their coatsto turn ayellowishshade. following spring, thesunshinehascaused ones, whichlook purewhite.Bythe gradually shedtheircoatsand grownew summer months,adultbears molt,or coatappearwhite.During the bear’s bounce offthefur, makingthepolar clear, hollowtube.Someofthesun’srays white, eachindividualhairis actuallya coatappears Although thepolarbear’s other bears. head andnose,smallerears,than The polarbearhasalonger, narrower it warm. stores abouta4-inchlayeroffattokeep the polarbearweighssomuchisthatit may reach700pounds.Part ofthereason feet tallandweigh400to700pounds,but as 1,400pounds.Females usually stand 8 to 1,000pounds,butmayweighasmuch 11 feettallandgenerallyweighfrom500 polar bearsinsize.Malesstandfrom8to Alaska’s Kodiak brownbears,whichequal the bearfamily, withtheexceptionof The polarbearisthelargestmemberof Appearance search offood. breeding seasontofindmates,orin may travellongdistancesduringthe advances southwardinthefall.Theyalso recedes northwardinthespringand north-south migrationsasthepackice Some polarbearsmaymakeextensive United States. northwestern coastsofAlaskainthe Union, andonthenorthern northern coastoftheformerSoviet on islandsoffthecoastofNorway, onthe area. TheyarealsofoundinGreenland, arctic islandssouthtotheHudsonBay Canada, extendingfromthenorthern Polar bearsarewidelydispersedin spends mostofitstimeincoastalareas. Hemisphere, onthearcticicecap,and Eskimos callit,livesonlyintheNorthern The polarbear, or“Nanuuq,”asthe

them fromslippingonice. adaptations helpthepolarbearkeep the bottomsofitspaws.These legged andpigeon-toed,furcovers frontlegsappearslightlybowl- bear’s is ausefulhuntingadaptation.Thepolar with itssnow-coveredenvironment,which coathelpsitblendin The polarbear’s staining fromsealoils. yellowish shadetotheircoatscausedby Polar bearsalsosometimesmayhavea emerge from its blowholeor“atluk,”an stalk asealby waitingquietlyforitto prey. primary bear’s Apolar bearmay meat-eater. Theringedsealisthepolar vegetation, itisconsidered a carnivore,or The PolarBear Feeding Habits rapidly. Polar bearcubsremainwiththeirmotherfor2-1/4years. theygrowvery blind,hairless,andnobiggerthan squirrels, While thecubsareborn give birthandspendwinter. inDecemberorJanuary. Usuallytwocubs are born Femalethe mainlandoronseaicewheretheywill polarbearsprepare largedenson Ursus maritimus U.S. Becausethepolarbearrarely eats Fish&WildlifeService seals, andwalrus arealsoimportantfood on theyoung. The carcassesofwhales, bears areusually onlysuccessfulpreying because ofthewalrus’sferocity andsize, Polar but, bearsalsoprey onwalrus, during thewinter. entirely ontheremainsofpolar bearkills example, Arcticfoxesfeed almost source forotheranimalsoftheArctic.For remaining meatisanimportantfood seal’s skinand bear. Polar bearstypicallyeatonlythe ice andsnow, thesealmaynotsee camouflaged againstthewhitenessof coatis Because thepolarbear’s wait forhoursasealtoemerge. to rest.Thepolarbearwilloftenhave them tobreatheorclimboutofthewater opening sealsmakeintheiceallowing blubber, or fat,andthe

USFWS photo by Scott Schliebe sources for polar bears. In fact, because of their acute sense of smell, polar bears can sense carcasses from many miles away.

Polar bears can cover significant distances on land, but are most agile in the sea. They are excellent swimmers, and can reach speeds of up to 6 mph in the water. They are good divers, too. When being pursued by hunters in open water, polar bears have been known to escape by plunging 10 to 15 feet below the surface and resurfacing a good distance away. They also have been seen swimming 100 miles or more from ice or land.

Reproduction Polar bears reach breeding maturity at 3 to 5 years of age. Males may travel great distances in search of female mates. While breeding usually takes place in April, the embryos may not implant

(develop) until the following year, USFWS photo by Dave Olsen depending on whether the mother has had a stable enough supply of food to sustain herself while allowing her to feed the polar bears or their parts and products habitats, harvest allocations based on developing cubs through the winter. into the United States. Eskimos and sustainability, collection of biological other Alaska Natives are allowed to information, and increased consultation In October and November, male polar harvest some polar bears for subsistence and cooperation with state, local, and bears begin to head out on the pack ice and handicraft purposes. The U.S. Fish private interests. The Fish and Wildlife where they spend the winter. Pregnant and Wildlife Service is the federal agency Service also undertakes education and females, however, seek sites on the responsible for managing polar bears outreach efforts to inform the public mainland or on sea ice to dig large dens in under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. about how polar bears can be protected snow where they will give birth and from over-harvest. spend the winter. The temperature inside An international conservation agreement the polar bear’s den can be as much as 40 for polar bears signed in 1976 by the In Alaska, demands for oil, natural gas, degrees warmer than outside. Usually United States, the former Soviet Union, and other resources have led to some two cubs are born in December or Norway, Canada, and Denmark conflicts between polar bears and January. When the cubs first arrive, they (Greenland) also provides for cooperative humans. A number of protective are blind, hairless, and no bigger than management of polar bears. measures have been taken to reduce squirrels. However, the cubs grow rapidly human activities along the coast in polar from the rich milk provided by their The Fish and Wildlife Service and the bear denning areas. This is when the mother. United States Geological Survey’s Alaska animals are most sensitive to outside Science Center work together to monitor disturbances. For example, oil and gas As soon as spring comes, the mother bear polar bears in Alaska, where they number pipelines and roads have been routed to leads her cubs to the coast along the open approximately 4,700, and study their avoid these areas. The Fish and Wildlife sea, where seals and walrus are abundant. behavior. Cooperative efforts with Service also provides expertise to The mother will fiercely protect her cubs Canada involve monitoring polar bears in industries on how to minimize conflicts from any perceived danger. The cubs the Beaufort Sea, and the agencies work with bears while conducting their remain with their mother for 2-1/4 years. with the Russian government to monitor operations. Because of this, most adult female polar the animals in the Chukchi Sea. bears breed only every third year. Today it is estimated that there are 20,000 Another treaty, the “Agreement between to 25,000 polar bears worldwide. With Protection the Government of the United States of continued cooperative management, these Polar bears have traditionally played an America and the Government of the great marine mammals, and the unique important role in the culture and Russian Federation on the Conservation arctic environment on which they depend, livelihood of Eskimos and other Native and Management of the Alaska-Chukotka can be protected for generations to come. people of the North. They depend on the Polar Bear Population,” unifies the animals for food and clothing. American and Russian management programs that affect this shared In the United States, polar bears are a population of bears. Notably, the treaty federally protected species under the calls for the active involvement of Native U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. people and their organizations in future 1 800/344 WILD This protection prohibits hunting of polar management programs. It will also http://www.fws.gov bears by non-Natives and establishes enhance long-term joint efforts such as special conditions for the importation of conservation of ecosystems and important December 2006