Interesting information about the polar bear for children. Curious facts about polar bears. Black polar bears

Polar bears are amazing, snow-white giants that inhabit the coldest regions of the planet. But in order to expand your knowledge about these amazing animals, interesting facts are presented at your discretion.

Despite the fact that they are born and live on land, they spend a lot of time of their lives in the sea - from this feature they get their scientific name Ursus Maritimus translated as sea bear.

The polar bear originates from the brown bear, evolving and developing over 5,000 years. And despite the fact that they are separate species, a polar and polar bear can interbreed with a brown bear and produce hybrids capable of reproduction. This phenomenon is very rare both in the wild and in captivity.

The most characteristic, distinctive feature of which is pure white fur - it is not quite what it seems. In reality, the hair follicle is a transparent, hollow tube, and due to this, their fur can reflect the light surrounding the animal. At the same time, throughout the entire life of the animal, the fur may turn yellow or, conversely, acquire a greenish tint. Thus, the wool becomes yellow from age and dirt, and the wool acquires a greenish tint from seaweed breeding in the bear’s fur, in an unnaturally warm and humid environment for it. Another feature that is associated with the color of the bear is that its skin is black in color, which helps to retain heat.

The animal's tongue is also covered with pigment spots - this is due to the fact that an excessive amount of blood enters it and it becomes blue-black in color. Almost the same color of the tongue is found in dogs of the Chow Chow breed.

Due to the fact that humans practically do not live in the Arctic, the polar bear retains the largest area of its natural habitat among all predators. But even with all this, it is considered an endangered species - its numbers vary throughout the planet from 20,000 to 25,000.

The male weighs on average about 700 kg., and its body length reaches 3 meters and therefore it is the largest of all predators on earth today. But the heavyweight among polar bears is a male, weighing 1002 kilos, who was shot in the 60th year of the last century in Alaska.

The polar bear is an excellent swimmer and can swim for several days and the speed in this case is on average 10 km. at one o'clock. At the same time, the speed of a bear on land is 5.6 km/h, and if necessary, when running, it can reach speeds of up to 40.

Despite the fact that the polar bear is a fairly large predator, its cubs are born even smaller than human children and reach about 500-700 grams in weight. But the cubs grow quickly, gaining weight and, considering their age, are very smart and nimble.

In the process of hunting seals, which are the main prey for a bear, the bear uses a lot of techniques and tricks during the hunt. As local residents of the North note, they even cover their black nose with their paws so as not to give themselves away when hiding in the white snow in ambush. Also, during the hunt, the bear uses its keen sense of smell, lying in ambush for several hours near the hole through which the seal emerges to breathe and then the bear attacks.

Polar bears are incredibly clean animals. So after lunch, they always clean themselves up, spending up to an hour on this, cleaning their fur from food debris and dirt.

A few more interesting and unusual facts

Polar bears are the only one of all its relatives that does not hibernate during the winter, being awake and remaining active and mobile throughout the year. Many scientists determine this activity by habitat conditions, evolution, when the bear adapts to certain living conditions. So, when temperatures drop to critical levels, the only thing that can happen in the bear’s body is a slowdown in metabolic processes.
Due to its exceptional, or rather unusual biological structure, the animal itself is very warm-blooded, which helps it survive in the conditions of the North. Their body temperature never drops below 31 degrees, and sometimes the bear even avoids running around so as not to overheat.
Many scientists believe that bears are intellectually on the same level as monkeys. It is due to their keen mind that they can boast of ingenuity and varied hunting methods, changing their own behavior taking into account the environment.
If a bear fails to find food for 7-8 days, the animal’s body begins to burn its own fat reserves until it is able to catch its prey and eat to its heart’s content, replenishing its body and fat reserves.
As many ecologists and scientists note, due to the fact that glaciers are actively melting, the polar bear population may decrease by 2/3 of its current number by 2050.
Despite the fact that bears practice many different hunting methods, only 2% of all attempts are successful for them.
Foxes inhabiting the Arctic are potential prey and food for the polar bear, but in Canada, historians were able to record a case of a long and strong friendship between these two seemingly different animals.
Many zoologists note that a polar bear can be subject to outbursts of anger - many facts have been recorded in history when this huge, white giant scattered huge blocks of ice around him and roared thunderously, expressing his emotions. This especially happens after an unsuccessful attempt to hunt.
In the North, only the female digs a den and gives birth to her offspring - they do not hibernate, but at the same time they try to give birth in a protected shelter.

Polar bear, also known as polar or northern bear (lat. Ursus maritimus) is a predatory mammal that belongs to the suborder Canidae, family Ursidae, genus Bears. The name of the beast is translated from Latin as “sea bear”, and the predator is also called oshkuy, nanuk or umka.

International scientific name: Ursus maritimus(Phipps, 1774).

Security status: vulnerable species.

Polar bear - description, structure, characteristics

The polar bear is the largest land predator and one of the largest predators on the planet, second in size only to the elephant seal. The largest polar bear weighed just over 1 ton and was about 3 meters long. The height of this bear, standing on its hind legs, was 3.39 m. On average, the body length of males is about 2-2.5 m, the height at the withers ranges from 1.3 to 1.5 m, and the average weight of a polar bear varies in within 400-800 kg. Bears are 1.5-2 times smaller, usually their weight does not exceed 200-300 kg, although pregnant females can weigh 500 kg. Interestingly, in the Pleistocene era (about 100 thousand years ago), a giant polar bear lived on earth; its size was about 4 meters in length, and its body weight reached 1.2 tons.

The polar bear has a heavy, massive body and large, powerful paws. Unlike other representatives of the genus, the neck of polar bears is elongated, and the head with small ears has a flattened shape, but with an elongated facial region characteristic of all bears.

The beast's jaws are extremely powerful, with well-developed, sharp fangs and incisors. A polar bear has a total of 42 teeth. Facial vibrissae are absent in animals.

The tail of a polar bear is very short, ranging from 7 to 13 cm in length and is almost invisible under its dense fur. The polar bear's paws end in five fingers, armed with sharp, non-retractable claws of impressive size, which allows predators to hold the largest and strongest prey.

The soles of the paws are covered with coarse hair, which prevents slipping on ice floes and prevents the paws from freezing. In addition, polar bears are excellent swimmers and divers, and between their toes there is a swimming membrane that helps during long swims.

The polar bear's fur is quite coarse, dense and extremely thick, with a well-developed undercoat. Such a rich fur coat and an impressive layer of subcutaneous fat up to 10 cm thick make the animals practically invulnerable even in the most severe frosts and when in icy water. Only the paw pads and the tip of the muzzle are not protected by fur.

Polar bears are powerful and hardy predators, very agile and fast for their weight and impressive dimensions. On land, the speed of a polar bear averages 5.6 km/h, and when running it reaches 40 km/h. During the day, the animal can cover a distance of up to 20 km. A polar bear pursued in water is capable of accelerating up to 6.5-7 km/h, and if necessary, can swim without stopping for several days. It is a known fact that a female polar bear swam non-stop to a feeding place for 9 days, although during this time she lost up to 22% of the weight of her body and her cub.

Polar predators have well-developed hearing, vision and sense of smell. The animal senses prey at a distance of more than 1 kilometer, and standing above the shelter of potential prey, it is able to detect the slightest movement. Through a meter-thick layer of snow, a polar bear can smell a seal's vent site (a hole in the ice through which the seal breathes).

Life expectancy of a polar bear

In natural conditions, polar bears live about 20-30 years (males up to 20 years, females up to 25-30 years), and the recorded life expectancy record in captivity is 45 years.

Where do polar bears live?

Polar bears live in the polar regions of the northern hemisphere, and their range extends to 88 degrees north latitude in the north and to the island of Newfoundland in the south. The distribution area on the mainland passes through the Arctic deserts to the tundra zone in the territories of Russia, Greenland, the USA and Canada. The animals' habitat is closely connected with the Arctic belt, covered with drifting and multi-year ice, replete with large polynyas with a high density of marine mammals, the main source of food for polar bears.

Today, the polar bear habitat includes several large populations:

Laptev, distributed in the Laptev Sea, eastern regions of the Kara Sea, in the west of the East Siberian Sea, on the New Siberian Islands and the Novaya Zemlya archipelago;
Kara-Barents Sea, whose representatives live in the Barents Sea, the western regions of the Kara Sea, in the eastern part of the Greenland Sea off the coast of Greenland, as well as on the islands of Novaya Zemlya, Franz Josef Land and Spitsbergen;
The Chukchi-Alaskan population is distributed in the Chukchi Sea, in the northern part of the Bering Sea, in the east of the East Siberian Sea, as well as on Wrangel and Herald Islands.

In the north, the population distribution area covers part of the Arctic basin, although polar bears are found here much less frequently than in more southern seas. Interestingly, the largest polar bears live in the Barents Sea, and the smallest live on the island of Spitsbergen.

The existence of predators is tied to seasonal changes in the boundaries of polar ice. With the onset of warmth, polar bears retreat to the pole along with the ice, and in winter they return further south, and although their usual environment is coastal zones covered with ice, at this time predators often visit the mainland.

Polar bear hibernation

Pregnant females hibernate first of all; other polar bears do not overwinter in a den every year and at the same time fall into suspended animation for no more than 50-80 days.

What does a polar bear eat?

The main source of food for the polar bear is various marine mammals and fish (seal, ringed seal, less commonly bearded seal (sea hare), walrus, beluga whale, narwhal).

First of all, the polar bear eats the skin and fat of the killed victim, and only when very hungry does it eat the meat of its prey. Thanks to this diet, a huge amount of vitamin A enters the animal’s body, which accumulates in the liver. At one time, an adult polar bear eats about 6-8 kg of food, and when very hungry - up to 20 kg. The remains of the meal are eaten by arctic foxes, the eternal guides and parasites of the polar bear. If the hunt is unsuccessful, the animals are content with dead fish, carrion, and destroy bird nests, eating eggs and chicks. Polar bears are quite tolerant of their relatives when eating large prey, such as a dead whale, around which a large group of predators can gather. When wandering onto the mainland, polar bears willingly dig through garbage dumps in search of food waste and rob food warehouses of polar expeditions. The plant diet of predators consists of grasses and algae.

By the way, polar bears do not eat penguins, since penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere (Antarctica, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, South America, on the islands), and polar bears live in the Northern Hemisphere (in the north of Russia, Canada, Alaska, in Greenland and on some islands).

In summer, the ice retreats from the shores and may completely melt, depriving animals of their feeding grounds. Therefore, in the summer, polar bears live off their fat reserves and starve for 4 months or more. Given the lack of competition for food during this period of the year, animals can gather in groups and lie peacefully on the shore.

A unique feature of the polar bear’s behavior is its attitude towards humans, whom it sometimes purposefully tracks and views as prey. But most often, polar bears do not show aggression at all; they are quite trusting and curious. Usually only females with cubs or a wounded animal pose a danger to humans.

How does a polar bear hunt?

The polar bear lies in wait for potential prey near the ice hole, and as soon as the prey’s head appears above the water, it stuns the animal with a powerful blow of its paw, after which it drags the carcass onto the ice.

Another equally effective hunting method is to turn over the ice floe on which the seals are resting. Polar bears often hunt walruses, especially young and weak ones, but they can only cope with an enemy armed with deadly tusks on ice. The bear creeps up to the prey at a distance of about 9-12 meters, and then with a sharp jump attacks the victim.

When a polar bear discovers seal vents (holes in the ice through which seals breathe), it tries to expand them by breaking the ice with its front paws. Then he plunges the front part of the body into the water, grabs the seal with sharp teeth and pulls it out onto the ice, after which the victim can no longer cope with the unequal opponent.

Polar bear breeding

Northern bears lead a solitary lifestyle and treat their relatives quite peacefully; fights between males occur only during the breeding season, but then aggressive males can attack cubs.

Polar bears reach reproductive age by 4-8 years, and females become ready to reproduce offspring earlier than males. The bear rut is extended over time and lasts from the end of March to the beginning of June, and the female is usually accompanied by 3-4, sometimes up to 7 males. The pregnancy of polar bears lasts from 230 to 250 days (about 8 months), and it begins with the latent stage, when implantation of the embryo is delayed.

In October, female polar bears begin to dig dens in the snow drifts, and choose certain places for this: for example, on the Wrangel Islands and Franz Josef Land, where up to 150-200 dens are established in the coastal zone at the same time. In mid-November, when the embryonic development of the fetus begins, female bears go into hibernation, which lasts until April. Thus, offspring are born in the middle or at the end of the Arctic winter.

Taken from: polarbearscience.files.wordpress.com

Usually 1 to 3 cubs are born (usually 2 bear cubs), completely helpless and tiny, weighing from 450 to 750 g. In very exceptional cases, 4 cubs can be born. The fur of bear cubs is so thin that they are often called naked. At first, the offspring intensively feeds on mother's milk. A month later, the cubs' eyes open, after another month, small polar bears begin short forays out of the den, and at the age of 3 months they already leave the den and, together with their mother, set off to wander through the icy expanses of the Arctic. Up to one and a half years, the cubs continue to be fed milk and are under the protection of their mother, and after that they begin an independent life. The mortality rate among polar bear cubs ranges from 10 to 30%.

A female bear gives birth once every 3 years and during her life cycle produces no more than 15 cubs, which indicates that the potential for increasing the population of these animals is too low.

Security status

Polar bears are listed in the Red Book of Russia as a vulnerable species, and since 1956, hunting for predators in the country has been completely prohibited. As of 2013, approximately 5-6 thousand polar bears lived in Russian polar ice. Other countries have established restrictions on the fishing of these animals, regulated by an annual quota.

Enemies of the polar bear in nature

Due to their gigantic size, polar bears do not have many enemies in their natural habitat. In water, an animal can be attacked by a walrus or killer whale; on land, small bear cubs, left unattended by a not-too-vigilant or careless mother, sometimes become victims of wolves, arctic foxes and dogs. The main threat to the polar bear is a man with a gun: unfortunately, even protected status does not always save this giant of the Arctic from armed poachers.

Differences between polar and brown bears

According to paleontologists, the bear genus appeared on earth about 5-6 million years ago, and the polar bear is considered the youngest species, which separated from the common ancestor of all bears about 600 thousand years ago. Modern polar and brown bears are genetically similar, and by interbreeding they form viable offspring, called polar grizzlies, which are also capable of reproducing.

Taken from the website: www.spiegel.de

Polar and brown bears occupy completely different ecological niches, have distinctive phenotypic characteristics, feeding habits and social behavior, due to which they are classified as separate species. Below are the differences between polar and brown bears.

the largest polar bear reached a length of 3 meters, while the length of a brown bear does not exceed 2.5 meters;
the weight of a polar bear can reach one ton, a brown relative weighs no more than 750 kg;
Among brown bears, there are many subspecies that live in different territories. Unlike the brown bear, the white bear has no subspecies.
the polar bear’s neck is long, while that of its brown counterpart is thick and short;
the head of a polar bear is not very large and flattened, while that of a brown bear is more massive and rounded;
Polar bears are inhabitants of the harsh and snowy expanses of the Arctic zone; their southern border of habitat is the tundra zone. Brown bears, unlike white bears, live in warmer climates in Russia, Canada, the USA, Europe, from Western Asia to northern China and Korea, as well as in Japan (see habitat maps below). The northern border of their range is the southern border of the tundra;

The polar bear differs from the brown bear in the food it consumes. If polar bears are carnivorous predators, then the brown bear’s menu consists not only of meat and fish: most of the diet includes berries, nuts, insects and their larvae;
In polar bears, mostly only pregnant females hibernate, and their winter sleep lasts no more than 50-80 days. The winter sleep of a brown bear, both in females and males, can last from 75 to 195 days - it all depends on the area where the animal lives;
The polar bear's rut lasts from March to early June, for the brown bear it lasts from May to July;
polar bears usually give birth to 2, rarely 3 cubs. Browns can give birth to 2-3, and occasionally 4-5 cubs.

On the left is a polar bear, on the right is a brown bear. Photo credits: PeterW1950, CC0 Public Domain (left) and Rigelus, CC BY-SA 4.0 (right)

Since ancient times, the indigenous population of the North has been hunting the polar bear for its skin and meat, and reveres this strong and ferocious beast as the embodiment of formidable natural forces. According to Eskimo legends, the confrontation between a man and a polar bear becomes a kind of initiation and formation of a man as a hunter.
Polar bears are able to swim gigantic distances in search of food: the record for the duration of the swim belongs to a female bear who swam across the Beaufort Sea from Alaska to multi-year ice. During the 685 km swim, she lost a fifth of her body weight and her one-year-old cub.
The largest male polar bear was shot in Alaska in 1960; the weight of the predator was 1002 kg.
Living in conditions of extremely low temperatures, the polar bear is an extremely warm-blooded animal: its body temperature is about 31 degrees, so in order to avoid overheating, predators rarely run.
The image of a polar bear is actively used in cinema, for example, as characters in the popular cartoons “Elka”, “Bernard” and “Umka”.
These animals are depicted on the logo of the Sever confectionery production and on the wrappers of the Bear in the North sweets created by the Krupskaya confectionery factory.
February 27 is the officially recognized Polar Bear Day, which is celebrated by fans of these animals all over the world.

Today the world celebrates International Polar Bear Day, or in the more familiar Russian version, Polar Bear Day. Polar bears have existed for more than 200 thousand years, and it is known that there were several times more of them than there are now. They are thought to have descended from brown bears that were separated by glaciers near Siberia. In order to adapt to new conditions, their bodies underwent evolutionary changes, and they finally began to look the way they look today. Now the habitat of polar bears is the entire Arctic region in the circumpolar regions of the North. Here are some interesting facts about this wonderful animal.

1. Polar bears are the world's largest land predators, tied for first place with the Kodiak bear. The weight of adult males can reach from 250 to 770 kilograms, and the length (from nose to tail) is 2.5-3 meters. Adult females are half the size: 90-300 kg and 1.8-2.5 meters, respectively.

2. Despite what you see in photographs, polar bears are not white at all. Their fur is colorless because the hairs are hollow and transparent. They reflect light and appear white. Under the fur lies black skin, which is necessary for better absorption of solar heat.

3. Only pregnant females go into long winter hibernation (up to two months or longer). And males continue to hunt throughout the winter.

4. The scientific name of polar bears is Ursus Maritimus (translated from Latin as “sea bears”).

5. Newborn polar bear cubs are much smaller in size than newborn human children. Their weight is about 500 grams and their height is 30-35 centimeters.

6. Although temperatures in the Arctic can drop to -45°C, polar bears usually have problems not with freezing, but with overheating. Especially while running. And all this is due to the physiological characteristics of the bear, which are responsible for maintaining heat. Therefore, bears prefer to move slowly and steadily.

7. Polar bears are excellent swimmers. Thanks to the structure of their paws, they swim gracefully and quite quickly. The average speed is 10 km/h. And it won’t be difficult for bears to swim 161 kilometers without stopping. When swimming, polar bears use their large front paws to propel themselves through the water and their hind paws to steer. By the way, they spend so much time in the water that some scientists classify these animals as marine mammals.

8. Polar bears have an excellent sense of smell. They can smell a seal 32 kilometers away.

9. When bears curl up to sleep, they cover their noses with their paws to keep warm.

10. Polar bears are big clean people. After eating, they spend about 20 minutes cleaning themselves. They need to make sure that there are no food residues left in the wool that could reduce its insulating properties.

11. It is known that polar bears can be subject to outbursts of anger. More than once the bear was seen throwing huge chunks of ice and growling loudly in despair after a failed attempt to grab its prey.

12. Only the polar bear is a predator. All other bears are omnivores.

13. If there is not enough food for them during the cold season, polar bears can starve for several months. This is their natural ability used for survival.

14. Polar bears are the only species of bear that is a marine mammal.

15. Polar bears have 9,677 hairs per square inch.

16. While most bears have bare feet, polar bears' feet have fur on the bases and between the toes. This is necessary to reduce heat loss on cold ice.

17. Polar bears are solitary animals. The exception is the period when they are ready to mate.

18. Thanks to the rough surface on the pads of their paws, polar bears do not slide on the ice.

19. The polar bear has 42 teeth.

20. Due to their adaptation to cold weather, polar bears may become extinct in the event of global warming. Man-made greenhouse gases are heating the Earth, causing the ice to melt, threatening the polar bear population.

21. There are 19 species of polar bears in the world, identified and classified by scientists. Currently, 5 of them are on the verge of extinction.

22. The most favorite food of polar bears are ringed seals, but in winter predators eat everything they can catch. In summer, they feast on berries, leaves and algae.

23. An adult polar bear usually eats one seal every 6-7 days.

24. Having given birth to their cubs on land, polar bears then spend the majority of their lives in the water. Most people mistakenly believe that polar bears are land animals, even though they are classified as marine mammals.

25. For a long time, there was a common myth that polar bears are left-handed. Scientists have not yet answered this question, and it is unlikely that an answer will ever be found. Bears use both paws to both grab their prey and dig. Unlike humans, they do not use only one hand.

26. Despite the fact that northern bears have a reputation as fearsome hunters, their hunting success rate is less than 2%. Polar bears, the most carnivorous of the bear family, expend a lot of energy while hunting. The time and energy they spend searching for food only increases over time as Arctic sea ice disappears and it becomes increasingly difficult for the animals to find their prey (mostly seals). Polar bears can eat more than 25 kilograms of meat in one sitting.

27. Habitats of polar bears: Russia, Canada, USA, Greenland, Arctic islands of Norway.

28. On average, polar bears live 17 years in the wild.

29. Female bears rarely give birth, once every two or three years. One litter can have up to three cubs.

30. The only living creatures that threaten bears are people.

And finally, a riddle:

Why don't Polar Bears eat Penguins?

The answer? the bear lives at the North Pole, and the penguin at the South Pole.
Swim, far away :)

Based on materials from lifestripes.ru and zooblog.ru

White bears (
The ancient Romans were very fond of sports associated with bloodshed. Although gladiator battles are the most famous of ancient Roman entertainments, crowds also enjoyed watching animals die. These bloody displays (venationes) usually pitted the hunter (venatores) against a range of deadly animals. However, to make these shows more exciting, the Romans also pitted animals against other animals in the arena, in a real-life version of Animal Face-Off. Lions fought with tigers, bears with bulls, and the excitement increased even more with the participation of endless crocodiles, pythons, hippos and greyhounds.

However, not all the couples in the arena were fair fights. According to records left by the Roman poet Calpurnius Siculus, the Romans filled the amphitheater with water and then released seals into it. Then they released polar bears into the water. The result was a one-sided, literal bloodbath that would probably leave the bears asking, “Are you bored?”

10. Polar bears aren't really white.

Polar bears certainly look white, but as the old saying goes, appearances can be deceiving. The outer hairs of polar bears' fur (also known as guard hairs) are actually transparent and their undercoat is also colorless. So why do polar bears look white? This happens because they have a pocket of air inside each guard hair. When sunlight hits a bear's guard hairs, all wavelengths of light reflect off these air pockets, giving polar bears their white coloration. But even this classic look can change. Depending on the time of year and the position of the sun, polar bears can appear yellow or even brown. Sometimes captive polar bears can even turn from white to green due to algae growing in their guard hairs (but green bears wouldn't look as good on soft drink cans as white bears).
However, if you shave off all the fur (which we definitely don't recommend doing), you will reveal the true color of polar bears. Beneath their shaggy, colorless coat, the skin of polar bears is actually black. This black skin absorbs heat from the sun's rays and keeps bears living in arctic climates warm. So the next time you see a polar bear's nose, remember that this is its true color.

9. Polar bears can swim for a whole week without stopping.

Polar bears have truly amazing swimming skills that would put Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte to shame. Their huge webbed feet are ideal for cutting through ocean waves at speeds of 10 kilometers per hour. Now compare this result with the pathetic Olympic swimmers, who, at best, swim only at a speed of 7 kilometers per hour. It doesn't matter how many gold medals you have when you can still end up being a polar bear's breakfast.

In addition to being able to reach great swimming speeds, they can actually swim an average of 100 kilometers without stopping. And although some polar bears have been seen as far as 321 kilometers from the coast, the record for the longest swim was broken in 2011. Due to melting ice floes, which are a natural hunting area for bears, a polar bear and her cub set sail across the Beaufort Sea in search of a new home. The bear swam 680 kilometers in nine days, which is equivalent to walking from Washington to Boston. Unfortunately, her cub died along the way, and when she finally reached dry land, she had lost 22 percent of her body weight. It was an impressive feat and a testament to the toughness of polar bears, but it is also a reminder of the challenges these marvelous animals face as they lose their habitat.

8. Polar bears resort to cannibalism

Polar bears are not picky eaters, but if you give them a choice between seal and almost anything else, they will definitely choose seal. However, in recent years, due to the intensity of climate change, the Arctic menu has decreased significantly. Sea ice is melting more and more, gradually robbing polar bears of their natural habitat and rich hunting grounds. Catching seals is becoming more and more difficult, so the bears began to look for other sources of food, including bird nests, but a couple of eggs will not satisfy the hunger of these giants. Therefore, the bears had to resort to a much more terrible option for obtaining food - cannibalism.

Bear hunting is not new. There were always a few furry Jeffrey Dahmers prowling the ice, and polar bears sometimes eat their cubs if they are sick. However, in recent years, experts who study polar bears have noticed an increase in cannibalism, especially among bears that are trapped on land. In 2009, eight male bears devoured cubs in the Canadian province of Manitoba, and in July 2010, photographer Jenny Ross was able to capture several horrifying images of an adult polar bear killing a younger one. As the ice continues to melt, more and more polar bears may be forced to eat their relatives with or without beans.

7. Polar bears remain invisible to infrared cameras

In addition to being powerful hunters, polar bears also have the magical power of remaining invisible, at least when it comes to observing them with infrared cameras. Scientists discovered this amazing phenomenon during a flight over the Arctic, organized to check the size of the bear population. At first, scientists were almost unable to notice the bears, as they blended into their snow-white habitat. Thinking they had found a great way to track polar bears, the scientists decided to use infrared cameras, but to their surprise, they saw that the polar bears had completely disappeared. Only their noses, eyes and breathing were reflected on the camera.

Scientists decided that polar bears' body fat and fur camouflage them from infrared cameras, hiding their thermal signatures. However, a senior at Berkeley University named Jessica Preciado decided to dig a little deeper. Using cutting-edge technology from the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Preciado was able to unravel the mystery of polar bears' invisibility. Infrared cameras detect not only surface temperature, but they also detect radiation emanating from the objects being monitored. According to Preciado's research, the radio-emitting properties of polar bears' fur are similar to those of snow, allowing the bears to remain invisible under infrared light. This skill could be very useful to them if the Predator ever lands in the Arctic.

6. There are hybrids between polar bears and grizzly bears

In 2006, an American hunter went to the Arctic to hunt for a polar bear. He seemed to succeed. The hunter noticed that the bear he killed looked a little strange, and after DNA analysis, scientists discovered that the creature was half polar bear and half grizzly bear.

This was the first time that a polar bear-grizzly bear hybrid had been found in the wild. However, scientists have already seen a similar Frankenstein creature at Germany's Osnabruck Zoo, where a polar bear and a grizzly bear lived in the same enclosure and became more than good friends. As of 2010, 17 polar bear-grizzly bear hybrids have been recorded, most of which live in Osnabrück. Therefore, scientists have suggested that in the wild these two species may also mate. But in 2010, the scientific community was shocked when a hunter shot and killed what appeared to be the offspring of a grizzly bear and a polar bear-grizzly bear hybrid. It turned out that, unlike other creatures that are the offspring of interspecific crosses (for example, mules), hybrids of a polar bear and a grizzly bear can have offspring.

These impressive hybrid bears were called grolars, polar grizzlies or nanulaks from the Inuit "Nanuk" (polar bear) and "Aklak" (grizzly bear). Scientists speculate that it is likely that their parents were able to meet and mate because of construction and mining in Canada, which led grizzlies to move further north, and the effects of climate change, which led to melting Arctic ice, forced whites bears go south in search of food. Arctic grizzlies have characteristics of both mothers and fathers. Polar grizzly bears have elongated necks and prominent tails like polar bears, but their heads, shoulders and paws are more grizzly-like, and their fur resembles an odd combination of the two bear species. However, polar grizzlies experience some discomfort in the wild because they cannot swim as well as polar bears and their paws are not designed for walking on ice. However, five polar bears were recorded in the wild in 2012, so it is possible that polar grizzlies will one day become a permanent part of the North American ecosystem.

5. Eskimos deeply respect polar bears

While many people consider polar bears to be cute and funny, Eskimos are much more respectful of them. They consider Nanuk, the polar bear, a mysterious, almost humanoid creature who deserves to be treated with respect even in death. After a successful hunt, an Eskimo hunter will definitely honor the polar bear by hanging its skin in his house for several days. The hunter also hangs various tools next to the skin as an offering to the spirit of the bear. Eskimo hunters present male bears with knives and tools for making fire through friction, and female bears with offerings such as skinning tools and sets of needles. It is believed that the polar bear will need the souls of these tools in the afterlife and if the hunter treated the bear with respect, Nanook will tell the other bears about the hunter's kindness. Then the other bears will give their lives to the hunter in exchange for the tools. Everyone wins in this ritual.

However, if the Eskimo hunter mistreated Nanook's soul, he would never be able to kill another polar bear. The same applies to the hunter's wife. If she treats the polar bear with disrespect, her husband will never become a great hunter. This was especially problematic for women if their husbands died. There was a very high chance that the widows would remain single, since no Eskimo hunter wanted to marry a woman cursed by Nanook.

4. Polar bear watching is real work.

Are you tired of your job from nine in the morning to five in the evening? Then you should take a look at the government's online job board in Svalbard. They offer some pretty interesting jobs, like being a polar bear watcher.

Only about 2,400 people live on the Svalbard archipelago, which is very small when you realize that about 3,000 polar bears also live there and their number is growing. What is unique about Svalbard polar bears is that their population is constantly growing, while the rest of the world is experiencing severe population decline. This is great news for bears, but also a bit of a problem for scientists working in the wild. Therefore, the Svalbard government recently began looking for people to become polar bear observers in order to be able to keep them within the boundaries of human habitation. According to the job description, candidates must be familiar with wildlife, be proficient in the use of firearms, and have a very booming, loud voice. The observer's main job will be to scare away the bears by yelling at them, firing a flare gun, or banging pots or pans. Shooting bears is a last resort, to be resorted to only if absolutely nothing else has worked.

If this job sounds like something you would like to do, we hasten to disappoint you, they have already found people for it. However, you can check their website periodically. The place can become vacant at any time, because watching polar bears is not the safest job. Moreover, it is impossible to say with certainty when the former observer may lose his job/life.

3. Polar bears were very popular during the Middle Ages

When we think of the Middle Ages, we think of the Crusades, the Black Death, and knights saying "Ni." We don't usually associate the Middle Ages with arctic animals, and yet everyone from peasants to princes thought polar bears were incredibly cool.

Take the Vikings for example. They believed that the polar bear was as strong as 12 men and as smart as 11 men combined. The Viking poets described them using a number of cool names such as "the thunder of the seals", "the iceberg rider" and "the death of the whales". In Norse mythology, the gods Heimdallr and Loki took the form of polar bears to fight each other. Even the King of the North, Harold the Fair-haired, had a pet she-bear with cubs. They were a gift from an Icelandic hunter, to whom in exchange for the bears he gave a whole ship loaded with wood.

The British also admired polar bears. In the 1200s, Henry III amassed an impressive collection of exotic animals. Holy Roman Emperor Frederick II of the Holy Roman Empire sent Henry III three lions as a wedding gift, and King Louis IX gave him a male African elephant. Due to the fact that there was not much room in the king's palace for cannibals and thick-skinned giants, Henry III decided to place his animals in the famous Tower of London, which became London's first zoo.

One of Henry III's most unusual animals was a polar bear, given to him by King Haakon of Norway. Henry III received not only the bear, but also a Norwegian overseer of the animal. The sheriffs of London had to pay for his food, but the bear had too voracious an appetite. The sheriffs were unable to collect enough taxes to pay for his food, so Henry III ordered his overseer to fashion a muzzle and an iron chain. Then the overseer took him to the Thames, where the polar bear could swim and catch his own fish. Unlike the prisoners who were kept in the Tower of London, the polar bear did not have such a bad time there.

2. Polar bears are sometimes imprisoned

By a strange coincidence, the city of Churchill, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, has the honor of being the polar bear capital of the world. Every spring and summer, the icy bay near Churchill melts, leaving polar bears without their prime hunting grounds. Approximately 1,000 hungry bears, unable to catch seals, approach the town in search of food. And these bears are not picky at all. They can eat anything from garbage to dogs.

Despite the danger, the people of the town of Churchill were able to adapt to the annual bear invasion. For example, people traditionally leave their houses unlocked in case someone is being chased by a polar bear and needs somewhere to hide. To prevent bears from entering the house and following the smell of something being cooked in someone’s kitchen, the doors of houses are equipped with special “welcome mats” made of plywood studded with nails. Curious bears quickly understand what's what. During Halloween, children are escorted from house to house by armed adults, and no one is allowed to dress up as a ghost to avoid being confused with a polar bear. The city even has a dedicated polar bear hotline (675-BEAR, in case you need the number). If you call this number, a conservation team armed with firecrackers and rubber bullets (and real ones if necessary) will come to flush the intruders out of town.

However, if a polar bear doesn't take the hint and keeps returning to town, it could end up spending several months in a polar bear prison. Repeat offenders are given sleeping pills and transported to a prison that was once an airplane hangar. When the bear wakes up, he finds himself in one of 28 cages, in which he has approximately two meters to move. Polar bear prison is a pretty cruel place. The bears are not fed at all and are only given snow to drink. The idea is to make their stay in Churchill so unpleasant that they never want to come back. It may sound cruel, but it is a better alternative to killing bears (or killing people with bears). When the bay refreezes in the colder months, the bears are released and hoped they have learned a valuable lesson about Manitoba fairness.

1. Polar bear liver can kill you

Just as the Plains Indians butchered buffalo, the Eskimos used every part of the polar bear...except the liver. This is not because polar bear liver tastes bad, but because eating it can kill a person. In 1596, a group of European explorers experienced this the hard way. After a delicious polar bear dinner, the explorers fell ill with a terrifying illness. The man became drowsy and irritable. Their vision became blurred, their heads and bones began to ache, and they began to vomit nonstop. Finally, as in one of the scenes in an Eli Roth horror film, their skin began to peel off. Some men are lucky and only have a little skin come off around their mouths. But some of them were very unlucky. Their skin peeled off all over their bodies, from head to toe. Eventually, they fell into a coma and died, all because they chose the wrong food. They ate the polar bear's internal organs, including the liver.

Polar bear liver is so dangerous because it is full of vitamin A. In small quantities, vitamin A helps improve certain body functions. Promotes growth, reproductive health and improves vision, but its excess causes the human body to go into shock. An adult human can only process 10,000 international units of vitamin A, but if you eat just 500 grams of polar bear liver, you will shock your body with 9,000,000 international units of vitamin A. In addition to your skin peeling, you will experience hair loss and your spleen and liver will swell to unimaginable sizes. Therefore, the next time someone offers you to try polar bear liver, it is better to opt for fondue.

Many of us have known about the largest animals of the northern latitudes - polar bears - since childhood. Let's read additional interesting facts about polar bears.

Since the polar bear's paws are equipped with membranes, according to the classification it belongs to marine mammals.

The largest recorded polar bear weighed one ton. The size and weight of male and female polar bears vary greatly. Large males are almost twice as large and heavier than females, their length is up to 3 meters in length, and their weight reaches 800 kilograms.

These largest predators of the North are capable of swimming 150 kilometers at a speed of 10 km/hour.

Unlike their relatives, polar bears do not spend part of their time hibernating. The only exception is their pregnant females.

The habitat of polar bears is the coast and ice of the Arctic.

Speaking about interesting facts about polar bears, it is necessary to note the amazing sense of these animals. They are able to detect the smell of a seal in an ice hole at a distance of a kilometer, and a seal located on ice at a distance of 30 kilometers.

Polar bear hunting is successful only 2 percent of the time.

It is worth noting that the polar bear owes its decent life expectancy of 25 years to the lack of rivals. Of course, if you do not take into account the person.

The polar bear, which gives birth to 1 to 3 cubs at a time, bears them for 8 months. The babies are born in the den between November and December. And already at the end of March - beginning of April, the female and cubs get out of the den.

The weight of a newborn bear cub does not exceed a kilogram.

During a mother bear's hunt, the cubs wait for her in one place. Interestingly, polar bears mate between March and July, but the development of the fertilized egg begins only in September.

The Inuit people of Canada traditionally have great respect for the polar bear, calling it "nanook".

Polar bears are classified as carnivores, as their main menu includes fur seals and various fish.

Interestingly, polar bears can be called excellent builders - they build multi-room dens in the snow, even providing them with an exhaust hood.

Polar bears' ability to swim in icy water without their fur getting wet is due to the fact that it is covered in fat. This ensures its water-repellent property.

Polar bears' thick fur, lubricated with fat, retains heat so well that they are able to overheat even in low arctic temperatures. To prevent overheating, bears usually move slowly, allowing a long time to rest.

Polar bears are considered big clean people. These animals spend 15-20 minutes daily on hygiene procedures, while thoroughly cleaning themselves from any remaining dirt and food particles. This is very important for them, since contaminated bear fur loses its insulating properties.

Interesting video about a man and his pet... A polar bear!