The Arctic is a territory adjacent to the North Pole. It includes the Arctic Ocean and islands off the coast of North America and Eurasia. This is the region where polar bears are found. Even its name comes from the Greek "arctos", which means a bear. And it is precisely in these harsh conditions that the amazing and slightly mysterious wanderer of icy deserts lives.
Without changing the harsh habitat
The world where polar bears live is the ice fields of the islands of the Arctic Ocean and the coast of the continents. Truly wild land. Despite this, the bear living here easily finds food and shelter among the cold, boundless ice. It often happens that, together with floating ice floes, polar bears end up in Iceland, as well as even in the Sea of Okhotsk and the Sea of Japan. But after such a journey they always return to their usual surroundings, making huge transitions overland, moving strictly to the north.
Scientists have noticed that the polar bear is very attached to certain places, in particular he likes water sources that are free of ice. In winter, the beast prefers the southern outskirts of the ice of the Arctic. But then in the summer the bears wander wider, reaching even the north pole. The places where they live are the whole Arctic. But from 88 degrees north latitude and further north, the beast is very rare.
How to survive in the ice world
How much does a polar bear weigh? Adult males, especially those found in the Bering Sea, can reach three meters in height and weigh up to a ton and even more. These are the real giants. Such an animal easily overcomes deep snow and quickly moves on the ice, passing up to 30-40 km a day. Two-meter ice hummocks are also not a problem for bears, which is a bit surprising, given their enormous size. In addition, polar bears are wonderful swimmers. They are able to swim up to 80 km in the icy water of the Arctic. There was even a case when a bear swam 685 km, while losing weight by 48 kg (20% of its weight).
Everything they have is adapted to survive among the cold ice floes. White wool absorbs the light of the sun well, and in these parts it is worth its weight in gold. Hollow wool contains air to help keep you warm. A powerful layer of fatty tissue under the skin in winter reaches 10 cm in thickness.
This harsh giant eats marine animals: walruses, seals, etc. When hunting, it blows a blow to the head stunning its victim when it protrudes from the water, and then pulls it out onto the ice. However, a walrus cannot be defeated in this way; a white predator can cope with it only on land. The bear feasts on the hide and fat, if there is no particular hunger, the rest of the carcass goes to the Arctic foxes.
The harsh conditions of the Arctic region, where polar bears are found, do not allow these animals to multiply rapidly. Over the course of a single bear’s life, it is capable of producing no more than 15 cubs. At the same time, mortality among cubs reaches 30%. If we take into account the poaching of this beast, the conclusion about the threat to the existence of polar bears as a species suggests itself.
The polar bear became the hero of many fairy tales, legends, films and cartoons. People like these fluffy Arctic bears, sometimes so funny. And the region where polar bears are found remains mysterious and unknown for most of us.