Cute Snowballs: Polar Bears

Facts about Polar Bears      

     Polar bears are large bears. They have strong legs with large, flattened feet that help with walking on ice and swimming. The wide paws prevent sea ice from breaking by distributing weight while the bear is walking. In addition, the wide paws serve as paddles to help polar bears swim faster. They are also partially webbed.      

      The polar bears' fur has two layers--one for trapping in heat close to the body and another for trapping heat and repelling water. The outer layer of fur is hollow and reflects light giving the fur a white color. The white fur helps the bear camouflage in the icy and snowy habitat.

     In addition, they have a layer of blubber below the surface of the skin. The blubber acts as insulation on the body to trap heat. This is especially important while swimming.   

     Most polar bears inhabit the Arctic and around the North Pole (not including polar bears that are captive).  The countries that encompass the Arctic include Canada, Russia, Norway, Denmark (Greenland) and Alaska (United States).  Polar bears thrive in these Arctic conditions because this is where their food sources are, and their bodies are made to handle the harsh Arctic conditions, even the winter one.   

Working for Food

     Polar bears spend a great deal of their time in the Arctic Ocean hunting and searching for food.  In the winter months they walk on the ice and look for seals and in the summer months they wait on the shore for them.  Polar bears know how to use the climate and the land conditions to their benefit when hunting for seals.  They will walk on an ice floe (a sheet of floating ice) and look for hole or cracks in the ice.  Since seals have to breathe at some time they wait there for a seal to come up for breath.

Become Endangered  Due to Global Warming

     Polar bears are in serious danger of going extinct due to global warming. Rising temperatures cause sea ice to melt, especially in the summer months when the polar bears are the most active.
     Polar bears depend on sea ice  as habitat for hunting and dens. As available sea ice decreases, polar bears have to swim farther to find suitable habitat and it takes much longer to find a meal. Compounding the problem, sea ice loss also impacts polar bears main food source--seals.

Polar Bears are Special

     Of all of the wildlife species in the Arctic, the polar bear is perhaps the most fitting icon for this ecoregion. Its amazing adaptations to life in the harsh Arctic environment and dependence on sea ice make them so impressive, and yet so vulnerable. Large carnivores are sensitive indicators of ecosystem health. Polar bears are studied to gain an understanding of what is happening throughout the Arctic as a polar bear at risk is often a sign of something wrong somewhere in the arctic marine ecosystem.

Interesting Facts about Animals Under the Water

Dolphins sleep with one eye open.  

Dolphins sleep at night just below the surface of the water. They frequently rise to the surface for air.

A goldfish has a memory span of 3 seconds.

A squid has 10 tentacles.

A scallop has 35 blue eyes.

The Sea Horse is the slowest fish, drifting at approximately 0.016 km/h. 

The small car on the road is probably the size of the heart of a blue whale. 

The length of an elephant is the same as the tongue of a blue whale. 

The crocodile's tongue is unmovable, as it is attached to the roof of its mouth. 

Sharks apparently are the only animals that never get sick. As far as is known, they are immune to every known disease including cancer.

A father sea catfish keeps the eggs of his young in his mouth until they are ready to hatch. He will not eat until his young are born, which may take several weeks.

An electric eel can produce a shock of up to 650 volts.

Goldfish lose their color if they are kept in dim light or are placed in a body of running water, such as a stream.

Intersting Facts about Reptiles Amphibians and Insects

The average garden-variety caterpillar has 248 muscles in its head.

Mosquitoes have 47 teeth.

The Poison Arrow frog has enough poison to kill 2,200 people.

A snail's reproductive organs are in its head.

When a horned toad is angry, it squirts blood from its eyes.

Snakes can see through their eyelids.

The praying mantis is the only insect that can turn its head 360 degrees. 

The strongest animal in the world is the rhinoceros beetle. It can lift 850 times its own weight. 

Katydids have ears in their front legs. 

A chameleon's tongue is twice the length of its body.

A Chameleon can focus its eyes seperately to watch two objects at once.

Many snakes never stop growing. That's one reason they must shed their skin.  

A leech is a worm that feeds on blood.

All clams start out as males; some decide to become females at some point in their lives.

Certain frogs can be frozen solid then thawed and continue living.

Dragonflies are one of the fastest insects, flying 50 to 60 mph.

In its entire lifetime, the average worker bee produces 1/12th teaspoon of honey.

The fastest -moving land snail, the common garden snail, has a speed of 0.0313 mph. 

Interesting Facts about Mammals and Birds

Mammals are the only creatures that have flaps around their ears.

Cows can have regional accents.

Bulls are color blind.

A cow's only sweat glands are in its nose.   

An elephant can be pregnant for up to 2 years.    

A mule won't sink in quicksand but a donkey will.

More people are killed annually by donkeys than in airplane crashes.

Pigs can cover a mile in 7.5 minutes when running at top speed. 

The giraffe has the highest blood pressure of any animal.

Zebras can't see the color orange.

It is possible to lead a cow upstairs but not downstairs.

A rat can go without water longer than a camel can.

Polar bears are left handed.
An ostrich's eye is bigger than its brain.

A domestic cat can frighten a black bear to climb a tree.

The typical hen lays 19 dozen eggs a year.

A swan is the only bird with a penis.

The left leg of a chicken in more tender than the right one.

The only dog that doesn't have a pink tongue is the chow.   

Dogs and humans are the only animals with prostates.

Chickens can't swallow while they are upside down.  

A dog was the first animal to up in space. 

Camels have three eyelids to protect themselves from blowing sand.
The bones of a pigeon weigh less than its feathers.
The cheetah is the only cat in the world that can't retract its claws.
The mouse is the most common mammal in the US.
The penalty for killing a cat, 4,000 years ago in Egypt, was death.

A sheep, a duck and a rooster were the first animals to fly in a hot air balloon. The oldest breed of a dog known to mankind is the ‘Saluki’. 

Hippos have killed more than 400 people in Africa - more than any other wild animal.
Rats can't throw-up.

The largest egg from a living bird belongs to the ostrich. It is more than 2,000 times larger than the smallest bird egg, which is produced by the hummingbird. 

A group of owls is called a parliament.

A group of ravens is called a murder.

A group of bears is called a sleuth.