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Polar bear - URSUS MARITIMUS
Endangered
Class: Animals with Milk Glands (Mammalia)
The Name "Bear": "Bear" is from the Old English word for the animal, "baer."
Location: Polar regions.
Habitat: Ice floes and coastal waters.
Description: This may be the largest terrestrial carnivore in the world, although Alaskan brown bears reach about the same weight. Compared to other bears, the polar bear has a slender body covered with thick yellowish white fur, and a small head set on a long neck. The hind legs are longer than the front legs, which causes the back to slope forward. The soles of the feet are covered with fine hair down to the small callouses at the toes. The ears are small. Like its relative the American black bear, its tail never measures more than five inches. The length of the head and body is seven to eight feet with a shoulder height of about five feet. They weigh between 1000 and 1500 pounds.
Behavior: The diurnal polar bear is solitary. Pairs are only formed for a few days while mating takes place in April or May. Adult polar bears wander from ice floe to ice floe, but do seem to have a favorite hunting ground. They are truly carnivorous, feeding on seals and fish. They are good swimmers and paddle with their front legs only.
Reproduction: In October, the female leaves the floes and hides in a den dug out of ice on land. The young are born in December, but the mother and her cubs do not emerge from the den until April. There may be one to three cubs, which the mother nurses for 18 months.
Go to the Carnivore Page to learn more about all the meat-eating animals.
Or go to the Bear Index to study other
bears.
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