OVERVIEW
Polar bears live along shores and on sea ice in the icy cold Arctic. When sea ice forms over the ocean in cold weather, many polar bears, except pregnant females, head out onto the ice to hunt seals. Polar bears primarily eat seals. Polar bears often rest silently at a seal's breathing hole in the ice, waiting for a seal in the water to surface. A polar bear may also hunt by swimming beneath the ice.
In fall pregnant polar bears make dens in earth and snowbanks, where they'll stay through the winter and give birth to one to three cubs. In spring the mother emerges from her den followed by her cubs. During that time she will protect them and teach them how to hunt. The U.S., Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the Soviet Union signed an agreement in 1973 to protect polar bears.
SCIENTIFIC NAME
Ursus maritimus
FAMILY NAME
Ursidae
ENDANGERED STATUS
VULNERABLE
CLASSIFICATION
Mammal
LIFE SPAN
25 to 30 years
DIET
Carnivore
HABITAT
Arctic
Range
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