Amazon Quiz (September 28): This animal is in the coat of arms of which political entity?
Nunavut
Norway
Murmansk Oblast
Greenland
Answer: Greenland
Polar bears, the biggest bear in the world and the main predator in the Arctic, are a potent representation of the tenacity and resilience of the region. Ursus maritimus, the Latin name for the polar bear, translates to “sea bear.” It’s a fitting moniker for this magnificent species, which lives primarily on sea ice and spends much of its time in, around, or on the water. Alaska in the United States is home to two separate polar bear populations.
Polar bears are known to be skilled swimmers, and they can maintain a speed of six miles per hour by using their front paws as paddles and their hind legs as rudders. They are protected from the chilly air and water by a thick layer of body fat and a water-repellent coat.
Polar bears hunt for food for more than half of their waking hours. Depending on the season and other factors, a polar bear may only catch one or two of every ten seals it hunts. Because they require a lot of fat to survive, ringed and bearded seals make up the majority of their diet.
Sea ice is essential to polar bears’ ability to move about, hunt, rest, reproduce, and, in some locations, build maternity dens. But in May 2008, polar bears were listed as a vulnerable species in the US under the Endangered Species Act due to continuing and prospective habitat loss caused by climate change, which is the main threat to polar bears across the Arctic.
Polar bears are spending more time on land, where they are frequently drawn to regions where people dwell, as their sea ice habitat recedes earlier in the spring and develops later in the fall.
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