Polar Bear

Ursus martimus

Polar Bear

“ Bears are masters of survival. ”

– Catherine Lukas

Scientific Taxonomy & Character Information

Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Clade: Synapsida

Class: Mammalia

Order: Carnivora

Family: Ursidae

Genus: Ursus

Species: Ursus maritimus

Subspecies: Ursus maritimus maritimus

Descendant: ???

Named by: Constantine John Phipps, 2nd Baron Mulgrave

Year Published: 1774

Size: 130–160 cm (4.3–5.2 ft) tall in height; 200–250 cm (6.6–8.2 ft) long in length; 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb) in weight

Lifespan: 20 to 30+ years

Type: 

Title: 

Pantheon: Terran/Gaian

Time Period: Pleistocene - Holocene

Alignment: Neutral

Threat Level: ★★★★★

Diet: Omnivorous

Elements: Ice

Inflicts: Iceblight, gnashed

Weaknesses: Fire, rock, metal

Casualties: ???

Based On: itself

Conservation Status: Vulnerable (VU) – IUCN Red List

The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus; Inupiaq: nanuq) is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas, and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear species as well as the largest extant land carnivore.

Etymology

The polar bear was given its common name by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). It was known as the "white bear" in Europe between the 13th and 18th centuries, as well as "ice bear", "sea bear" and "Greenland bear". Polar bear’s name is because it is adapted exclusively in polar regions.

Physical Appearance

Many of the polar bear's physical adaptations help it maintain body heat and deal with its icy habitat. The bear's outer layer of fur is hollow and reflects light, giving the fur a white color that helps the bear remain camouflaged. The skin under the polar bear's fur is actually black; this black is evident only on the nose. Polar bears also have a thick layer of fat below the surface of the skin, which acts as insulation on the body to trap heat. This is especially important while swimming and during the frigid Arctic winter. The bear's large size reduces the amount of surface area that's exposed to the cold per unit of body mass (pounds of flesh), which generates heat.

Abilities

Such prey is usually taken by ambush; the bear may follow its prey in the water or on the ice, but it will also wait for the prey to swim by by staying near an ice edge or breathing hole. The seal's high-energy fat is the main food source for the bear.

Ecology

Polar bears spend over 50% of their time hunting for food. A polar bear might catch only one or two out of the 10 seals it hunts, depending on the time of year and other variables. Their diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat to survive. When the cubs are born, they are completely dependent on their mother.


They stay in the den, nursing on her rich milk, until spring, when they emerge and start exploring the world as their mother heads out to the ice to catch the seals she needs to replenish the weight she’s lost during her period of fasting. Over the next two years, the cubs will learn from their mother how to catch seals themselves and develop the other skills needed to survive and grow to adult size.


Typically, cubs will stay with their mother until they are two and a-half years old, but in some cases, they will stay for a year more or a year less. If the mother is able to replenish her fat reserves sufficiently, she can produce a litter of cubs that survive until weaning every three years. When food declines in abundance, there is a longer period between successive successful litters, and litter sizes are smaller. Polar bears in the wild can live to be 30 years of age, but this is rare. Most adults die before they reach 25 years old.

Behavior

Polar bears can exist in a passive or hostile state. The cubs are passive; adults are hostile when with cubs or provoked; they also attack if a survivor gets near them.

Distribution and Habitat

The polar bear is found in the Arctic Circle and adjacent land masses as far south as Newfoundland. Due to the absence of human development in its remote habitat, it retains more of its original range than any other extant carnivore. The usual range includes the territory of five nations: Denmark (Greenland), Norway (Svalbard), Russia, the United States (Alaska), and Canada.


These five nations are signatories to the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, which mandates cooperation on research and conservation efforts throughout the polar bear's range. Bears sometimes swim to Iceland from Greenland—about 600 sightings since the country's settlement in the 9th century and five in the 21st century as of 2016—and are always killed because of their danger, as well as the cost and difficulty of repatriation. A marine mammal, the polar bear depends on the ocean for survival. It is pagophilic, living mostly in the spaces between islands in archipelagos and on yearly sea ice that covers continental shelves.


Tamed

Polar bears can be tamed by feeding their babies honey and fish, much like bears do today.

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