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POLAR BEARS:
The world’s largest land predators, polar bears, are native to Alaska and other arctic regions. Polar bears are most noteworthy for their excellent adaptation to the polar environment and for their high level of intelligence. A polar bears fur is not white but transparent, and it reflects the white snow and ice surrounding the bear. The fur is heavily insulated. Along with a thick layer of blubber, sometimes more than four inches thick, a polar bear loses very little heat, even when swimming in the frigid waters of the Arctic. Once, a scientist photographed a polar bear with an infrared lens that detects heat signatures. The bear gave off no heat at all except for a small, circular cloud that was actually the warm breath of the bear.
Polar bears’ claws are extremely sharp, giving the animal better traction in the snow and ice. They also are effective weapons when hunting seals, and sometimes walruses or small mammals.
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The polar bear is closely related to the brown bear, and it is believed the polar bear evolved from the brown bear species about 200,000 years ago. Polar bears are excellent hunters. Using their strong sense of smell, they detect holes in the ice formed by seals, called aglus. Seals form these holes with their small claws to act as breathing holes, and each seal has around 10 to 15 of its own aglus. Polar bears sniff out these holes and wait for hours for a seal to surface, when they pounce.
One of the reasons polar bears remain so white is because they frequently bath. After feeding, a bear usually will dive into water to wash itself off. After emerging, it will lick itself clean, like a cat. If water is not available like in the winter months, polar bears will crawl on their bellies in the snow.
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