POLAR BEAR

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POLAR BEAR

• Quentin Wells
• Cory Parks

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Polar Bear

• Ursus maritimus

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Classifications

• Animalia (Kingdom)
• Chordata (Phylum)
• Mammalia (Class)
• Carnivora (Order)
• Ursidae (Family)
• Ursus (Genus)
• Maritimus (Species)

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Reproduction

• They sexually reproduce during the months of
  April and May
• Female polar bears reach sexual maturity at 4
  years.
• Males reach sexual maturity at about 6 years
  although they do not breed until 8 years or
  older.
• Two babies are born in January and will stay in
  the den until March.

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Evolutionary History

• Diverged from a brown bear ancestor that was near
  the artic coast Eurasia (Ice Age)
• Oldest know fossil is 70,000 years old and
  represents a bear much larger than those
  currently living.
• Polar bears have decreased in size and retreated
  northward

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Adaptations

• Thick oily fur coats
• Layer of fat underneath skin
• Large feet that helps them avoid slipping
• Very good sense of smell
• Large teeth
• Very Strong

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Habitat

• Artic, but they do not usually stay in one
  location
• Travel across the snow and pack ice
• Will swim out in the ocean in search of food

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Food in the Summer

• Plants
• Berries
• Dead Whales
• Walruses
• Lemmings
• Artic Foxes
• Birds

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Food in the Winter

• Ringed Seal

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Polar Bear Fur
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Polar Bear Jaw/Skull
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Polar Bear Feat/Claws
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Other Interesting Facts

• Some polar bears living in Alaska are suspected
  of commuting to and from Siberia via floating
  ice floes.
• A polar bear can sniff out a seal breathing hole
  from more than half a mile away.
• Polar bears attempts to catch prey succeed only
  two percent of the time.

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References

• http//nationalzoo.si.edu/Animals/AnimalIndex/defu
  alt.cfm
• http//www.biosbcc.net/ocean/marinesci/04benthon/a
  rcplrbr.htm
• Artic Animals A Celebration of Survival by Fred
  Bruemmer