20 Polar Bear Facts

Broadcast live streaming video on Ustream

Courtesy explore.org, Polar Bears International, Frontiers North Adventures
Every fall, Churchill's polar bears gather along the shores of Hudson Bay in Manitoba, Canada, to wait for the ice to form so they can return to their seal-hunting grounds. During that time, they’re in a state known as walking hibernation. But freeze-ups are coming later each year—and melt-offs sooner—straining the limits of their fat reserves. That's why this population is considered the most endangered.

Our friends at explore.org, Polar Bears International, Frontiers North Adventures, and Manitoba Conservation have installed cams on Tundra Buggies, the Tundra Buggy Lodge, and on top of towers along Cape Churchill to bring the sights and sounds of the great polar bear migration to you. The Polar Bear Cam is a switched feed that features the best from a variety of cams.





http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/videos/animal-jam/#snow_delicious.mp4
0:36 video

These polar bears get quite a surprise when they try to catch snowflakes on their tongues. #playwild at AnimalJam.com!

1. Polar bears are the largest and longest species of bear. Males can measure up to 10 feet (3 meters) when standing on their hind legs.


2. Scientists believe that the polar bear evolved from a common brown bear ancestor about 200,000 years ago.


3. Even though they look white, a polar bear’s fur is made of clear, hollow tubes filled with air.


4. Polar bears clean themselves by rolling in the snow.


6. A group of polar bears is sometimes called a pack or sleuth.


7. Polar bears do not hibernate.


8. Polar bears are found in countries that ring the Arctic Circle—Canada, the US, Greenland, Russia, and Norway.


9. Polar bears have no natural enemies.


10. They can swim at speeds of up to 6 miles per hour (8 knots). In fact, their taxonomic name means “sea bear.”


11. Except for females with cubs, polar bears are solitary.


12. Their nose is so powerful it can smell a seal on the ice 20 miles (32 kilometers) away, sniff out a seal’s den that has been covered with snow, and even find a seal’s air hole up to 1 mile (1.6 kilometers) away.


13. When they aren’t hunting, polar bears are resting up to 20 hours a day.



14. Because their habitat vanishes for a few months every year, polar bears have evolved one of the longest fasting periods of any animal.


15. Polar bears typically kill and eat prey every four to five days.

photo By Helene Hoffman

16. A polar bear’s fat acts as a nutritional reserve and energy storage system when food can’t be found. It also increases their buoyancy when they swim.


17. They have built-in socks. Stiff fur on the sole of each foot keeps the polar bear from slipping on ice, and also muffles the sound of the bear’s approach when sneaking up on a meal.


18. Polar bear cubs weigh a mere 1 pound (.45 kilograms) at birth. They are hairless and have their eyes closed, depending on their mother to keep them warm and fed.

19. Polar bears are marine mammals, and spend much of their time on Arctic sea ice.



20. Today, 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears roam the Arctic.


Check out the site http://polarbearsinternational.org/ for more information.




































http://kids.nationalgeographic.com/explore/nature/polar-bear-cam/