February the 27th marks International Polar Bear Day, and this annual event which is organised by Polar Bears International was created to raise awareness about the effects that warmer temperatures are having on the world’s oceans and as a result the global polar bear population. These bears are symbolic of the issues global warming is causing to animal life all around the world and that is why on International Polar Bear Day we wanted to raise awareness of the plight of these bears and help you to learn a little more about them.
As you will well know, polar bears live in some of the world’s coldest locations, and this means that they can be found in the countries that form a ring around the Arctic Circle. Canada, Greenland, Norway, Russia, and the United States (Alaska) all play host to populations of the bears, and these snow covered land masses provide the perfect habitat for the polar bear to live in. In the winter months, temperatures in the Arctic are usually as low as -34 degrees Celsius, and they can go as low as -69 degrees Celsius, so the bear’s thick coats come in very handy.
A huge percentage of a polar bears diet comes from the seals which frequent the waters of the Arctic. If their food supply is plentiful then the bears will only eat the seal blubber, and this high calorie meal helps them to build up their own fat reserves which keeps them healthy between feeding sessions and helps them to maintain their body temperature which is very important in such harsh conditions.
Polar bears need approximately 2kg of fat each day, and this will provide them wide around 8 days of energy. However, if a seal hunt is not going well then polar bears will adapt their eating habits and will devour anything they can get their paws on including fish, eggs, vegetation, reindeer, birds, and even human rubbish.
Polar bears do not hibernate like other bears do and they remain active throughout the entire year. These bears do go into a state in the winter months which is known as a “walking hibernation.” This state enables the bears to maintain their body temperature whilst decreasing their metabolic rate and recycling the proteins they need to survive. By entering this state the bears are able to survive winter when food is scarce.
In an environment which is as harsh as the Arctic, polar bears have had to adapt in many ways to ensure that they are able to survive. Some of their adaptations include:
Polar bear cubs begin life in the shelter of a den which their mother has built into the snow. Despite the fact that the dens are built into the snow, they are a lot warmer than the outside world as they provide shelter from the wind, cold, and predators. The cubs spend the majority of their early childhood inside the dens, and they will typically nurse for 12-18 weeks. After about 3 months the young bears are ready to venture outside and begin learning how to hunt by watching their mother.
Polar bears are currently classed as vulnerable which means that they are in need of our help. The number of these ice bears remaining in the wild is anywhere between 22,000 – 31,000 and this number is so broad due to the difficulty people have had in tracking the bears over such a vast habitat. Polar bears are coming under threat from a variety of sources. They are:
Polar Bears International are inviting everyone to take part in their thermostat challenge this year, so if you want to help reduce the effect of global warming then turn your thermostat down a degree or two!
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