Polar (or white) bear - predatorymammal, belonging to the family of Bears. Ursus maritimus is its Latin name. Where does the polar bear eat? How does it reproduce and interact with other animals? What is its population? Where does the animal live? About this later in the article.
Origin
It was originally intended that the separationbrown and polar bear happened about 45-150 thousand years ago, perhaps in the territory occupied by modern Ireland. But in the course of recent studies it was revealed that the separation occurred about 338-934 thousand years ago. About a hundred or two hundred years ago there was a crossing of representatives of the species, which resulted in hybridization. As a result, all polar bears that inhabit the planet today are descendants of the resulting hybrids.
External Data
The polar bear is considered one of the largestrepresentatives of terrestrial mammals from the order of predators. Growth of individuals can reach 3 m, weight - up to a ton. The most common males, whose weight is from 400 to 450 kg, and the length of their body - up to 250 cm. At the withers height is from 130 to 150 centimeters. Females weigh significantly less - from 200 to 300 kg. The smallest representatives live on Svalbard, and large - in the waters of the Bering Sea. White is distinguished from other bears by its flat head and long neck.
A life
Polar bears dwell on landfast and driftingice floes. There they hunt and extract their main food. What do polar bears eat? Their main food is hare (sea), ringed seal, walrus and other marine animals. He catches his prey by sneaking up from behind a cover, or near the holes. It is necessary for the victim to take the head out of the water, as a paw blows the animal to stun it and take it to the shore. A polar bear can also tip over an ice floe on which seals sit. Walrus hunting is conducted only on land. As a rule, he eats fat and skin. In the case of a strong famine, it devours the entire carcass of the walrus. But usually the remains of the captured animal eat later foxes. But this is not all that polar bears eat. On occasion, they can pick up carrion, dead chicks, fish, eggs. Also in their diet includes algae and grass. If polar bears appear in areas inhabited by humans, then they can be seen in the garbage dumps, not far from household and food waste dumps.
Nomads
In accordance with the annual change of boundariespolar ice polar bears make seasonal transitions. In the summer, they retreat closer to the pole, in the winter - wander to the southern territories, entering the mainland. In spite of the fact that polar bears mainly keep on ice and coasts, they can lie in a den on the islands or on the mainland, in some cases fifty kilometers from the sea. Hibernation, the duration of which varies from 50 to 80 days, is peculiar, as a rule, to pregnant females. Single females and males do not lie annually and for a rather short period.
Behavior
Despite seeming at first glancesluggishness, bears are quick and agile even on land. In the water, they dive and swim quite easily. From wet and cold in the water the body of the bear is protected by dense and very thick hair. A special adaptive task is performed by subcutaneous fat with a layer of up to ten centimeters. The disguise of a predatory animal is greatly facilitated by its light coloring. Polar bears are very well developed hearing, sight and smell. They can already see their prey several kilometers away, and, for example, they can smell the seal for 800 meters.
Reproduction
Gon starts in polar bears from March andends in June. In estrus, a female is usually followed by three or four males. By October, individuals of the female begin to tear their dens in the sediment. Bears have their favorite territories where they gather (for example, Wrangel Island). Every year in such places there are about 150-200 holes. In the dens, she-bears settle only by mid-November, at the end of the latent stage of carrying the pups. The whole pregnancy lasts 230-250 days. At the end or in the middle of the arctic winter bear cubs are born. The female herself remains dormant until April. It should be said that female bears have low breeding potential. The first offspring appears in 4-8 years. Births occur every two to three years, in one litter from one to three cubs. As a result, in all her life the female brings no more than ten to fifteen cubs. Newborns have a weight of 450 to 750 grams. Three months later, together with them, the female leaves the den and begins to roam life. Up to one and a half years, cubs stay with their mother. During this period, she feeds cubs with milk.
Social structure
It should be said that mortality among the youngreaches 10-30%. The life span of bears is no more than 25-30 years, the record of longevity in captivity is forty-five years. As a rule, animals are peaceful relative to representatives of their species. But during the mating season, clashes between males can occur. Sometimes adult males attack calves, mostly male. Polar bears can interbreed with brown. The result is a fertile (reproductive) offspring - the polar grizzly.
Population status and economic value
Polar bear is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation asrare view. Due to the high mortality of young animals and slow breeding, this animal becomes quite easily vulnerable. But even so, the population today is considered relatively stable, even growing in some way. Eskimos hunt for polar bears for meat and skins. In Russia, animal hunting has been banned since 1956. In other countries (Greenland, Canada and the USA), polar bear harvest is limited. In Russia today there are about 5-7 thousand individuals. At the same time, poaching is about 150-200 bears per year.
