Undoubtedly, polar bears are one of the most amazing animals that have ever roamed our planet. For the fact that these magnificent creatures manage to survive in extreme climatic conditions, they are already admirable. Polar bears are formidable predators, but can be irresistibly cute, show remarkable ingenuity and surprise again and again. We suggest reading interesting facts about polar bears to children and adults to see these extraordinary animals in a new light!
Born sailors
Interesting facts about polar bears tell us that although these animals are born on land, they spend a considerable part of their time traveling to the sea. No wonder their scientific name sounds like Ursus maritimus and means "sea bear". These mighty beasts are excellent swimmers, able to cover distances of more than 100 km on water and swim longer than a day. Large paws (up to 30 cm wide), with which they work as oars, help them in this.
Polar bears can swim at a speed of 10 km / h, which is almost twice as fast as the well-known champions of the competition. Even the Olympic champions show results at 6 km / h. However, this is still not enough to catch a seal in open waters. Therefore, the bear prefers to lie in wait for prey on a hard surface, where it has an advantage in speed and dexterity.
On land, the polar bear prefers to walk leisurely at a speed of about 5 km / h. But this predator cannot be called slow: when it wants, it can accelerate to 40 km / h.
But this is not all the interesting facts from the life of polar bears. Move on.
Rare but aptly
With luck, polar bears usually catch prey every four to five days. If fortune turns away from the predator, its subcutaneous fat acts as a backup energy storage system. The icy expanses of the Arctic can not be called rich hunting grounds. But a delicate scent helps to find a victim to the bear. The beast can smell a seal that crawled out on ice for 20-30 km.
Like ten people
Do you want to know more interesting facts about the polar bear? This polar animal is the largest land predator on our planet. He does not even have natural enemies. And no wonder: an adult male, armed with sharp fangs and claws, usually weighs from 351 to 544 kg, which corresponds to the weight of 5-7 people.
But there are real giants. The largest ever recorded polar bear, living in northwestern Alaska in 1960, weighed about 1000 kg!
Males reach their maximum size at the age of 8 to 14 years, while females - at 5-6 years. The latter weigh half as much as their gentlemen - up to 290 kg.
Pregnancy for later
An amazing biological process, known as delayed implantation, ensures polar bears give birth to cubs at the most favorable time of the year, when their chances of survival are greatest. The mating season in these animals lasts from April to May, but the development of embryos is inhibited at an early stage and continues only in the fall, when the female will gain enough weight and will be ready to settle the winter den.
But the interesting facts about the polar bear did not end there.
The size of a kitten
Polar bears almost never hibernate like their brown relatives. The exception is only pregnant females who are forced to build dens and spend time in them until February-March. After all, their cubs, like other bears, are born very small and helpless, and they have to be protected from the harsh conditions of the Arctic. It is curious that at birth, the largest land predators on the planet have a body length of about 30 cm and weigh only a pound, almost like a guinea pig.
Bears, as a rule, give birth to a pair of cubs. However, it happens when the baby is only one or three of them.
Until the offspring get stronger, the she-bear remains in the den in a state of hibernation: it eats and drinks nothing. In the future, the cubs remain with their mother for about two years, during which they learn the skills necessary to successfully survive in the harsh Arctic.
Close relatives
Over time, new and interesting facts about the polar bear in the Arctic become clear. For example, in 2006, an unusual beast was discovered in the territory of this region, which turned out to be only half the polar bear.
Genetics claim that the polar bear should have been isolated as a species hundreds of thousands of years ago. This is shown by relevant studies. But, despite this, it turned out that polar bears are able to start joint offspring with brown bears. Moreover, this offspring will be prolific, unlike other descendants of interspecific crosses (for example, mules). Such hybrids appear both in the wild and in captivity, but very rarely.
The first such animal, which was born in the wild, was discovered in 2006. However, by that time, scientists already had the opportunity to observe a similar animal in captivity in the zoo of Osnabruck in Germany, where polar and brown bears lived in the same enclosure. As of 2010, 17 hybrid bears were already known. And in 2012, there were five reports of observations of such hybrids in the wild.
