1. Polar Bears By:Raquelynn Olvera

2. Adaptations • A polar bears fur is thicker than any other bear’s it’s fur even covers their feet for warmth. Polar bear have small ears and a small tail to keep in body heat. Their large paws act like snowshoes. The black padding on their paws have anti-slip skin, which is similar to sandpaper.

3. Behavior Adaptations • Pregnant female polar bears den up for winter. Although all polar bears may live in a den to avoid bad weather. They are usually solitary except for female cub groups, during mating season and at abundant food sources.

4. Ecosystem/Habitat • Polar bears can be found in the arctic, Alaska, Canada, Russia, Denmark and Norway. It’s Habitat is snowy, cold, frigid. The arctic has long cold winters and short cool summers. The warmest month gets to about 50 degrees Fahrenheit and 10 degrees Celsius. The average rainfall in the arctic is about 20 inches per year.

5. Diet/Food Chain • Polar bears eat berries, ringed seals, bearded seals, beluga and bowhead whale carcasses, birds, vegetation and kelp. They are omnivores. They are also secondary consumers. Humans are polar bears only predators.

6. Learned Behaviors • Polar bears hibernate all winter then in the spring they travel to the very edge of the polar ice to hunt for seals and other marine animals. Polar bears wait quietly by a seal’s breathing hole and when the seal comes up for air the polar bear attacks. Polar bears jump on the ice to break it then they eat a nearby seal that is underwater. They learn to swim in the ocean.

7. Inherited Traits • Big paws • Small ears • Small tail • If a female polar bear is expecting young during the fall she will dig a den to live in during the hibernation time period

8. Extra Information • The polar bear is an icon of global warming ,making appearances in movies like Arctic Tale, An Inconvenient Truth and Disney’s earth. Height:8-10 feet Lifespan:20-25 years Weight: Adult males 550-1700lbs Females 200-700lbs There are only 20 thousand to 25 thousand polar bears left in the world. Polar bears can swim up to 6 miles per hour.

9. EXTRA Extra Information • Polar bears are one of the largest bears in the world rivaled only Kodiak brown bear from southern Alaska. A polar bear’s name Ursus Martimus meaning sea bear.

10. Credits • www.thinkquest.com • www.google.com/polarbearfoodweb • www.enchantedlearning.com • www.polarbearinternational.org • Endangeredpolarbears.com • www.factmonster.com • www.discovery.com • www.nationalgeographic.com