Polar Bear

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Found in northern Canada, Greenland, Norway, and Russia and as far north as the North Pole. Live mostly on ringed, bearded, and harp seals as well as young walruses and beluga whales, narwhal, fish, and seabirds and their eggs. The largest of terrestrial carnivores, adult males measure more than nine feet in length and weigh between 770 and 1430 pounds. With 22,000 polar bears living in the wild, they are currently not endangered, but their future is far from certain. In 1973, the International Agreement on Conservation of Polar Bears and their Habitat between Canada, the US, Denmark, Norway, and the former USSR was signed. Although this agreement protects Polar Bears from hunting and directs each nation to protect their habitat, it does not protect them against their biggest man-made threat to their survival, global warming. If this warming trend continues, polar bears may disappear in the next 100 years.

Polar Bear - Fast Facts

Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Average lifespan in the wild: 25 to 30 years
Size: Head and body, 7.25 to 8 ft (2.2 to 2.5 m); Tail, 3 to 5 in (7.5 to 12.5 cm)
Weight: 900 to 1,600 lbs (410 to 720 kg)
Status: THREATENED

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