Flash
26/2/24
International Polar Bear Day
On the 27th February every year International Polar Bear Day! Polar bears are a vulnerable species (one step below being endangered) and in need of human help to stop their numbers falling further. International Polar Bear Day helps to raise awareness of the needs of this species and how we can all help to protect them.
Polar bears are vulnerable mainly because of climate change. This means the world is becoming warmer and that means the ice that polar bears call home is melting. A big reason for this global warming is caused by humans burning fossil fuels, cutting down too many trees and through farming.
How could you make a small change to help reduce this climate change? Could you walk or scoot to school instead of driving? Or turn your heating down at home a little bit? Although it wouldn’t feel like much if we all made small changes it could make a difference.
Top 10 Polar Bear Facts
1. Polar bears live in the Arctic and other countries in the northern part of the world. To survive in such a cold habitat they have a thick coat of fur and a layer of fat called blubber to keep them warm.
2. Polar bears have black skin to absorb heat better from the sun and their fur isn’t actually white! It is transparent to reflect light and help them blend into their icy white surroundings.
3. Polar bears and kodiak bears (a brown species of bear you would find living in Alaska) are the two biggest species of bears in the world. Male polar bears are about twice the size as females and can be up to 3 metres long. Incredibly they can weigh as much as 10 humans, they really are big!
4. Polar bears have no natural predators are at the top of the food chain in their freezing cold habitats. They are vulnerable to extinction however because of their habitat melting away.
5. Polar bears are carnivores and they like to eat creatures such as seals. They are often not very successful in hunting their favourite prey though and often have to settle for other food, such as birds, eggs or other small mammals. Polar bears are one of the few predators that view humans as prey and would actively hunt someone if given the chance!
6. Polar bears have an amazing sense of smell and can smell their prey from really far away. They will often smell seals near holes in the ice and wait patiently for one to appear from the water, pouncing on their prey from the ice if they appear.
7. Polar bears love to swim. Although polar bears are a land living marine mammal, they can spend days swimming in the ocean at a time too. Their huge front paws act as paddles when they are swimming and they have been known to travel long distances in the water successfully. A tagged polar bear was once recorded swimming for 426 miles non stop over nine days!
8. Polar bear cubs are tiny when first born. They are looked after and protected for years until they are big and strong enough to look after themselves.
9. Polar bears give birth to their cubs in snow dens to keep them warm when they are first born. These dens are dug in early winter ready for the cubs to be born.
10. Polar bears do not hibernate like most other bears, although female polar bears will spend many months in their den to protect their cubs before venturing out into the extreme cold with them.
All photos and illustrations in this blog post are Whizzbots and Public Domain images.