Polar bear adaptations
The polar bear is a member of the bear family. It is a carnivorous animal and lives in extreme cold climates. These animals are mostly found in the arctics as the climate of this region is found mostly suitable for their life. More than half of the polar bear population is in Canada.
We know that polar bears do live in arctic. Scientists say that the adaptation of these animals to the climate of the arctic region is a nature’s marvel. The ice found in the arctic and its surrounding regions are much thicker than any were in the world. These regions do have extreme cold climates and it is still a mystery for scientists on how polar bears have adapted themselves to these climates.
Many studies have been done in the past to study how polar bears adapt to the climate of the poles. At last scientists came to the conclusion that this adaptation started from the times of ice age itself. It is only in the later evolutionary stage that bears have started to adapt with the polar climate. Scientists claim that this adaptation should have started at least 100,000 years ago. There is a good population of seals in these arctic regions. They do come out of the pores in the ice to breath air. The bears would have found these seals as year round food source and so should have started moving to these areas. The brown bears that have slowly moved into these areas would have changed into the polar bears of today.
The polar bears do have body characteristics to withstand the extreme climate of the Polar Regions. It weighs 30 to 1760 pounds. The male polar bear do weigh much more than a female. They grow to the height of 6.6 to 10 feet and these huge bodies of the polar bears are their main advantage in hunting food. They can easily get over their prey using such a large body. The skin is the main factor which helps polar bear to withstand these climates. They do have large amount of fats which makes their body warmer and is also the major source of food supply during the winter. The polar bears do have enormous power of smell which helps them to hunt for their prey very easily.
Polar bears are now in the stage of extinction. They are largely affected with global warming. These animals do require extreme cold climates to survive upon and so cannot withstand this rise in the earth’s temperature. Global warming has also lead to the melting of ices in the arctic which is the habitat of these species. Polar bears do drown in the rougher seas which are the result of melting ice and also face shortage of food. These animals depend on seals for food. As a result of global warming, theses seals are also facing danger of extinction. What it means is that there is a shortage in their foods which leads to early death of a polar bear.