The largest bear and the largest land carnivore, living on Arctic sea ice and hunting seals. It’s classed as a marine mammal because it depends on the sea.
Quick answers
What is it?Mammal
Carnivore?Yes
Dangerous?Yes
Domesticated?No
Awake when?Day & night
Hibernates?No
Only pregnant females den up for the winter, to give birth; other polar bears keep hunting on the ice.
Kept as a pet?No
Do people eat it?No
At a glance
Found inArctic
HabitatPolar, Coast
ColoursWhite
SizeHuge
Length1.8–2.5 m
Height1.3–1.6 m at the shoulder
WeightFemales 150–300 kg, males 300–800 kg
Legs4
Covered inFur
Lives alone
Lives for20–25 years
Can swim
In the wild
- Where it lives
- Arctic sea ice and coasts around the North Pole: Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Russia and Norway’s Svalbard.
- What it eats
- Mostly seals, especially ringed seals, caught at breathing holes and at the ice edge.
- Conservation
- Vulnerable (IUCN Red List)
Did you know
Its fur is see-through and its skin underneath is black.
Its fur has no white pigment. It looks white because of the way light scatters off the hairs.
Often confused with
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