The polar bear was first discovered in 1774, and it was also called the sea bear, white bear, or ice bear.
It was believed that the polar bear was a separate species of its own, but recent evidence has shown that it is actually a hybrid of the brown bear.
Where does the polar bear live? Is it an endangered animal? What is his diet? What is its relationship to humans? Are there types of polar bear? In our article, we will cover all the information and facts you do not know about this wonderful bear, so let's go.
Polar bear evolution
The polar bear family has evolved over millions of years, and the oldest known fossil of a polar bear is a 130,000- to 110,000-year-old jawbone found in Prince Charles Forland in 2004, and this indicates
that the polar bear diverged from a group of brown bears during the Pleistocene period When Siberia was covered with glaciers, it is believed that this isolation led to changes in the molars of polar bears
between 10,000 and 20,000 years ago, which distinguished it from its ancestors from brown bears, and DNA analysis indicates that the polar bear diverged from brown bears about 150,000 years ago. general.
However, the two species have mated sporadically throughout that time and are likely to have come into contact with each other during periods of warming, when the polar bear was driven to land and brown bears migrated north.
Most brown bears contain about 2 percent of their genetic material. of polar bears, but one group of island bears has between 5 percent and 10 percent of the polar bear genes, indicating more
frequent and recent mating, and polar bears can cross-breed with brown bears to produce fertile hybrids, indicating continued similarity. Despite their morphological and behavioral differences, the two species remain classified as separate.
Where does the polar bear live
Polar bears are found on the icy coasts that surround the Arctic and as far south as Hudson Bay.
About 60% of polar bears can be found in northern Canada, with the remaining individuals distributed throughout Greenland, Alaska, Svalbard and Russia, where they tend to be relatively close to
The ocean, polar bears roam vast distances across ice fields, and polar bear numbers have declined dramatically throughout their natural range.
The biggest threat to this formidable carnivore has been global warming, and although the polar bear is accustomed to
seasonal changes in the Arctic Circle, the summer thaws occur earlier and more ferociously year after year, which means the polar bear has less time to hunt on the ground.
The ice before it disappears, and its unstable habitats are severely affected by human encroachment on forms of fishing, the growth of settlements, and the release of chemical pollutants into the water.
The behavior and lifestyle of the polar bear
The polar bear is a solitary animal that can not only run at speeds of up to 25 miles per hour, but its powerful ability to swim at a speed of 6 miles per hour makes it a real predator in its environment, and
these semi-aquatic mammals can hunt on ice and in water, and they are known to swim For vast distances across
the open ocean in search of food, the polar bear can dive underwater to catch its prey, which it does by keeping its eyes open.
On land, it tends to hunt using two main methods, either stalking its prey or sitting and waiting by its breathing hole for up to several hours before ambushing seals as they emerge.
Eating seals is vital to the polar bear's survival as they can provide it with an energy-rich meal.
However, during the short Arctic summer, the polar bear is forced to head north as the ice recedes when it has to feed on the other animals inland.
The most important threats facing the polar bear
Due to the fact that the polar bear is a formidable and ferocious predator, there are no animals that would prey on it in its surrounding environment, and it tends to have the most problems with other polar bears.
Females will fiercely protect their cubs from males who might try to harm them, and humans pose by far the biggest threat.
The polar bear's dwindling numbers were greedily hunted from its arrival in the Arctic Ocean in the 17th century until the mid-1970s when international hunting was banned.
Besides the retreating ice fields that are essential to the polar bear's survival caused by climate change, it is also heavily affected by oil and gas exploration, increased shipping activity, and high levels of industrial chemicals that pollute the water.
Not only is it shrinking fast, it's not growing fast enough to sustain itself, and some experts claim that the polar bear could be extinct from the wild in the next 30 years.