What do polar bears eat? Does the polar bear of penguins eat?

Polar (or white) bear - a predatory mammal, belonging to the family Bear. Ursus maritimus is its Latin name. Where does the polar bear eat? How does it multiply and interact with other animals? What is its population? Where does the animal live? About this later in the article.

Origin

Initially, it was assumed that the division of the brown and polar bear happened about 45-150 thousand years ago, possibly in the territory occupied by modern Ireland. But in the course of recent studies it was revealed that the separation occurred about 338-934 thousand years ago. About a hundred or two hundred years ago there was a crossing of representatives of species, which resulted in hybridization. As a result, all the polar bears inhabiting the planet today are descendants of the resulting hybrids.

External Data

The polar bear is considered to be one of the largest representatives of terrestrial mammals from the order of predators. The growth of individuals can reach 3 m, weight - up to a ton. The most common are males, whose weight is from 400 to 450 kg, and their body length is up to 250 cm. At withers, the height is from 130 to 150 centimeters. Female weighs significantly less - from 200 to 300 kg. The smallest representatives live on Spitsbergen, and large ones live in the waters of the Bering Sea. From other bears white differs a flat head and a long neck. The skin color is black. Fur can have a color from yellowish to white (in the summer "fur coat" can turn yellow due to the constant exposure to direct sunlight). The wool is hollow, and the hair itself is devoid of pigment. Semitransparent hairs are able to pass ultraviolet rays, due to which the cover acquires thermal insulation properties. When implementing a UV survey, a polar bear may appear dark, and sometimes it may even turn green. This happens, as a rule, if there is a bear white in the zoo, in a hot climate. Due to the special structure of the wool, microscopic algae are planted in them - hence the green color of the skin. In order not to freeze and not to slip on the ice, the soles of all the extremities are lined with wool. Between the fingers is a swimming membrane, on the front of the paws there is a stiff bristle. Further on in the article, more about what polar bears eat.

A life

Polar bears live on landfast and drifting ice floes. There they hunt and procure their basic food. What do polar bears eat? Their main food is hare (sea), ringed seal, walrus and other marine animals. His prey he catches, creeping up from behind the shelter, or near the holes. It is worth the victim to remove the head from the water, as an animal pierces the animal with its paw and pulls it to the shore. A polar bear can also overturn an ice floe on which seals sit. Hunting for the walrus is only on land. As a rule, he eats fat and skin. In case of a strong famine, he devours all walrus carcasses. But usually the remains of the caught beast are eaten up by arctic foxes. But this is not all that polar bears eat. On occasion, they can pick up carrion, dead chicks, fish, eggs. Also, their diet includes seaweed and grass. If polar bears appear on man-made territories, they can be seen in garbage dumps, not far from dumps of household and food waste. Even cases of robbery of food warehouses of expeditions of polar explorers are known. All that feed polar bears, contributes to the accumulation in their liver of vitamin A. This compound is contained in their body in a fairly large amount. There is even information about several cases of liver poisoning. Does the polar bear of penguins eat? Such a question may arise in those who are not familiar with the habitat of these animals. It is known that penguins inhabit the South, and polar bears - the North Pole. In natural conditions, they can not meet. Above it was told what the polar bears eat. And representatives of the South Pole are not part of their diet.

Traveling

In accordance with the annual change in the polar ice borders, polar bears make seasonal transitions. In the summer, they retreat closer to the pole, in winter - they migrate to the southern territories, going to the mainland. Despite the fact that polar bears mostly stay on ice and coast, they can lie in a den on the islands or on the mainland, in some cases, fifty kilometers from the sea. Winter hibernation, the duration of which varies from 50 to 80 days, is typical, as a rule, for pregnant females. Single females and males lie not annually and for a rather short period.

Behavior

Despite the apparent slowness at first glance, bears are quick and dexterous even on land. In water, they dive and swim fairly easily. From the wet and cold in the water, the bear's body is protected by a dense and very thick coat. A special adaptive task is performed by subcutaneous fat layer of up to ten centimeters. The disguise of the predatory beast is greatly facilitated by its light coloration. Polar bears have very good hearing, sight and smell. They can see their extraction in a few kilometers, but, for example, they can feel the seal for 800 meters.

Reproduction

The gon begins with polar bears from March and ends in June. In the estrus, the female usually follows three or four males. By October, female individuals are beginning to pluck limes in the deposits. There are beloved beloved areas where they gather (Father Wrangel, for example). Annually in such places there are about 150-200 holes. In the dens, the she-bears settle only by the middle of November, after the latent stage of bearing the young. The whole pregnancy lasts 230-250 days. At the end or in the middle of the Arctic winter bear cubs are born. The very same female remains in hibernation until April. It should be said that the bear have a low breeding potential. The first offspring appears in 4-8 years. Childbirth occurs every two to three years, in one litter from one to three cubs. As a result, for a lifetime the female brings no more than ten or fifteen cubs. Newborns weigh from 450 to 750 grams. After three months with them, the female leaves the den and begins a wandering life. Up to a year and a half the cubs remain with their mother. Throughout this period she feeds the cub cubs with milk.

Social structure

It should be noted that mortality among the young reaches 10-30%. Life expectancy of bears is no more than 25-30 years, the record of longevity in captivity is forty five years. As a rule, animals are peaceful relative to representatives of their species. But in the mating season, there may be clashes between males. Sometimes adult males attack young, mostly male. Polar bears can interbreed with brown bears. As a result, fertile (reproductive) offspring - polar grizzlies appear.

Population status and economic significance

Polar bear is listed in the Red Book of the Russian Federation as a rare species. Because of the high mortality of young animals and slow reproduction, this animal becomes quite easily vulnerable. But even so, the population today is considered relatively stable, even in some way growing. Eskimos are hunting polar bear for meat and skins. In Russia, hunting for animals has been banned since 1956. In other countries (Greenland, Canada and the USA) polar bear production is limited. On the territory of today there are about 5-7 thousand individuals. The shooting of poachers is about 150-200 bears a year.