Wildlife Discovery : Polar Bears at the North and South Pole

Have you ever heard of polar bears? It looks like a huge chunk of cotton, but it is a wild animal. Polar bears are animals in the family of mammals. They live in very cold environments. In fact they live in the world’s coldest areas. This is in the Arctic (North Pole) and Antarctic (South Pole) areas.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Have you ever heard of polar bears? It looks like a huge chunk of cotton, but it is a wild animal.

Polar bears are animals in the family of mammals. They live in very cold environments. In fact they live in the world’s coldest areas. This is in the Arctic (North Pole) and Antarctic (South Pole) areas.

The North Pole is a Sub-Zero area where temperatures go below zero degrees. Imagine living in this place, I would freeze to death!

Luckily, polar bears cannot freeze to death. Their bodies are covered with thick white fur that protects them against the cold.

The female polar bears give birth to twins which stay with their mothers for two years. They only leave when they can hunt for their own food.

The young of the polar bears are called cubs.
Polar bears are carnivores. This means they eat only meat. Guess what happens when they get hungry. They hunt!

Since polar bears live near water, they are always on the look where there are ice cracks waiting for water seals that come for breathing so that they may kill and eat them.
An amazing thing about these arctic animals is that they can live in the wild for 30 years.

Also, they are so heavy to the extent that they can weigh up to 720 kilograms. Wow! Polar bears have slightly webbed feet which have large front paws that help them to paddle (walk).

Another cool thing about polar bears is that they have a black skin beneath all that white fur! The black skin absorbs warmth from the sun so that they don’t freeze to death. This is so cool!

Ends