Threats
What is the biggest threat to polar bears?
Climate change
Where do polar bears live? (name country or state)
Canada, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Alaska, and Greenland
What do polar bears primarily eat?
They feed on seals.
What is the IUCN red list status of polar bears?
Threatened
What color is polar bear skin?
Black
How does direct humans contact threaten polar bear population?
They kill polar bears by illegal poaching, feeling threatened, or bears die from eating plastics found in trash
Where do polar bears venture when desperate for food?
Human settlements
Can Polar bears survive on a strictly plant diet?
No, Polar bears depend on fatty animals like seals to sustain themselves. They cannot survive on a terrestrial diet.
How many polar bears are left in the wild?
22-31,000
How long do polar bears live?
Up to 25-30 years in the wild, 40 years in captivity
Which country still allows the hunting of polar bears?
Canada
The lack of which resource is causing polar bears to be unable to hunt?
Arctic sea ice
How do polar bears hunt?
through holes in the sea ice, or by scavenging
Why is it difficult to determine the population of polar bears?
They live in very remote areas that lack infrastructure such as roads and airfields so it is difficult to study them
Which groups of people are still allowed to hunt polar bears?
Indigenous peoples- Inuit peoples of Canada
What industry is threatening polar bears? (hint: think pollution)
Oil drilling
When do polar bears normally spend time on land?
during the summer when arctic sea ice is unavailable
Other than meat, fish and bird eggs what do polar bears eat?
Berries, kelp, and human garbage
When did large scale commercial and recreational hunting start?
1700's during the fur trade
How long can polar bears fast?
Up to 5 months
What is the biggest threat to polar bear cubs?
many polar bear cubs die young because their mothers are not able to produce milk due to a lack of nutrients.
Do bears spend more time in the water or on land?
Water
How often do polar bear hunts succeed?
Around 2 percent of the time
When was the hunting of polar bears outlawed?
1973- The international agreement on the conservation of polar bears and their habitat was signed by Canada, Norway, Denmark, the United States, and the USSR
How many subpopulations of polar bears are there?
19