About us polar bears

To begin I feel I should tell you about us polar bears. First I will tell you what humans know about us.

Today there is approximately 22,250, give or take 2,000 polar bears on our planet. During the period of time you people called the 60's our numbers plummeted to around 6,000 bears due to the over-hunting but our icy home was safe and was secure. Today we are a healthy species that are losing our home environment. See the following blog for more info http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2008/4/2/154539/6000

Human scientist know us as Ursus maritimus and most others just call us polar bears. We are the largest land carnivore on the planet today. Our fur can range from brilliant lunar white to a mottled yellow. We have large paddle like feet that allow us to stand well on ice and swim powerfully. While swimming we can reach speeds of ten kilometers/hour. Our bodies are streamlined to aid in are swimming. Here are some averages of our hieght, wieght, lifespan,and our diet, range, and reproductive basics.

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Height 8 to 10 feet

Weight Adult males 550-1700 lbs; females 200 - 700 lbs

Lifespan 20 - 25 years

Staples Almost exclusively feed on ringed seals and to a lesser extent bearded seals

We also eat walrus, beluga whale and bowhead whale carcasses, birds, vegetation and kelp

Polar bears are distributed throughout the arctic region in 19 subpopulations.

Canada (Manitoba; Newfoundland; Northwest Territories; Nunavut; Ontario; Quebec; Yukon), Greenland, Norway (Svalbard), Russian Federation (Krasnoyarsk; Magadan; North European Russia; West Siberia; Yakutiya), United States (Alaska) have polar bear populations.

ReproductionMating Season Late March through MayGestation About 8 months with delayed implantationLitter size 1-4 cubs; 2 cubs most common

Thanks to http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/polar_bear.php for charts

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WE polar bears act with the stability of the ice. If we are a mature bear we are solitare except during the mating season and when we raise our young. When we are young we stay with our mothers.