Bear Facts 13

 There are no polar bears in Antarctica.

This is a popular misconception, and one with absolutely no basis in fact. Polar bears live only in the Arctic, and anyone who looks for them in Antarctica is wasting their time.

Legend claims that polar bears cover their noses when on the hunt.

Tall tales claim that this behavior helps polar bears camouflage from prey. The legend is a common one for all Arctic peoples, but despite extensive research by scientists, no observation of polar bears doing so has ever existed.

The oldest known polar bear died at the age of 32.

The polar bear’s harsh and remote home environment means scientists aren’t completely certain about their causes of death. Today, the most common cause of death seems to be the result of fights between polar bears.

Injuries caused by fights between polar bears leave them unable to hunt, causing them to starve to death. Definitely one of the sadder bear facts.

Scientists consider polar bears as a keystone species.

This means that polar bears form an important link in the Arctic ecosystem and food chain. Arctic foxes, in particular, depend on carcasses left behind by the polar bears for food.

Polar bears also drive the evolution of Arctic seals, who have white coloration compared to their Antarctic cousins. The latter lacks a predator, allowing them to keep dark colors. Arctic seals, however, evolved a white color as camouflage against polar bears.

Polar bears are long-distance swimmers.

Scientists discovered this through GPS tags measuring the polar bear’s range. The readings showed that on average, polar bears could swim a distance of 155 km. The longest swim ever recorded from a polar bear even reached lengths of 354 km. Scientists also found that polar bears usually swim between 1 to 10 days.

Polar bear cubs swim nearly as well as adults.

Polar bear cubs practice their swimming under their mother’s supervision. That said, the longer the distance, the greater the risk of a cub drowning along the way. Scientists’ observations all indicate that for every 10 cubs that go long-distance swimming with their mothers, only 6 survive the trip.

Polar bears can hold their breath.

Scientists have since observed that polar bears can hold their breath up to 3 minutes when going after underwater prey.