since very few praise are available polar bear does not need to have strong sense of smell true or false
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Polar bears
© naturepl.com / Steven Kazlowski / WWF
TOP 10 FACTS ABOUT POLAR BEARS
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TRACKING POLAR BEARS THREATS TO POLAR BEARS WHAT WE ARE DOING TO HELP POLAR BEARS ADOPT A POLAR BEAR
Polar bear on ice© Florian Schulz / visionsofthewild.com
1. POLAR BEARS ARE CLASSIFIED AS MARINE MAMMALS
Because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean depending on the ocean for their food and habitat, polar bears are the only bear species to be considered marine mammals.
Polar bear skin© Jon Aars / Norwegian Polar Institute / WWF-Canon
2. POLAR BEARS ARE ACTUALLY BLACK, NOT WHITE.
Polar bear fur is translucent, and only appears white because it reflects visible light. Beneath all that thick fur, their skin is jet black.
Polar bear swimming© naturepl.com / Steven Kazlowski / WWF
3. THEY CAN SWIM CONSTANTLY FOR DAYS AT A TIME
As well as reaching speeds of up to 6mph in the water, polar bears can swim for long distances and steadily for many hours to get from one piece of ice to another. Their large paws are specially adapted for swimming, which they’ll use to paddle through the water while holding their hind legs flat like a rudder.
Polar bear hunt image© Steve Morello / WWF
4. LESS THAN 2% OF POLAR BEAR HUNTS ARE SUCCESSFUL
Although about half of a polar bear’s life is spent hunting for food, their hunts are rarely successful. Polar bears main prey consists of ringed seals and bearded seals, though they will also scavenge carcasses or settle for small mammals, birds, eggs and vegetation.
Polar bear footprints
5. SCIENTISTS CAN EXTRACT POLAR BEAR DNA FROM JUST THEIR FOOTPRINTS
An innovative new technique developed by WWF and DNA specialist firm SPYGEN allows scientists to isolate DNA from a polar bear’s footprint in the snow. Two tiny scoops of snow from a polar bear track revealed not just the DNA of the polar bear that made it, but even from a seal it had recently eaten.
Polar bear warning sign
6. THEY FACE MORE THREATS THAN CLIMATE CHANGE
While climate change remains the greatest threat to the polar bear’s survival, that is not all that the predator is up against. The oil and gas industry is turning its eyes to the arctic, and with it comes the potential risks of habitat destruction from oil exploration work. Contact with oil spills can reduce the insulating effect of a bear’s fur requiring them to use more energy to get warm, and can poison them if ingested. Polar bears can also be exposed to toxic chemicals such as pesticides through their prey, which can affect a bear's biological functioning and ability to reproduce.
Melting sea ice from climate change has increased human-polar bear conflicts when hungry polar bears go searching for food in the summer. Fortunately, people are learning to adapt to the polar bear's presence and take preventative measures to reduce the risk of conflict. Learn more about the threats to polar bears and how we are working to solve them.