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Animal Facts - Polar Bear

Polar Bear Diet

Photo of Ringed Seal from Arctic Ocean Diversity web sitePolar Bears in the Arctic eat mainly two types of seals - Ringed Seals and Bearded Seals.

Bearded SealA seal can weigh up to 67 kilos (150 pounds) and bears usually hunt alone, every five or six days.

Often they eat only the seal’s skin and fat, and leave the rest of the meat for scavengers to find.

 

Most of the seal hunting is done in winter when it’s easy to move around on the hard-frozen ice. The layer of fat under the bear’s skin bulks up ready for summer, when the ice melts a little and it’s more difficult to reach the seals.

Polar Bear resting in summerIn summer the bears spend a lot of time resting and living off their stored fat.

The layer of fat is so warm that just a little exercise can make them overheat.

If they get hungry they eat seaweed (kelp), sea birds, eggs, grasses and berries which they can find without much effort.

Polar Bears can go without food for several weeks because their big stomachs can hold a lot of food, and they can live off their stored fat. They don’t drink, and get all the water they need from their food.

Polar Bear divingThe bears do not usually eat fish because fish in the Arctic Ocean mostly live deep underwater and although the bears are good at diving and swimming, they are not good at deep sea diving.

 

 

 

Polar Bear Habits >>