Polar bear

The giant hunter on the ice

The polar bear lives on the ice around the North Pole. And it's not white! Its fur is transparent and its skin is black — it only looks white. A polar bear can swim 100 km and smell a seal 30 km away. Polar bear cubs are born in a den dug in the snow.

The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is the largest land predator; males reach 450 kg (record 1,000 kg). Its scientific name means 'sea bear' — it's classed as a marine mammal and spends most of its life on sea ice hunting seals. Its fur is hollow and transparent (letting light through), its skin is black (absorbing heat), and it has 10 cm of fat. It swims at 10 km/h for days at a time. As the climate warms, sea ice is shrinking — bears can't hunt and go hungry; several of the 19 populations are declining. About 26,000 polar bears remain.

Fun facts

• A polar bear's skin is black and its fur is transparent — it only looks white because of how light bounces.
• A polar bear can smell a seal 30 km away.
• One polar bear was recorded swimming for 9 days without stopping — 700 km!
• Polar bears and penguins never meet: one lives at the North Pole, the other at the South.