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Polar Bear Information - The Biggest Marine Mammal On Earth
The polar bear, also named ursus maritimus, is one of the largest marine mammals on earth. This polar bear information fact sheet looks at some of the points of the breeding and birthing of polar bear cubs and more polar bear activity.
The polar bear comes home in a weakened condition to its hollowed out winter lair. Males generally den from late November to late January, and females den for a longer period of time, from November to March, during which time they deliver their young. The cubs stay with their mother for approximately a year and a half.
One of the biggest denning areas for polar bears is the lowlands of Hudson Bay and James Bay--the only known region where polar bears den in earth rather than in snow--where by digging down to the permafrost they choose to hollow out caves in lake and stream banks and peat hummocks. It is thought that they may use these permafrost dens to find shade in the summer time.
Most polar bears discover their possible mates in a peak seal-hunting habitat (singles bar for polar bears). As female polar bears don't mate annually or even every other year, getting a date could be difficult! Consequently, competition for the attention of a female can be truly fierce. The males must battle one another for the privilege of mating, oftentimes brutally. Oh yes, and don't forget to add in the fact that females happen to enjoy a prolonged chase and will lead the male polar bear on a merry one indeed -- for miles and miles along its range, as many as 60 miles! This kind of courtship is definitely not for the shy or the weak at heart.
Although mating takes place in late March to mid-July, females delay implantation of its fertilized eggs until early fall when it digs out and enters its den, giving birth a month or two later. To carry off a successful pregnancy and denning, the pregnant female must gain a lot of weight, mostly in fat, at the time when polar bear activity is at it's greatest. The denned sow often goes without food or water for as long as nine months-- one of the most amazing tidbits of polar bear information. The cubs are born in December or January, usually a pair of fur balls. They weigh in at about 1 to 1.5 pounds. When cubs leave their den in March or April, the cubs will weigh 25 to 30 pounds.
Sows with cubs hunt about 19% of their time during the spring and about 38% of their time during the summer. Sometimes, adult and sub-adult (ages 30 months to 5 or 6 years) polar bear males will feed and travel together for short periods of time.
One of the most critical pieces of polar bear information is that these animals are a threatened species, and a combination of education about bears fused with a national conservation policy is necessary to make sure that these magnificent ambassadors of arctic wildlife continue to survive, in spite the continuing encroachment into their habitat and the incessant search for resources, which fouls and despoils the pristine wilderness which these animals call home. Polar bear activity can only continue if we support them.
Article Source: MxGet Article Directory
Author's Bio
For more information, check out my blog Polar Bear News. You can also find information at Are You Polar Bear Aware? and Polar Bear Video Showcase
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