Polar Bears
Polar bears live on ice and snow. The cold is not a problem for them. Polar bears have some cool ways to keep warm!
Hair – A polar bear’s hair keeps it warm. The bear has 2 coats of hair! It has a thick coat of short fur next to its skin. And it has long hairs that cover the short fur.
Fat – A polar bear’s body has a lot of fat. Its fat keeps it warm on land and in the sea. Its fat may help it float in the sea, too.
Shelter – If it gets too cold for a polar bear, it can dig a shelter. It may stay in the shelter for days. A mummy polar bear can stay all winter under the snow in its den. In the den the polar bear looks after her cubs.
When cubs are born they are very small and hairless. They need the mum to keep them warm and fed. The mum's milk has a lot of fat in it. This helps the cubs to grow fast.
By April the cubs start exploring outside the den. The mum helps them explore.
When a polar bear is 2 years old, it can go off on its own.
A polar bear can swim non-stop for days.
A polar bear can stand taller than a man.
Photo by NOAA Oceanic Exploration and Research (courtesy of Jennifer Stern, UW) on Flickr has been cropped. Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.