Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus)
The polar bear is the largest predator that lives on land. Adult males weigh 352–680 kg and measure 2.4–3 m in length. Adult females are roughly half the size of males and normally weigh 150–249 kg, measuring 1.8–2.4 metres in length.
Compared with its closest relative, the brown bear, the polar bear has a more elongated body build and a longer skull and nose. The feet are very large to distribute load when walking on snow or thin ice and to provide propulsion when swimming; they may measure 36 cm across in an adult.
The polar bear is a bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas. Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrow ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. As it can hunt consistently only from sea ice, the polar bear spends much of the year on the frozen sea, although most polar bears are born on land.
