Polar Bear Stock Image

The polar bear & x28;Ursus maritimus& x29; is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear & x28;Ursus arctos middendorffi& x29;.[3]A boar & x28;adult male& x29; weighs around 350–700 kg & x28;772–1,543 lb& x29;,[4] while a sow & x28;adult female& x29; is about half that size. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear,[5] it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice and open water, and for hunting seals, which make up most of its diet.