Research Paper On Polar Bears

Words: 567
Pages: 3

Polar bears are one of the only bear species known as marine mammals. That is because polar bears have features that help them adapt to the arctic weather. Their black layer of skin under the white fluffy fur allow them to stay warm, and their wide webbed feet make it easier to balance on ice because their weight is spread and the web helps them not slip. Also, unlike other bears, polar bears are carnivores. They eat mostly seals and sometimes walruses, because those are the only abundant sources that can sustain the large body weight and the population of polar bears.

Polar bears have adapted to polar regions within the arctic circle. Since they live in cold conditions and have adapted to that type of living, global warming is a big threat to their population. Global warming affects them by decreasing their population, making swimming more dangerous, and food scarcity. Polar bears only hunt during the cold seasons because there is no ice and they have to live on land, so in the summer they barely eat. But, if global warming takes away the winter season, they have no opportunity to hunt and eat, so they die. Because of the warm weather, more ice melts, so ice platforms are less accessible to polar bears. This makes the swims to the platforms longer. During this swim, there are big waves which make this swim very dangerous. If there are less
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Polar bears are at the top of the food chain, so they make sure animals, such as seals, do not overpopulate. As well as stopping overpopulation, they play an important role in the health of marine animals. Polar bears have also played an important role in the lives of Arctic people, culturally and economically. Polar bears have been hunted and used for food and clothing (ie. fur for coats) by many arctic people in the past. But now that the population is decreasing, hunters are being watched on how they treat polar bears; though they can still hunt some for food and