Polar Bear
Overview
The polar bear is a bear
native largely within the Arctic Circle
encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore
and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous
Kodiak Bear
, which is approximately the same size. An adult male weighs around 350 kilogram, while an adult female is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear
, 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 the seals
which make up most of its diet.
Bear
Bears are mammals of the family Ursidae. Bears are classified as caniforms, or doglike carnivorans, with the pinnipeds being their closest living relatives. Although there are only eight living species of bear, they are widespread, appearing in a wide variety of habitats throughout the Northern...
native largely within the Arctic Circle
Arctic Circle
The Arctic Circle is one of the five major circles of latitude that mark maps of the Earth. For Epoch 2011, it is the parallel of latitude that runs north of the Equator....
encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore
Carnivore
A carnivore meaning 'meat eater' is an organism that derives its energy and nutrient requirements from a diet consisting mainly or exclusively of animal tissue, whether through predation or scavenging...
and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous
Omnivore
Omnivores are species that eat both plants and animals as their primary food source...
Kodiak Bear
Kodiak Bear
The Kodiak bear , also known as the Kodiak brown bear or the Alaskan grizzly bear or American brown bear, occupies the islands of the Kodiak Archipelago in South-Western Alaska. Its name in the Alutiiq language is Taquka-aq. It is the largest subspecies of brown bear.- Taxonomy :Taxonomist C.H...
, which is approximately the same size. An adult male weighs around 350 kilogram, while an adult female is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear
Brown Bear
The brown bear is a large bear distributed across much of northern Eurasia and North America. It can weigh from and its largest subspecies, the Kodiak Bear, rivals the polar bear as the largest member of the bear family and as the largest land-based predator.There are several recognized...
, it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche
Ecological niche
In ecology, a niche is a term describing the relational position of a species or population in its ecosystem to each other; e.g. a dolphin could potentially be in another ecological niche from one that travels in a different pod if the members of these pods utilize significantly different food...
, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals
Pinniped
Pinnipeds or fin-footed mammals are a widely distributed and diverse group of semiaquatic marine mammals comprising the families Odobenidae , Otariidae , and Phocidae .-Overview: Pinnipeds are typically sleek-bodied and barrel-shaped...
which make up most of its diet.
