![]() ![]() Many bears hunt at glacier fronts in the fjords in the spring because ringed seal lairs are concentrated in such areas. The western part of Spitsbergen therefore has low densities of bears most of the year, while higher densities are found along the east coast, and also in the fjords to the north. In Svalbard, most bears are found in areas with sea ice. Individual bears roam over large areas, and populations are therefore well connected. ![]() There are 19 different defined populations of polar bears in the Arctic, that together contain an estimated 26,000 bears. ![]() They occur as far south as 50° N in James Bay, Canada. They live in Canada, Alaska (USA), Greenland, the Russian Arctic, the Norwegian Arctic, and on areas of the ice shelf surrounding the North Pole. The polar bear has a circumpolar distribution, but is largely restricted to areas that have sea ice during a significant part of the year. These features have been selected for in polar bears as a consequence of their almost purely carnivorous way of life. Compared to other bears polar bears have: a long narrow head a head that is relatively small compared to the body small, heavily furred ears claws that are short and strong canine teeth that are long and cheek teeth that are sharper. Adult males can be distinguished from females on the basis of their larger size, but more reliably on their more powerful necks that looks wider than their heads. Polar bears are typically off-white in colour, but vary from grey, through shades of white to yellow. Weight varies dramatically seasonally, especially among females that can more than double their body weight from the spring to the late summer. The length of adult polar bears varies from 180–260 cm. Males weigh between 300–700 kg while females weigh 150–350 kg. They are markedly sexually dimorphic, with males being larger than females. Polar bears are the largest species of bear in the world. International cooperation in the Arctic.International cooperation in Antarctica. ![]()
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