Polar Bears An Endangered Mammal By Noah Grade 5 Grade 5 • January 30, 2014
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Table of Contents Introduction!
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Names!
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Description!
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Habitat!
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Life Cycle!
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Range and Population!
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Threats!
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Solutions!
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Bibliography!
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Fun Facts!
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Conclusion!
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Introduction ! Imagine you are walking through the Arctic. You are taking photographs for an important book on the Arctic. You are walking along with your crew taking photos when suddenly you see a black dot moving around about 10 yards away. You move closer to investigate. Suddenly you realize that it is a giant snout. You follow it with your eyes and slowly a polar bear appears out of nowhere. It growls a terrifying roar. You would be amazed, probably scream, and then try to run. Polar bears have no predators and will attack people. What would you do?
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Names ! Polar bears have lots of names. The scientific name for a polar bear is Ursus Maritimus. Some other names are Sea Bear, Noses with Legs, Ice Bear, Nanuk, Isbjorn, White Bear, Beliy Medved, Lord of the Arctic, Old Man in the Fur Cloak, and White Sea Deer. A mix between a polar bear and a grizzly bear is called a “groler bear” or a “pizzly bear”.
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Description
! Polar bears have short round ears. Their necks are longer than other bears. Polar bears fur looks white but it is not. Each strand of fur is a clear, hollow tube. They have black skin underneath to absorb the heat but it looks white because the snow reflects on to the fur. They have black noses and claws. Polar bears have webbing between their feet to help them swim faster. Polar bears are the only bears that can swim long distances. An adult female polar bear weighs about 330-550 pounds. An adult male weighs about 1,500 pounds. Polar bears are eight feet long. When they stand on their hind legs they can be 10-12 feet tall
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Habitat ! Polar bears need cold weather and the arctic ice for survival. They do not have any shelter so they sleep out in the cold. They only make dens when the females are pregnant. The bears build their dens on offshore sea ice. The dens are surprisingly warm for being made of snow. Polar bears eat ringed seals, bearded seals, walruses, beluga whales, bowhead whale carcasses, and birds eggs.! Polar bears live on the Arctic ice cap, Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Northern Russia, and islands near Norway. There are about 24,000 polar bears in the world.
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Life Cycle ! Polar bears mate in the spring. They normally have 1-4 cubs. They are born in a snow den. The cubs are born between November and February. The cubs cannot see, hear, or walk. They depend completely on their mother. Once the cubs are one month old they start to see and hear. At about 20 pounds they start learning to survive. Their mother raises them, not their father. The dad might even kill the cubs if he got the chance. The cubs leave their mother when they are two and a half to three years old. At ages 4-5 they mate and start the cycle again. Polar bears normally live 15-18 years but they can live to be 30 years old.
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Range and Population ! Polar bears live on the Arctic ice cap, Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Northern Russia, and islands near Norway. There are about 24,000 polar bears in the world. There were only 8,500 polar bears when they were first listed as endangered. The only reason that their population went up is because people stopped hunting polar bears. ! Polar bears are valued for their fur. Native people like the Inuit used to value polar bears for food.
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Threats ! Polar bears are an endangered species. Ice melting causes them to have less and less habitat on which to live. That melting can make the ice in the Arctic far apart, causing the polar bears to drown. Pollution causes global warming, which is what melts the ice in the first place. Another cause for polar bears dying is oil spills. Oil can poison the seals and other animals that polar bears eat. This makes the polar bears poisoned also. Although polar bears have no predators, humans hunt them. At first people hunted polar bears on foot, but then they started hunting them on snowmobiles and helicopters, making their hunting much more efficient. Also, polar bears have a low reproduction rate. Male polar bears sometimes kill the cubs. All of these these threats are what is endangering the polar bears. Please try to help them.
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Solutions ! The best thing to do to save polar bears is to try to slow, and more importantly stop global warming. There are laws limiting polar bear hunting, but if we did not hunt them at all, that would be best. Also if humans limit oil use, the seals and other polar bear prey will not be poisoned.
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Conclusion ! Polar bears are amazing animals but sadly, they are dying out. They have many unique abilities but still, they need our help. There are many different things you can do. You can support solar electricity, wind power, and water power. You can also walk and ride a bike more. Another way to help is to eat local, fresh, organic food. You can eat less meat. Also, try to remember to turn out the lights and turn of the water when you are not using them. Remember, this is a global problem so everyone needs to help. Even you can make a difference. If we don’t do anything, then it is possible that polar bears will become extinct.
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Bibliography Baily, Jill. Polar Bear Rescue. Illus. John Green. Austin: Raintree Steck-Vaughn, 1992. Print. Earth's Endangered Creatures. Orr, Tamra B. Polar Bears. New York City: Children's Press, 2013. Print. Nature's Children. Owings, Lisa. Polar Bear. Minneapolis: Bellwether Media, Inc., 2013. Print. Nature's Deadliest. "Polar Bears." Encyclopedia of Life. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http://eol.org/pages/328580/details>. "Polar Bears." Polar Bears International. Polar Bears International, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2014. <http:// www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/essentials>. Schuetz, Kari. Polar Bears. Minneapolis: Bellwether Media, Inc., 2012. Print. Animal Safari. Stone, Jason, and Jody Stone. Polar Bear. Woodbridge: Blackbirch Press, Inc., 2000. Print. Wild Bears! Taylor, Barbara. Pole to Pole. Hauppauge: Barron's Educational Series, Inc., 1999. Print. Ticktock Guides. Theodorou, Rod. Polar Bear. Chicago: Heinemann Library, 2001. Print. Animals in Danger.
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Fun Facts Polar bears tend to overheat rather than be cold.
Polar bears may cover their muzzle (nose) with their paw to conserve heat.
Polar bears fur looks white but it is not. Each strand of fur is a clear, hollow tube. They have black skin underneath to absorb the heat but it looks white because the snow reflects onto the fur.
Polar bears can swim nonstop for over a week.
Polar bears cubs learn to stay still while their mother hunts. Their mother whacks them on their head as punishment if they move.
Polar bear spotting is a real occupation.
Polar bears have 42 teeth.
Female polar bears would rather build a snow den out of old snow from last year rather than new snow.
Polar bear liver can kill you if you eat it because it has way too much vitamin A.
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