Polar bears are majestic animals, both on land and in the water, but what most intrigues people is their diet. Since their habitat is so isolated and cold, there can’t be many available food sources. It is common for people to assume that polar bears eat penguins, such both animals live in cold, snowy climates, however, penguins are not part of a polar bear’s diet. So, what do polar bears eat? Let’s find out.
Different Habitats
The reason polar bears do not eat penguins is that the two species do not live in the same habitats. Polar bears live in the Arctic region, which is the northernmost area of the planet. The Arctic encompasses Greenland, Iceland, Alaska, Canada, northern Scandinavia and Russia.
Polar bears are known to live in the Arctic regions of Alaska in the US, Canada, Greenland, Norway and Russia.
Many experts believe that even if the two species did live in the same geographic location, polar bears would likely not hunt and eat penguins, as they would not provide enough protein and polar bears would expend a lot of energy hunting them. Penguins may be clumsy on land, but they are lightning-fast swimmers and can even out-swim Orcas.
At best, they might catch penguins that were old or injured, and they might raid penguin nests during the breeding season, but they would not waste precious energy on a long hunt.
Penguins live on the continent of Antarctica, which is the southernmost land mass on Earth. Antarctica is the coldest, windiest and driest place in the world, but many animals thrive there. There are only 2 ‘true’ Antarctic species; Emperor and Adélie penguins. Other species such as Gentoo, Macaroni and Chinstrap travel to Antarctica to breed.
Since both the Arctic and Antarctica have the same snowy conditions, it is easy to understand why people assume polar bears eat penguins. This assumption causes confusion to this day.
What Do Polar Bears Eat? – Diet
Polar bears have a feeding season that mirrors the population changes of their prey. From April to mid-July polar bears will hunt daily, storing their fat reserves. This is because they will experience a sharp decline in food availability when most seals migrate to warmer waters.
The bulk of a polar bear diet is seals. They are large animals with a thick layer of fat, which can sustain a polar bear for months. Polar bears may go 3 months without food, so a high fat diet is essential to their survival.
As well as hunting seals, polar bears will also scavenge from carcasses and may even steal food from other polar bears. They may come across carcasses of whales, walruses and seals which will provide extra fat and protein.
During periods where food is scarce, polar bears may venture further in shore to hunt animals such as reindeer, musk ox and small mammals. They have even been known to raid human settlements and to forage shallow waters for shellfish and seaweed.
The most surprising food option for polar bears is whales. The hunters use the sea ice to track their prey and wait by air holes. When a whale such as a narwhal or beluga surface for air, the polar bear will bite and scratch at the whale, using their strong forelimbs and sharp claws to prevent the whales from submerging back below the ice.
Wanting to know more about Arctic residents? Read more about Arctic seals and whales here.
Behaviour & Breeding
Polar bears are solitary animals, only coming together for a few days for courtship and breeding. The nature of their environment means living in a group is not possible, as competition for food is too great.
Breeding begins in spring when male polar bears begin seeking out females. A pair will stay together for several days, with the male courting the female and chasing off any other males. After this brief time together, the pair will separate again.
During the summer many females choose to go in land in search of better food resources. Remaining on the shore means many weeks or even months without food to eat for female polar bears. Once September arrives, pregnant females will begin digging snow dens in preparation for birth. They choose areas with deep snow drifts, either on land or on large patches of sea ice.
Rearing the Young
Cubs are usually born in the snow den in December or January. A female will typically have one or two cubs, but triplets is not altogether uncommon.
The small den and their mother’s body heat keeps the cubs warm for the first few months before they begin exploring. They will suckle from their mother for the first three months. Around March or April, she will begin taking them out of the den to hunt and this is where she will start to wean them off milk.
The cubs will follow their mother closely, learning how to hunt and how to judge which ice is safe and where it is too thin to walk on. However, young polar bears will not learn how to hunt and eat penguins as they both live on different continents.
They will also take their first swim around 4 months old, watched closely by their mother. Swims are also done close to shore or an ice floe where the mother can use her large paws to lift her cubs out of the water. With each lesson, they will gradually learn to use their claws and muscle strength to lift themselves back onto dry land.
Threats & Conservation
Polar bears are listed as ‘vulnerable’ on the IUCN red list. Experts estimate that there are as few as 20,000 polar bears in the wild. They face many dangers, many of which are caused by human interference.
The biggest threat facing polar bears is climate change and the rapid reduction of sea ice. As global temperatures warm, most of Arctic’s icy shorelines are melting. This means polar bears have less sea ice to hunt and territory space.
Commercial activities such as fishing, whaling and scientific research is also putting polar bears at increased risk of extinction. There is often human conflict as polar bears are pushed closer to human settlements in search of food to eat.
Greater awareness and effort needs to be in place to reduce the effects of climate change so that polar bears are able to thrive. It is believed that if nothing is done now, polar bears will be extinct before the end of this century.
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