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Polar Bear
Diet
Polar Bear swimming. Svalbard, Norway
© WWF-US/Eunice K. Park
Polar bears hunt ringed and bearded seals on the sea ice throughout the year. During the spring and early summer, polar bears capitalize on the ice seal reproductive cycle by breaking into seal dens located in snow drifts on the sea ice. The dens are not visible from above, but with their keen sense of smell, polar bears can detect the seals in their dens beneath the snow. Plentiful access to food during this period is critical, particularly for pregnant females. As the southern edge of the arctic ice cap melts in summer, polar bears are increasingly stranded on land or in deep, less productive Arctic waters far offshore of their preferred habitats. The bears that find themselves on land typically spend their summers fasting, living off body fat stored from hunting in the spring and winter.
As a result of global warming, sea ice in the Arctic is melting earlier and forming later each year. Ongoing research funded by WWF is finding that polar bears are left with less time on the ice during key time periods to hunt for food and build up their fat stores, and increased time on land or on ice over deep waters where they have decreased feeding opportunities. As their ice habitat shrinks, polar bears face a grave challenge to their survival.
Polar bears also prey upon harp seals, as well as young walruses and beluga whales, narwhal, fish, and the remains of stranded whales and adult walrus.
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