4/24/2023 0 Comments Prey book it points![]() Population models have predicted increased rates of starvation as a result of longer ice-free seasons and a decline in mating success, since sea ice fragmentation could reduce encounter rates between males and females. Sea ice is prime habitat for polar bears. government has listed the polar bear as a threatened species since 2008, in large part because of the influence of global warming, which continues to reduce Arctic sea ice coverage. ![]() The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has classified the polar bear as a vulnerable species since 2006, and the U.S. ![]() Watch young male polar bears display their strength as they wait for Hudson Bay to freeze so they can hunt for food on the ice See all videos for this articleĪn estimated 22,000 to 31,000 polar bears were living in the wild by 2020. Although polar bear meat is consumed by indigenous people, the liver is inedible and often poisonous because of its high vitamin A content. The bears are hunted especially by Inuit people for their hides, tendons, fat, and flesh. Polar bears have been known to kill people. Humans probably cause most polar bear deaths, by hunting and by destroying problem animals near settlements. Longevity in the wild is 25 to 30 years, but in captivity several polar bears have lived to more than 35 years old. Adult polar bears have no natural predators, though walruses and wolves can kill them. Males mature at about the same age as females but do not breed until a few years later. Females first reproduce at four to eight years of age and breed every two to four years thereafter. Young remain with their mothers until they reach sexual maturity. Young polar bears may die of starvation or may be killed by adult males, and for this reason female polar bears are extremely defensive of their young when adult males are present. Cubs weigh less than 1 kg at birth and are not weaned until after they are two years old. Including the delay, gestation may last 195–265 days, and one to four cubs, usually two, are born during the winter in a den of ice or snow. Mating occurs in spring, and implantation of the fertilized ovum is delayed.
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