How do Polar Bears interact on a daily basis?

Amber Bannister 2014 Department of Biological Sciences Experimental Biology Lab

Abstract
Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) evolved around five million years ago from brown bear ancestors. Unlike their land based cousins, polar bears are adapted for survival in the far North on a sea ice habitat. Polar bears live in the artic, where they tend to hunt seals. There are a total of five nations that have polar bear populations: the United States(Alaska), Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway.

Results

Conclusions
In conclusion we see that Polar bears spend majority of their time walking. Polar bears walk at about five to six kilometers per hour. They are well known for their slow, plodding gait. Polar bears are actually able to gallop as fast as a horse over short distances, but would rather prefer to amble leisurely. Polar bears next favorite activity would be sleeping. Most can sleep for seven to eight hours at a stretch and they also take naps. In this way, they are a lot like people. Polar bears can nap just about anywhere and any time, especially when they have a delicious seal for a meal. Napping helps bears conserve energy. A polar bears entire existence centers on hunting and conserving energy.

Introduction
Polar bears are the largest predators on land, and they are the largest of all bears. They have fur and skin which allow them to absorb sunlight for warmth and their blubber insulates them in cold water. . Fur even grows on the bottom of their paws, which is to help protect against cold surfaces and provide a good grip on the ice. Since the Polar bear lives in such snowy weather, it is a great camouflage that their fur is white. These powerful predators typically prey on seals. They search areas of shifting and cracking ice where seals may surface to breathe air. They also stalk ice edges and breathing holes. If the opportunity permits itself they will eat carcasses of whales. Polar bears are artic giants and masters of their environment and have no natural enemies. Figure 1: Recordings of 12
hour observation on different behaviors

Methods
Data was collected by Amber Bannister, over a 12 hour day period Source used to observed the bears was the San Diego Zoo live cam. Notes were recorded every 30 minutes on the interaction of the Polar bear.

Figure 2: Ethogram of Behaviors recorded over a 12 hour observation period

Bibliography
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