Observation of polar bears is a rather complicated process, however, international projects to study them have helped to learn a lot about the polar predator. Polar predators live throughout the Arctic, mainly along the edge of the coast.
Bears give preference to islands near which there are straits with strong currents, in which fish and plankton abound. Due to currents in such places, the ice is constantly cracking, and wormwoods are formed in which polar bears can easily catch young seals.
Moving polar bears
People used to think that polar bears can move across the Arctic. However, it later became clear that, despite the fact that a predator overcomes several hundred kilometers in a year, he tries not to go beyond the territory on which he was born and grew up and always returns there.
If the polar bear is carried too far from the house on the ice, then he will walk back or swim through the water. Leaving in search of food, the polar bear may linger for several months, but it will certainly return home, bypassing the territory in a circle. Thus, bears, among other things, study the surroundings for the availability of food sources.
Using radio beacons, scientists have found that some individuals of polar bears travel much greater distances than others. There is a known case when a bear and her two cubs passed from Greenland to Franz Josef Land in a month. However, scientists have not yet been able to find out how polar bears find their way at such distances.
In the summer months, it may happen that the polar bear does not have enough food. Then it may happen that he comes to a village or town, tries to find food in a landfill. Previously, such bears were shot immediately, since they were considered dangerous to humans. However, now the animal is only euthanized, and then taken away from the village. Often these are young bears who do not yet have sufficient experience in hunting and food production.
Polar Bear Hunt
The hunt for polar bears took on the nature of fishing only in the last two hundred years. Previously, only indigenous people hunted bears for meat and skin. In 1973, the hunt for polar bears had to be banned. This ban continues to this day, as hunters threaten the very existence of the species. After all, there are no more than thirty thousand of all polar bears on the globe.
