Canadian origin:
Northern Canada including the Arctic
Destination:
General pattern of seasonal movement is to move onto sea ice as it forms in the winter
Habitat:
The polar bear lives in areas near sea ice to catch its preferred prey, the ringed seal. Individual bears have a massive range of many thousand square kilometres.
Food sources:
Polar bears use sea ice as a platform to hunt seals. They wait by seals’ breathing holes and snatch them when they come up for air..
Fun fact:
These bears are Canada’s largest land carnivore: adult males can weigh up to 800 kilograms
IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). 2014. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2014.3. iucnredlist.org. Downloaded on 28 November 2014. Photo © Steve Amstrump