[Music] polar bear’s fur is not white the fur is actually transparent it consists of two layers of transparent hair a soft thick undercoat and a layer of hollow guard hairs the layers only appear white because the air spaces in each hair scatter all visible wavelengths of light underneath this fur polar bears have black skin sunlight can penetrate the bear’s transparent fur and reach its black skin which absorbs the sun’s heat and warms the bear’s body polar bears are excellent swimmers they’ve evolved to have a narrow skull and a long flexible neck which are believed to help streamline their bodies in the water and provide the reach and flexibility they need to bring their noses up for air their front paws are large up to 12 inches wide flat and act as paddles as the bears swim and even hunt marine animals while underwater additionally the bears have a two to four inch layer of fat that helps keep them buoyant and warm as they swim polar bears are the largest land carnivore they may grow up to eight feet tall and weigh over one thousand seven hundred and sixty pounds far outweighing the next largest land predator the kodiak brown bear by several hundreds of pounds this hefty size allows polar bears to hunt large powerful animals like walruses and beluga whales because of their tremendous size polar bears have no natural predators apart from humans polar bears only live in the arctic this region includes areas of russia greenland norway and the united states however up to 80 percent of the world’s polar bears live in one country canada polar bears may traverse islands and coastlines but most of the time the bears live directly on sea ice that can be found between land masses however as climate change is causing sea ice to recede polar bears are beginning to make their way further inland to find food polar bears are not endangered for now between 22 000 and 31 000 polar bears are in the wild but their populations may be at risk in the future climate change and rising ocean temperatures are causing sea ice the polar bears hunting grounds to melt more rapidly and for longer periods of time this may play a role in a projected 30 percent population decrease by 2050. life on top of the world comes with many challenges but with translucent fur strong swimming capabilities and considerable body size polar bears have become well adapted to life in the wintry north [Music] you
