The polar or polar bear, or it is also called Umka, the inhabitant of the far
north, is the largest terrestrial predator on Earth. Its body length can reach up to
three meters, and the height at the withers up to one and a half meters. People say who saw this northern
predator live, then this is a real giant. Today, there are just over 20,000 polar bears in the world.
This animal is listed in the Red Books of the International Union for Conservation of
Nature of Canada, the USA and the Russian Federation. Many scientists are concerned that in 100 years,
and maybe even in 50 years, due to climate change and rapid global warming, polar
bears may completely disappear from the face of the Earth. In recent years, polar bears have begun to increasingly
go out to people in search of food. According to many scientists, this is due to climate
change on our planet, leading to the melting of ice,
which is the main area for the production and feeding of northern predators.
According to experts, polar bears are considered the only land mammals
that spend most of their lives on drifting ice, from where they hunt their prey.
However, due to the melting of glaciers, predators are forced to stay on the coast,
where they do not always have enough prey. For example, in this video, a large
polar bear came to visit polar explorers on Stolbovoy Island,
which is located in the Arctic Ocean, for delicious smells.
The rapid warming in the Arctic greatly
complicates the existence of bears, as they are forced to adapt
and look for new sources of food. For example, in Yamal, animals fish
in the mouths of rivers, and sometimes seals come there at high tide, this is the favorite prey of bears.
In addition, arctic birds actively nest there and polar bears can
hunt them, as well as collect their eggs. However, the conditions for the life of predators do not always
develop so well. For example, in Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land, bears have
to look for food on the rocks where birds nest. Predators climb high rocks and quite often
break down, which, unfortunately, leads to the death of some animals from bruises.
Global warming has become the main reason for the movement of polar bears to the south of the Arctic,
where the animals began to develop territories atypical for them.
According to researchers, such migration can pose a serious threat to the northern
villages. There are more and more cases of predators entering human settlements every year.
These problems are already arising on Novaya Zemlya and in the Nenets Okrug, in the area of ​​the village of Varandey,
where gas and oil development is actively carried out. Experts say the biggest mistake
people in the far north make is feeding dangerous animals right from
their windows and then failing to drive them away. Later, people begin to complain to the authorities that predators
behave aggressively in search of food, attack them, and there have even been cases
that someone was seriously maimed. Scientists also say that
when people unexpectedly encounter polar bears near the settlement, they underestimate the danger of these animals.
They begin to shoot the predator on their phones and approach him trying to take a selfie,
thereby provoking the beast to attack. Polar bears are very dangerous predators that
you should stay away from. And if you meet by chance,
then experts recommend trying to move away as carefully as possible
so that the animal does not notice you. Another problem that probably caused
polar bears to intersect with humans is the incorrect layout of the northern settlements themselves.
In the 30s of the 20th century, when the active development of the Soviet Arctic began,
settlements were mainly built near capes in the Arctic. This was done so that ships could come and unload there.
But capes are at the same time the richest territories for bears in prey. Because
there are colonies of birds and the carcasses of whales, walruses and seals are nailed there.
As a rule, a bay is formed near the cape, which it protects from the wind. Therefore,
the sea freezes there first of all, and seals crawl out onto the ice. Bears patiently wait for
everything to freeze and start hunting. But very often there are also human
settlements. Today, this is a big problem, because in the last century the situation with polar bears
was completely different. Firstly, according to the law, they could be shot at, and secondly, they still
lived on the ice and went ashore very rarely. Scientists say that it may be necessary to build
new modern settlements or enclose old settlements with special metal fences.
Although, many settlements are already quite old, which are 70-80 years old,
and still they need to be rebuilt. Today, people continue to actively explore the Arctic,
where it is necessary to build infrastructure carefully so as not to push people against polar bears.
The most important difference between a polar bear from the entire bear family is its white coat,
which in reality only looks light at first glance.
In order to disguise the predator well in the vast expanses of the Arctic, the hairs of the polar bear became
colorless. Each of them inside has a cavity filled with air, which retains heat.
And thick wool, together with a thick layer of subcutaneous fat, allows northern
potapyches to endure temperatures below -40 ° C. But with age, their coat turns a little yellow
under the influence of sunlight and may even turn green due to the fact
that algae are actively blooming on it. Possessing an impressive size and a serious
weight of about 300-400 kilograms on average, polar bears are not so clumsy or
clumsy. These predators are able to reach speeds of up to 40 km/h while running,
and when swimming, accelerating up to 5–7 km/h, as they are excellent swimmers and can swim across
large stretches of tens and even hundreds of kilometers between perennial sea and coastal ice.
With such excellent hunting data, the polar bear became the only
species of land mammals that could adapt to permanent habitation in the ice.
Hearing, vision and sense of smell of a polar bear are so sharp that it can smell various
types of seals - its main prey at a distance of several kilometers.
During the hunt, the bear sneaks up from behind a shelter or lies in wait for marine
mammals near the holes. As soon as the animal emerges from the water, the predator
stuns the prey with a blow of its paw and drags it onto the ice. Sometimes they attack walruses - mostly
cubs, since it
can be quite difficult to cope with an adult walrus weighing about 700-800 kilograms. But with global warming, polar
bears have to stay on land for more and more time, where they have
to learn new methods to get their own food. Recently, on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard,
located in the Arctic Ocean, a group of scientists managed to shoot a unique video of a
female polar bear chasing a reindeer into the sea.
Apparently, the deer, fleeing from the predator, rushed into the water trying to swim away, but the she-bear
quickly caught up with him and pulled him ashore. Scientists say that the number of
reindeer in the archipelago has increased markedly in recent decades after
they were banned from hunting, and the caution of ungulates has probably blunted a little.
Polar bears are excellent swimmers, so the she-bear easily caught up with her prey, but it is very
difficult for clubfoot to chase deer on land, as they run much faster, and also have
very sensitive hearing and a well-developed sense of smell, which allows them to sense danger in a timely manner.
Polar bears prefer a solitary lifestyle. However,
these hosts of the Arctic are able to form a large temporary accumulation near the food source.
For example, a whale carcass washed ashore, where, as a rule, they
are more or less peaceful towards each other. Also, unlike their brown
counterparts, males do not lie in a den for the winter, because they are forced to hunt.
But pregnant females lie in dens in late autumn, and in the middle or at the end
of winter they give birth to from one to four cubs. It is noteworthy that bears in the Arctic
zone of Russia have favorite places where they gather en masse for childbirth.
For example, Franz Josef Land is an archipelago in the Arctic
Ocean and especially Wrangel Island, which is popularly called the maternity hospital for polar bears.
Wrangel Island in the Arctic Ocean is
one of the most remote islands in Russia. This deserted island is located on the border of the
Western and Eastern Hemispheres, where in summer the temperature rises barely above +2°C, and in winter it
stays below -30°C for many weeks. However, despite the cold and harsh climate,
it maintains a surprisingly diverse and even endemic ecosystem for such conditions.
This remote island hosts some of the largest walrus rookeries
in the entire Arctic region and the largest bird colonies in the Chukchi Sea.
There are polar wolves and arctic foxes, as well as musk oxen,
which were brought over 45 years ago. Various seals and even several dozen species of insects.
But the polar bears are the most there, that even a few houses intended for temporary
residence of scientists are protected by metal spikes on the windows to protect against the intrusion of predators.
Experts say Wrangel Island has the highest density of polar
bear dens in the entire Arctic region, with 300 to 500 bear cubs born annually.
Polar bears migrate to the island every summer when the ice melts and stay there until
the start of the next frost cycle. Scientists also say that with global warming
in the Arctic, the number of bears on the island is increasing every year.
The polar bear is the closest relative of the brown bear. Initially, it was assumed that it
separated from the brown about 50-150 thousand years ago. However, recent studies have shown
that the polar bear separated from their common ancestor with the brown bear about 400-600 thousand years ago.
And about a little more than 100 thousand years ago, as a result of crossing representatives of species,
their hybridization occurred. As a result, all modern polar bears are descendants of these hybrids.
Interbreeding of polar and brown bears took place over a long period, as a result of which
scientists found from 2 to 10% of the genetic material of polar counterparts in the population of brown bears.
Both of these species produce fertile offspring, averaging 2–3 cubs once every couple of years,
so they are genetically similar. However, these two strong predators can
not long survive in each other's ecological niches. Because they have different morphology,
metabolism and social behavior. As well as diet and other
phenotypic traits, which allows us to classify these animals as different species.
The life expectancy of polar and brown bears in the wild is on average 25 years, and in captivity, with
good care, they live up to 40–50 years. Polar bears are able to interbreed with brown bears and produce offspring,
which were named polar grizzlies. This bear hybrid has been recorded
both in captivity and in its natural habitat in western Canada and Alaska.
The indigenous peoples of the north have hunted polar bears since ancient times. This very dangerous and difficult
undertaking has become part of the tradition. Even when mankind invented guns,
not every experienced hunter could kill a huge beast. Therefore, traditional hunting did not pose
a threat to the number of bears . The peoples of the north respect and fear this polar predator,
which has become the hero of many myths, and in some legends it was even represented as a monster.
For example, in the legends of the Eskimos, the polar bear appeared as a huge evil monster with red
eyes that attacked hunters and fishermen. By the way, this legend has a real basis -
these are the eyes of bears, despite the protective blinking membrane,
they can become inflamed from constant bright snow, and their noiselessness and sudden appearances
have become a parable of experienced sailors and whalers. The image of a powerful polar predator has always
attracted residents of the far north, which they rightfully called the master of the Arctic. This image
accompanies many peoples from antiquity, from rock paintings to the present day.
In the 20th century during the Soviet Union, the polar bear became popular in popular
culture after the cartoon about the bear cub Umka. And today it is global, when it has become a symbol of
climate change and the main victim. In the middle of the 20th century, polar bears also
became easy prey for many hunters, when the active development of the Soviet Arctic began.
With the invention of new weapons and technology, which made it possible to
move further into the depths of the permafrost, the risk of dying from the paws of a bear was greatly reduced.
Both for local hunters from the Arctic villages, and for professional hunters
who came to the North for new experiences and trophies.
The number of polar bears began to decline sharply, and game managers throughout the
Arctic zone sounded the alarm. After some litigation, the government of the Soviet Union
imposed restrictions on polar bear trophy hunting before the outbreak of World War II.
And after the war, in 1957, a new decision was made, which stated that the hunting of
polar bears in the USSR was completely prohibited. Today, in other countries where the range of the
polar bear is located, it is possible to kill predators legally, even if they are listed
in the Red Books. But for this you need to be either a representative of the community of a small
northern people or a rich hunter. For indigenous people in Greenland, Canada
and Alaska, official annual quotas are allocated from the authorities for the production of polar bears.
And if in Greenland and Alaska only representatives of communities can use the right to hunt,
since this is a traditional livelihood, then in Canada an Eskimo can sell the right to
hunt to anyone who has received a permit to shoot a polar bear.
But in Russia, the extraction of polar bears is completely excluded. even for representatives of the indigenous and
small peoples of the North. Earlier in Alaska in 2010, the
Russian-American Polar Bear Commission confirmed the annual quota for the extraction
of polar bears by the peoples of Chukotka and Alaska. The parties agreed on 29 animals for each country.
But unlike the United States, Russia does not use its quota, as there is a moratorium
on catching the beast. At the same time, the leadership of Chukotka constantly offers to restore the right of the indigenous
population to legally hunt the Arctic predator, as it was before the middle of the 20th century.
Today, polar bear poaching in the Russian Federation is punished very severely.
Since this wild animal is listed in the Red Book of Russia and is protected by law.
Criminal liability is provided for, according to which the term of imprisonment for illegal
hunting of a polar bear can be up to nine years, and a fine of up to two million rubles.