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A R C T I C W I L D L I F E

Land and Sea Scientifically speaking,polar bears aremarinemammals, because they rely on the sea for food. However, they are just as comfort- able on land.TheArctic landscape can be a stingy one, especially in winter, but these massive carnivores are used to covering large territories in order to get enough food. Scientists observed one polar bear whose range was more than 60,000 square miles (155,000 sq km). That’s an area about the size of the state of Georgia. A polar bear’s body is perfectly adapted to the Arctic envi- ronment. Other types of bears have thick shoulders and large heads, but the polar bear is the opposite. It’s got a slender head to make it more streamlined for swimming. It also makes it eas- ier to stick its head into small holes in the ice to catch prey. Its paws, however, are as big as dinner plates. A polar bear’s large feet work like paddles in the water.On the ice they act like snow- shoes, helping to distribute the animal’s weight more evenly, so it is less likely to break through thin ice. Polar bears look white, but in fact, their fur is made of hollow, colorless hairs. The air inside the hair scatters light and makes the hairs look white, so the bears stay camouflaged against the snow.When polar bears get dirty or have a lot of oil in their hair, they look more cream-colored or yellow. They’ve also got two layers of fur. The undercoat, closest to their skin, is called ground hair. It’s about 2 inches (5 cm) long, and provides a layer of warmth. The outer layer is made up of guard hairs. They are