polar bear

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Images & Videos

Three polar bears (Ursus maritimus) standing together on a floating ice sheet surrounded by water and broken ice in Norway.

adult polar bear and cub

Illustration of a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) standing on ice, showing its large, cream-colored body and thick fur, with a size scale indicating 30 centimeters or 12 inches for reference.

World map showing the geographic ranges of the eight bear species, each marked in a different color. The American black bear is found across much of North America, the polar bear in Arctic regions, the brown bear across northern North America, Europe, and Asia, and the spectacled bear in a small area of northwestern South America. In Asia, the Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, sun bear, and giant panda have distinct, mostly non-overlapping ranges in the eastern and southern parts of the continent.

polar bears on an ice floe

Observe polar bear predation on walrus on Wrangel Island

An adult polar bear walking across snow with two small cubs following closely behind.

Map of the Arctic region showing polar bear subpopulation areas, each outlined and color-coded to indicate trends over the past 15 years: green for increasing populations, yellow for stable, red for declining, and white for insufficient data. The map covers areas around the Arctic Ocean, including northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway, and Russia, and labels each subpopulation region with a number corresponding to a legend.

Polar bears waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

At a Glance

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

polar bear summary

polar bear: Media

mammal

Videos

Observe polar bear predation on walrus on Wrangel Island

Observe polar bear predation on walrus on Wrangel Island

Learn about polar bear predation on walrus in this video.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Polar bears waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze

Polar bears waiting for Hudson Bay to freeze

Learn about young male polar bears testing their strength.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz; Thumbnail © Uryadnikov Sergey/stock.adobe.com

Polar bear triplets' first steps into the Arctic

Polar bear triplets' first steps into the Arctic

Polar bear cubs leaving their den for the first time.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Life of polar bear cubs in the Canadian Arctic

Life of polar bear cubs in the Canadian Arctic

Two polar bear cubs playing in the Canadian Arctic.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

See a desperately hungry polar bear hunting for fish due to scarcity of food in the Russian Arctic

See a desperately hungry polar bear hunting for fish due to scarcity of food in the Russian Arctic

With food in short supply, a polar bear hunting for fish in the Russian Arctic.

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Survival challenges for polar bear cubs in the Arctic

Survival challenges for polar bear cubs in the Arctic

A female polar bear taking her cubs to the sea to search for food in the Canadian...

Video: Contunico © ZDF Studios GmbH, Mainz

Images

Three polar bears (Ursus maritimus) standing together on a floating ice sheet surrounded by water and broken ice in Norway.

polar bears on an ice floe in Norway

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) on an ice floe in Norway.

© hperry/stock.adobe.com

adult polar bear and cub

adult polar bear and cub

Adult polar bear and cub (Ursus maritimus) sleeping, Canada.

© Stockbyte/Thinkstock

Illustration of a polar bear (Ursus maritimus) standing on ice, showing its large, cream-colored body and thick fur, with a size scale indicating 30 centimeters or 12 inches for reference.

polar bear

polar bear (Ursus maritimus)

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.

World map showing the geographic ranges of the eight bear species, each marked in a different color. The American black bear is found across much of North America, the polar bear in Arctic regions, the brown bear across northern North America, Europe, and Asia, and the spectacled bear in a small area of northwestern South America. In Asia, the Asiatic black bear, sloth bear, sun bear, and giant panda have distinct, mostly non-overlapping ranges in the eastern and southern parts of the continent.

Geographic ranges of living species of bears

Geographic ranges of the eight living species of bears.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

polar bears on an ice floe

polar bears on an ice floe

Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) on an ice floe.

© Andrew Watson/Fotolia

An adult polar bear walking across snow with two small cubs following closely behind.

adult polar bear with cubs

Adult polar bear with cubs (Ursus maritimus).

© Comstock Images—Stockbyte/Getty Images

Map of the Arctic region showing polar bear subpopulation areas, each outlined and color-coded to indicate trends over the past 15 years: green for increasing populations, yellow for stable, red for declining, and white for insufficient data. The map covers areas around the Arctic Ocean, including northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway, and Russia, and labels each subpopulation region with a number corresponding to a legend.

polar bear populations in the Arctic

Map of polar bear populations in the vicinity of the Arctic Ocean in 2013. Numerical...

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc./Kenny Chmielewski

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

Polar bear (Ursus maritimus).

Francois Gohier/Ardea London

Spitsbergen, Norway: polar bear

Spitsbergen, Norway: polar bear

Polar bear leaping between ice floes in the Arctic waters off Spitsbergen, Norway.

U.S. National Park Service

Hudson Bay

Hudson Bay

Polar bear walking on sea ice at Hudson Bay, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada.

Mila Zinkova

polar bear and cubs

polar bear and cubs

Mother polar bear nursing her cubs (Ursus maritimus).

© Steve Bloom Images/Alamy

Podcasts

“The Incredible Shrinking World of the Polar Bear”

John Rafferty of Encyclopædia Britannica discusses the polar bear, a mammal that...

VIEW MORE in these related Britannica articles: