Polar & Grizzly Bears
By: Lexie
Polar Bears
Diet:
- Mainly Seals and Bearded seals, but they also eat Walrus', Birds, Beluga whales, Bowhead whale carcasses, Vegetation, and Kelp.
Breeding Habits:
- The mating season starts from March and lasts until May. The females will locate where they want their den to be in October. They will either choose to have it on thick stable pack ice or on land. The cubs are born during November through January during hibernation. They will emerge from their den around March through April and the cubs will stay with their mother at least 2 and a 1/2 years. A female polar bear can only produce 5 litters in their lifetime and each litter has either 1 or 2 possibly 3 cubs.
Hibernation:
- Non-breeding female and male polar bears don't hibernate in the winter, but for the bears that are, they do hibernate in the winter they come out of their dens around spring time.
Human Impact and Global Warming:
- Polar bears need ice and snow, but because the Artic is melting, polar bears are being forced down Southward and go on dry land. The climate changes are making the polar bear population decrease. Humans have also interfered with polar bears to make their population lower as well.
Grizzly Bears
Diet:
- Grizzly bears are Omnivores and they eat Berries, Fungi, Grasses, Fish, Carrion, Roots, Small mammals, Insects, Sedges, and sometimes even Moose, Elk, Goats, or Deer.
Breeding Habits:
- Mating season is from June through July. Males try to attract females by making low snorts and biting their back and neck. It takes 150-180 days for the gestation and the birth happens during the winter while in hibernation. Even though the mating occurs during June and July, the fertilized eggs are not implanted into the womb until it is fall. Usually the litter will contain 2 cubs, but sometimes there is even a 3rd. Until the spring time, the mother will feed the cubs with milk and when the spring does come (May or April) the mother will take the cubs out of the den and teach them how to hunt and forage. The cubs will stay with their mother for at least 2 and a 1/2 years.
Hibernation:
- The Grizzly bear will dig a den under rocks, in a hollow tree, in a cave, or crevice usually facing the North slope to ensure good snow cover. It will go to its den through October and December then it will stay there for the winter and hibernate until early spring (5-8 months).
Human Impact and Global Warming:
- Humans have forced populations of Grizzly bears to move up Northern to mountains and remote forests because of road construction and mining in Southern Canada. Human expansion is causing the secure Grizzly habitat to diminish and find new land. It is also getting to hot so Grizzlies are moving North to get away from the heat. The climate is also a problem for the Grizzly bear because the bear cannot last in severe cold climates but it also cannot last in severely hot climates either.
Grolar Bear/Pizzlie Bear/Nanulak
This hybrid bear is a mixture/combination of a Polar bear and a Grizzly bear. This happened because Polar bears are being pushed down South and Grizzly bears are being pushed up North and the two species have crossed paths while moving. The coat of this hybrid bear is a caramel color. The bear moves like a Polar bear when it catches seals, but they have shorter necks like Grizzly Bears so it is harder for them to swim because they aren't as proficient swimmers like Polar Bears. The claws are long and not suited for walking on ice. This species might become extinct because of how many problems it has because it is a hybrid bear. The offspring is not as well adapted to their environments. Some features they gave help them more on land then on ice or the other way around where it helps them more on ice then on land. This hybrid bear isn't considered a Polar bear so these bears are not protected and can be a trophy for hunters that find them. Because of climate changes and global warming, more of this hybrid bear will probably be showing up more, but I don't know how they would survive with all of the challenges they have to face.