ALL ABOUT POLAR BEARS

There are 20,000 polar bears left in the wild, all of them in the area around the Arctic Circle.

Polar bears are the largest species of bear. They can weigh up to 680 kg. and can stand 3 m. tall. Indeed, polar bears are the largest land carnivores in the world.

Despite their size, polar bears have comparatively small heads compared to other bears. Their ears are also much smaller than those of their black and brown cousins. The Inuit believe that Nanuk can hear miraculously well, so they only talk about him with great respect. In fact, the polar bear has poor hearing, which it compensates for the powerful senses of smell and vision.

With its excellent sense of smell a polar bear can locate a seal which is 2 km. away.

The polar bear has small eyes with special lenses, which filter the bright sunlight reflected off the snow.

Polar bears are highly mobile animals. During its lifetime a polar bear can cover an area of 250,000 km. These bears are also excellent swimmers. For instance, they can swim a distance of 100 km. in about 10 hours. One polar bear was recorded as swimming 320 km. across open sea. On land a plar bear can run at 30 km./hour.

The skin of a polar bear is black like the skin of its closest relative, the grizzly. Over this the polar bear has two coats of fur. The inner coat is white and soft. The hair of the outer coat is long and hollow. So far humans have been unable to create a synthetic coat that insulates as well as the polar bear's.

The polar bear's staple diet is seal meal (and seal fat). However, if a polar bear can't find seals it will eat geese, beached whales, small rodents and even seaweed. Norwegian researchers have recently discovered that polar bears supplement their diets by occasionally killing reindeer in winter and spring. In summer polar bears will also eat berries and grass. 

Recent research by Norwegian scientists from the Polar Institute in Svalbard has found that female polar bears are growing male genitalia. The evidence seems to suggest that the mutation is caused by airborne pollutants from Europe, specifically polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). These substances damage the bears' immune system and alter their hormone levels.

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Polar bears are excellent hunters who kill their prey by hitting them with their front paws which function as clubs. When they are stalking seals polar bears have been known to cover their (black) noses with their (white) paws so that the are less visible.

to hunt: catch and kill animals (a cazar)
mourning: lamentation, ceremonial sadness (duelo, luto)
amongst: here "for" (para, entre)
barren: infertile, sterile (estéril)
in the wild: not in captivity (en libertad)
up to: a maximum of (hasta)
despite their size: although they are very big (a pesar de su tamaño)
in fact: however (sin embargo, en realidad)
poor hearing: weak capacity to hear (audición baja)
to locate: find (ubicar, localizar)
seal: a marine mammal that comes on shore to breed (lobo marino)
for instance: for example (por ejemplo)
relative: relation, related species (pariente, congener)
coats of fur: coverings of hair (capas de pelo)
inner: inside (interior)
hollow: not solid in the centre (hueco)
so far: until now (hasta la fecha)
insulates: protects something from the cold (aisle del frío)

geese: gansos (singular: goose)
beached whales: whales unable to return to water (ballenas varadas) 
rodents:small gnawing animals having a single pair of constantly growing incisor teeth (roedores)
seaweed: algae (algas)
reindeer: Arctic deer (alces, ciervos del Artico)
berries: a sort of wild fruit (frutos de bosque)
genitalia: masculine sexual organs, genitals (genitales)
airborne pollutants: contaminating substances carried by the wind (contaminantes arrastrados por el viento)
prey (uncountable noun): victims, animals that the polar bear hunts or catches for food (presas)
paws: foot of the bear (garras)
clubs: heavy stick used in conflict (cachiporras)
stalking: moving secretly closer to a victim (acechando)