MARINE MAMMAL -VIMALATHITHYAN RAJA

The polar bear is a marine mammal only living  with powerful, large limbs and feet that allow them to cover miles on foot and run on land because it spends many months of the year at sea is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. A boar adult male  weighs around 350–700 kg. A sow adult female is about half that size.ALSO  it is the sister species of the brown bear .The polar bear has also been known as the white bear.Mature bears tend to eat only the calorie-rich skin and blubber of the seal, which are highly digestible whereas younger bears consume the protein-rich red meat.Courtship and mating take place on the sea ice in April and May.A male may follow the tracks of a breeding female for 100 km. pregnant female digs a maternity den consisting of a narrow entrance tunnel leading to one to three chambers.Between November and February, cubs are born blind, covered with a light down fur, and weighing less than 0.9 kg.

Female polar bears are noted for both their affection towards their offspring.Females begin to breed at the age of four years in most areas.Polar bears rarely live beyond 25 yearsThe polar bear may swim underwater for up to three minutes to approach seals on shore or on ice floes