Female polar bear (Ursus maritimus) near Kaktovik, Barter Island, Alaska.

🐻‍❄️

Photo: Alan Wilson · CC BY-SA 3.0

SpeciesCarnivoraUrsidae

Carnivores

🐻‍❄️Polar bear

Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774

The polar bear is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore by body mass, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

Videos

144

Photos

Measurements

vs you

≈ 6× your weight

Also called

Ursus maritimus

Conservation status

VUVulnerable

IUCN Red List assessment, 2015.

Population trendUnknown

Key measurements

Body mass: 372 kg
Body length: 2.25 m
Shoulder height: 1.45 m
Top speed: 39 km/h
Bite force: 2,121 N
Maximum lifespan: 45 years

All measurements ↓

Facts and figures

Everything we know about the Polar bear

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass

372 kgrecord 800 kg · SeaLifeBase

COMBINE

Other figures ↓

Record: largest individual on record

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

By sex

Female300 kgSeaLifeBasev25.04SeaLifeBase populates Weight independently of Length; the two are not guaranteed to describe the same individual. Verify before publishing.

Figures vary

475 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: acceptable

Body length

2.25 m

COMBINE

Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

By sex

Female2 mSeaLifeBasev25.04

Figures vary

2.5 mSeaLifeBasev25.04

Shoulder height

1.45 m1.3–1.6 m · typical range

Details ↓

Sex not specified; value is the midpoint of the published range.

Source: DeMaster & Stirling 1981, Mammalian Species 145, p.1 · see citation

Top speed

39 km/h

Details ↓

Sprint over a short distance, not a sustained pace. Published figures vary: 38.92 against 50.0 km/h.

Source: Bejan & Marden 2006, J Exp Biol 209:238 and Christiansen 2002, Zool J Linn Soc 136:685; compiled in Hirt et al. 2017, Nat Ecol Evol 1:1116, Supplementary Data · see citation

Bite force

2,121 N

Details ↓

MODELLED by 3D finite-element analysis, canine bite, mean of left and right sides. Same paper gives 3840 N at PM4, 4454 N at M1 and 5085 N at M2 -- rear teeth bite far harder than canines. The authors note the model is unvalidated and absolute values need caution. Not comparable like-for-like with the dry-skull figures elsewhere in this file.

Source: Slater, Figueirido, Louis, Yang & Van Valkenburgh 2010, PLoS ONE 5(11):e13870 · see citation

Brain mass

476 g

COMBINE

Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Maximum lifespan

45 years

COMBINE

Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0