Yapping about my favorite bears 2

Aye, it hasn't been a day but I couldn't wait, never wasting an opportunity to talk about my fluffballs...

today's bear is the polar bear! I know they sound basic asf but I actually think they're the most interesting out of any bear species! (Aside from pandas). Clasified as the only marine mammal between bears and considered the largest land mammal on earth, these guys are pretty rad :]

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Polar bears are the largest bear species out of all recognised 8 species. Located in the arctic where food is scarce and dying to the weather is mercy, they've adapted in a fascinating way and became the apex predator every animal residing there fears.

Unlike the misconception that they're white, their skin is actually black, their fur /looks/ white, but underneath the dense coat is darkly pigmented skin that absorbs solar radiation to store heat and warmth !

You might be thinking now that their fur must be what's white, but in reality, each individual hair is essentially transparent, or rather hollow in the inside where its supposed to contain white pigment.

Reflected light will pass through their translucent fur and create the white color we associate with. in theory, Under the correct conditions and lighting, polar bears can be any color !

This why polar bears in captivity almost always carry a yellowish or dirty to their fur, they're not poorly taken care of, its just how the fur scatters the light reflected on rocks and the enclosed space they're in. some bears even look greenish sometimes because algae and moss can grow inside their fur tubes !

Beneath their fur they actually have a thick layer of blubber and fat, which can be range in thickness depending on their feeding. This lets them swim in water that would be dangerously cold for most mammals.

They also 'technically' have webbed toes, there's skin between their toes that helps them paddle, along with small bumps on the bottom of their paws, scientifically known papillae, that come with a textured surface, polar bears are almost impossible to slip on ice while chasing prey!

As for their heads, they've evolved to be more narrow and smoother with a strong bite force to hold onto their primary prey, seals ! Their snout is relatively long, which is different from brown or American black bears, in comparison:

That's not the only amazing thing about their snout though! They also have the ability to close their nostrils underwater, pretty practical when you're a giant carnivore that hunts seals underwater, eh?

And despite the belief that all bears hibernate, Polar bears are one of the few exceptions, matter of fact bears actually dont hibernate as hibernation is specifically for rodents, instead, bears go through something called a torpor!

Pregnant polar bear females enter a den and undergo a state similar to torpor, but males and non-pregnant females generally remain active throughout winter, though they become slower because they heat up easily

Oh and polar bears are actually considered good stalkers despite their size ! They stalk seals by disguising their approach with their paws. They may lower their bodies and move extremely slowly across the ice, sometimes covering their black nose with a paw while approaching a seal, isn't that neat?

● and yes they can loaf :)