Food & Hunting
The polar bear is the most carnivorous member of the bear family, and throughout most of its range, its diet primarily consists of ringed (Pusa hispida) and bearded seals (Erignathus barbatus). They eat seals, walrus, fish, caribou, and beached whales.The Arctic is home to millions of seals, which become prey when they surface in holes in the ice in order to breathe, or when they haul out on the ice to rest. Polar bears hunt primarily at the interface between ice, water, and air; they only rarely catch seals on land or in open water.
The polar bear is an opportunistic hunter, always alert to other food sources—including vegetation, geese, and even bird eggs if available. These terrestrial foods do not provide enough calories to sustain them, however. But other arctic marine mammals, including whales, walruses, and narwhals, do provide adequate nutrition for hungry polar bears. Beluga whales or narwhals that become trapped in a savsatt—a small opening in pack ice—become easy prey for the bears. |
Dining Etiquette
Russian scientist Nikita Ovsyanikov once observed about 100 polar bears around a gray whale carcass. He's also seen fourteen polar bears eating shoulder-to-shoulder at a single walrus carcass.
Though one bear may own a large carcass, he won't object to sharing if his guests beg properly. Begging involves a submissive, low-to-the-ground approach, followed by a slow circle around the carcass, and touching the nose of the bear in charge.
Russian scientist Nikita Ovsyanikov once observed about 100 polar bears around a gray whale carcass. He's also seen fourteen polar bears eating shoulder-to-shoulder at a single walrus carcass.
Though one bear may own a large carcass, he won't object to sharing if his guests beg properly. Begging involves a submissive, low-to-the-ground approach, followed by a slow circle around the carcass, and touching the nose of the bear in charge.