Polar Bear

Polar bears are native to the ice sheets of the Arctic region. They are great swimmers but are not fast enough to catch their prey in the water. Instead the wait at seal breathing holes or break the ice to trap their prey. They usually eat the fat and skin of the seals and leave the meat for younger bears or scavengers to finish off.PBS: Lonely Roamers

International Polar Bear Day is February 27, 2009.BestFriends:International Polar Bear Day is February 27! (February 27, 2009)

Polar bears are only found in the northern hemisphere, within arctic regions in the U.S. state of Alaska, and in the countries of Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway. Polar Bears have white fur over their black skin. The fur aids in camouflage to allow for better hunting. Their black skin allows them to efficiently take in the warmth of the sun.National Geographic: Polar Bear BestFriends:International Polar Bear Day is February 27! (February 27, 2009)

Currently, polar bears are a potentially threatened species because their habitat is endangered by pollution, poaching, industrial expansion and climate change.BestFriends:International Polar Bear Day is February 27! (February 27, 2009)

• CNN: Polar bear now listed as 'threatened' species (May 14, 2008)

• USGS: Polar Bear Denning Shifting

• Science Daily: Federal Polar Bear Research Critically Flawed (May 10, 2008)

• CNN.com: Bush Drilling Plan Could Threaten Polar Bears, Panel Chairman Says (January 17, 2008)

• New Scientist Enviroment: Polar Bears Deserting Unstable Ice to Give Birth (2007)

• Spiegel Online: Cuter Than Knut? Beleaguered Zoo to Hand-rear Surviving Polar Bear Cub (January 8, 2008)

• Berlin Zoo: Baby Knut

• National Wildlife: On Thin Ice (2007)

• Science Daily: Polar bears Deserting Unstable Ice To Give Birth

• NOAA: What Has Been Happening to Polar Bears In Recent Decades?

• Polar Bear World: Polar Bear World, Global Warming and the End of an Era

• Yahoo! News: