See Polar Bear in the Wild

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The polar bear is the world's largest land-based predator. Seeing a Polar Bear in the wild offers a once-in-a-lifetime thrill most people will never experience due to their remote habitat. In order to see one in the wild you will need to travel to the Arctic between June and November. Polar bear sightings happen most often in countries such as Canada, Russia, Norway, Greenland and Alaska. Best time to see polar bears is June to November. During the winter months they are hunting seals on ice floes and are not very inaccessible. The best time to see polar bears in the wild tends to be just before winter "freeze up" when bears congregate in places like Churchill, Manitoba to wait for the ice. In Greenland the polar bear lives and breeds in the northernmost parts of West Greenland and in Northeast Greenland, but is also occasionally seen elsewhere in Greenland, as it moves with the drifting ice. However, it is extremely rare for either local inhabitants or tourists to see a living polar bear. The chances of seeing a polar bear are greatest when sailing by ship along the coast. Polar bears are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the frozen Arctic sea ice. Polar bears have a thick layer of body fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them from the cold air and water in their habitat. Polar bears spend over 50 percent of their time hunting for food, but less than two percent of their hunts are successful. Their diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat to survive. Sufficient caloric intake cannot be satisfied from consuming land mammals. Cubs are born between November and January and weigh 16 to 24 ounces when they’re born. The polar bear was listed as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) in May of 2008. The government’s decision indicates that climate change impacts are already threatening the survival of animals and habitats, and illustrates the urgency of preparing for and adapting to a rapidly changing climate.

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