Features: The Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) symbolizes the arctic wilderness. It spends the winter on sea ice of the arctic and subarctic ice pack. Adult males can weigh 700 kilograms. Generally solitary, Polar Bears are predators of seals mainly. The bears have an excellent sense of smell and eyesight, and fur-covered foot pads give them good grip on the ice. In late summer, when the ice has broken up the bears are forced onto the coastal tundra. During this period they generally do not feed but rely on stored body fat. They may, however, scavenge dead animals such as beached whales and also feed on berries and grasses.

Status: Threatened Provincially, Special Concern Nationally

Range: The Polar Bear has a circumpolar distribution and lives on all the arctic seas and coasts. In Canada, Polar Bears are found from the Yukon to Labrador, north to Ellesmere Island, and south to James Bay. There are about 14 populations, totalling 15,000 bears, in Canada. Range Maps

Threats: There are many threats to Polar Bear populations, including hunting and pollution. Direct sources of pollution such as oil spills are an increasing hazard. Bears also accumulate a range of contaminants from eating the fatty tissues of seals. Polar Bears have a naturally low reproductive rate which slows population recovery. Females do not breed until they are 5 years old, and then produce one or two cubs about every three years. Polar bears are hunted, but it is closely regulated and there are strictly enforced quotas in most subpopulations. The reduction of sea ice, a critical habitat for bears, through global warming could be a threat in the future.

Protection: Polar bears can be hunted in Ontario, but only by First Nations people and there are strictly enforced quotas set each year. The hunting season is closed in summer and bears in dens are protected. Polar Bear Provincial Park, on the west side of James Bay, protects about 70% of the maternity denning area. Protection of the Polar Bear is complicated because the species comes under the jurisdiction of at least seven provincial and federal government agencies. Polar Bears are on Appendix II of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), and they are classified as "Lower Risk: Conservation Dependent" in the IUCN Red Book.

Text Sources: Stirling 1991; Stirling and Taylor 1999

Last Modified Date: September 2009