🐻❄️ Polar bear
Also known as: Ursus maritimus, nanuq
An Arctic predator whose cubs are born in a snow den.
Polar bear is the female of the polar bear, a large predator of the Arctic. A female polar bear gives birth in winter in a snow den that she digs in autumn. In the den she neither eats nor drinks for several months, living off her fat reserves and nursing her cubs on milk the whole time.
Cubs are born tiny — about 0.6 kg — but by three months, when the family leaves the den, they already weigh 10–12 kg. This growth is fuelled by very rich milk: when the cubs are born it contains about 31% fat, one of the fattiest milks among land mammals. By one year the fat content drops to about 18%.
The mother nurses her cubs for up to two years, sometimes weaning them earlier depending on her body condition. The longer a female has to fast because sea ice forms late, the poorer her milk — so the loss of sea ice in the Arctic also threatens the survival of the cubs.
How it connects to milk
🐻❄️ Polar bear → belongs to → 🔬 Mammal → produces → 🥛 Milk
Links
- What milk it gives
- 🥛 Polar bear milk
- Feeds with milk
- 🍼 Polar bear cub
- Belongs to
- 🔬 Mammal
- Part of
- 🐾 Other mammals
Frequently asked questions
How much fat is in polar bear milk?
About 31% in mothers with newborn cubs; about 18% by the time the cubs are a year old.
How long do polar bears nurse their cubs?
Usually up to two years; sometimes the cubs are weaned after the first year.
How much does a newborn polar bear cub weigh?
About 0.6 kg, and 10–12 kg by the time it leaves the den.
Similar
🐂 Musk ox · 🐕 Dog · 🦔 Hedgehog · 🐖 Pig · 🐘 Elephant cow · 🦘 Kangaroo