Polar Bears

Polar bears live in the Arctic and hunt seals from atop the sea ice. Polar bears are are now listed as a threatened species under the United States' Endangered Species Act as polar bear populations declined. Stay updated on polar bears with comprehensive articles, interactive features and polar bear pictures at LiveScience.com.

Related Topics: Arctic, Climate Change, Predators

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A polar bear's paws are broad and powerful, capable of delivering killing blows (or chucking ice boulders at walruses ... maybe).

Polar bears bash walrus skulls with boulders and ice blocks, study suggests

By Mindy Weisberger published

Do polar bears throw rocks at walruses' heads to stun and kill them, as centuries of anecdotes suggest? They might, scientists say.

A polar bear named Gerda and a polar bear cub playing in the Novosibirsk Zoo.

Polar bear photos: Stunning shots capture Earth's icons of climate change

By Jeanna Bryner published

On International Polar Bear Day, let's celebrate the largest of the bear species with these magnificent polar bear photos.

Polar bears ransack a garbage dump for food near Churchill, Manitoba. On Feb. 9, a small village in Russia declared a state of emergency after being visited by at least 52 hungry polar bears in the last two months.

52 Polar Bears 'Invade' a Russian Town to Eat Garbage Instead of Starve to Death

By Brandon Specktor published

As climate change destroys their hunting grounds, some bears eat garbage to survive.

Here, an adult female polar bear rests on the Arctic sea ice. Her onboard GPS satellite video-camera collar allowed researchers to follow her for up to 12 days.

Polar Bears Starving As Arctic Ice Vanishes

By Anthony Pagano published

A new study shows that polar bears require more food than previously thought.

Here, a polar bear stands on the island of Spitsbergen, part of the Svalbard archipelago, bordering the Arctic Ocean and the Norwegian and Greenland Seas.

Starving Polar Bear's Last Hours Captured in Heartbreaking Video

By Stephanie Pappas published

A polar bear searches in vain for trash to eat before collapsing.

Polar bears eating whale

Picnic Time! 230 Polar Bears Feast on Whale Carcass

By Laura Geggel published

Hundreds of hungry polar bears were treated to a whale of a buffet last week when the carnivores descended on a whale carcass on the coast of Russia's Wrangel Island.

Sweating the Details: Polar Bear Hits the Treadmill for Science

By Mindy Weisberger published

A polar bear at the San Diego Zoo named Tatqiq recently went the extra mile to help scientific research.

Polar bear mom with baby.

Congress Targets Endangered Species Act

By Bobby Magill published

The Trump administration and Republicans have introduced at least 11 pieces of legislation that could weaken the Endangered Species Act or prevent some threatened wildlife from being protected.

Musk Ox pair fighting, Norway, Dovrefjell National Park.

Scientist Dons Polar Bear Costume to Stalk Musk Oxen in the Arctic

By Joel Berger published

How is rapid warming in the Arctic affecting animals that are adapted to cold? A wildlife biologist is using many techniques to find out, including stalking muskoxen in a polar bear costume.

A female polar bear wearing a body cam play fights with another polar bear in the southern Beaufort Sea.

Polar Bear Body Cam Shows Predator's POV

By Stephanie Pappas published

Eating, swimming and playing — a body cam reveals a polar bear's life.

Taimyr Reindeer

Santa's Reindeer Feel the Heat as Numbers Shrink Worldwide

By Tia Ghose published

Reindeer, mountain lions, deer and polar bears may all be feeling the pinch as the planet warms, new research suggests.

Alaska polar bears

Russian Scientists Trapped By Polar Bears Have Been Rescued

By Discovery News published

Five meteorologists surrounded by polar bears at a research station on a remote island in high-Arctic Russia have been rescued

Polar bears decimating seabird colonies

Hungry Polar Bears Decimating Seabird Colonies

By Kieran Mulvaney published

Some hungry polar bears are turning to seabird colonies for sustenance.

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Starving Polar Bear Photo: Don't Blame (Just) Climate Change

By Elizabeth Newbern published

A dramatic photograph of a starving polar bear went viral online, but scientists say it's a stretch to definitively link polar-bear starvation to climate change.

knut the polar bear poses ona rock

Why Knut the Polar Bear Died So Suddenly

By Tia Ghose published

Knut the polar bear, the global sensation that captured the public imagination, died of an autoimmune disorder that caused his immune system to attack his brain.

The male polar bear.

Polar Bear Awes with Record-Breaking Dive

By Elizabeth Palermo published

Polar bears are known to be excellent swimmers, but new research suggests that they are also superb divers.

Submerged polar bear, polar extinctions

Only Climate Action Can Save Polar Bears

By Margaret Williams published

An occasional dolphin kill won't be enough to sustain polar bears as global climate continues to warm.

An adult male polar bear feeds on the head of a white-beaked dolphin on a fjord on Svalbard,

In Photos: Polar Bears Eat Dolphins Trapped in Ice

By Jeanna Bryner published

For the first time, scientists have reported polar bears preying on white-beaked dolphins in Svalbard. Check out these stunning photos of the bears and their dolphin meals on an icy island.

polar bear

Hunting on Land Can't Help a Hungry Polar Bear

By Becky Oskin published

Even though some polar bears are hunting on land more often in areas hit by shrinking Arctic sea ice, a diet of bird eggs and berries can't sustain these huge animals, a new study finds.

Polar bear couple cuddling on drift ice in Arctic Svalbard

Animal Sex: How Polar Bears Do It

By Joseph Castro published

Polar bear sex involves long-distance tracking, fierce battles and lengthy copulation.