Fun facts about polar bears

February 27 is celebrated as International Polar Bear Day. The hyper carnivorous bear living in the Arctic Circle has few interesting facts. Here are a few that might leave you awestruck:

They are considered to be the largest land carnivore in the world.

The skin colour of the polar bear is jet black. The fur is translucent and hence it appears to be white in colour when visible in daylight.

They fall under the category of Marine Mammals. They maneuverer and live on glaciers and icy water frequently.

Two in five polar bear litters are found to be twins in most cases.

A male Polar Bear weighs up to 800 kilograms and measures up to 3 meters long.

They have a very strong sense of smell, so much so that they can identify their prey from a kilometre away through the smell.

They adapt to the Arctic temperatures which can drop below -50°C. As a result, they can also overheat and then this becomes more of a risk when running. Overheating can also occur during the summer months when the temperatures rise above up to 20°C.

Polar bears can run as fast as 40km per hour (25 mph) on land and swim as fast as 10km per hour on water.

The life span of a polar bear ranges from 15 – 30 years.

The DNA of a polar bear can be sought through its paw prints left in the snow.