Polar bear
Amazing fact
A polar bear's fur looks white, but its hairs are transparent.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
No sign-up needed. You can save notes on this device.
An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
A polar bear's fur looks white, but its hairs are transparent.
THE REAL WORLD
The real Polar bear
- Scientific name
- Ursus maritimus
- Japanese name
- ホッキョクグマ
- Group
- Land mammals
- Class
- Mammalia
- Order
- Carnivora
- Family
- Ursidae
- Genus
- Ursus
Where the name “Polar bear” comes from
Its scientific name Ursus maritimus means maritime bear.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebIts head is small compared with its body and its front paws are big, giving it a body suited to swimming; it is good at diving, too.
It hunts on the ice too, lying in wait for seals or attacking seals that are raising their young in holes in the ice.
How the Polar bear lives
After eating, they wash by licking and rinsing their fur. They spend much of their time sleeping or lying down. A female close to giving birth digs a den in the snow and gives birth inside it.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web上野動物園Basic data
- Size
- Head and body length: 2–2.6 mShoulder height: up to 160 cm
- Weight
- males 300–800 kg, females 150–300 kg
- Diet
- Ringed seals, bearded seals, and other animals
- Range
- Canada, Denmark, Norway, Russia, and elsewhere
Where the Polar bear has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- ホッキョクグマ
- 简体中文
- 北极熊
- 繁體中文
- 北極熊
- 한국어
- 북극곰
- Español
- Oso polar
- Français
- Ours blanc
- Deutsch
- Eisbär
- Português (Brasil)
- Urso-polar
- Italiano
- Orso polare
- हिन्दी
- ध्रुवीय भालू
- العربية
- دب قطبي
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Beruang kutub
- Tiếng Việt
- Gấu trắng Bắc Cực
- Русский
- Белый медведь
- Türkçe
- Kutup ayısı
- ไทย
- หมีขาว
- বাংলা
- মেরু ভালুক
- اردو
- قطبی ریچھ
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — ホッキョクグマChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Ursus maritimusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the Polar bear, look for this
- Look for the way it alternates its front paws when swimming.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
上野動物園EXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the Polar bear
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Ursidae
MORE TO MEET
