polar bear where do they live

Polar bears live in the far north of the world, mainly on Arctic sea ice and nearby coasts in the polar region. They are most closely associated with the frozen ocean, not regular land habitats.

Main places polar bears live

• Around the Arctic Ocean , especially where there is sea ice for hunting seals.

• In five main countries (often called “range states”):
  • United States (Alaska)

* Canada

* Russia

* Greenland (part of the Kingdom of Denmark)

* Norway (especially the Svalbard islands)

These areas circle the top of the globe, near the North Pole, but polar bears do not live in Antarctica or with penguins.

What their habitat looks like

• Their core habitat is Arctic sea ice over continental shelves, with cracks and openings in the ice where seals come up to breathe; bears use the ice as a platform to hunt.

• They also use coastal land and islands, especially:
  • For denning (where pregnant females dig snow or earth dens to give birth).

* In summer in some southern areas (like Hudson Bay), when much of the sea ice melts and they are forced onto shore.

A simple way to picture it: most of a polar bear’s life is spent on or near floating sea ice, moving with the seasons as the ice grows in winter and shrinks in summer.

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.