where do polar bears live +70%

Polar bears live in the Arctic, mainly on sea ice over the Arctic Ocean, in five main countries: Canada, the United States (Alaska), Russia, Greenland, and Norway (Svalbard).

Key habitats

• Arctic sea ice is their primary home , where they hunt seals, travel, mate, and rear young.

• They occur across a broad “ring” around the North Pole, including areas like Hudson Bay in Canada, the Beaufort and Chukchi seas near Alaska, the Barents Sea near Svalbard, and coastal Arctic Russia and Greenland.

• They can sometimes be found on land along Arctic coasts when sea ice melts seasonally, using beaches, tundra, and rocky shores as temporary resting and denning areas.

Countries where polar bears live (+ quick checklist)

• Canada (large portion of the global population, including Hudson Bay and other Arctic coasts).

• United States – Alaska (Beaufort and Chukchi sea regions).

• Russia – along its Arctic coastline and islands.

• Greenland (coastal Arctic areas connected to sea ice).

• Norway – especially the Svalbard archipelago.

They do not naturally live in Antarctica or at the South Pole, despite the similar icy conditions.

Trending and climate context

In recent years and up to the mid‑2020s, polar bear habitat has been a trending environmental topic because Arctic sea ice is shrinking due to climate warming. This loss of sea ice shortens their hunting season, forces some bears onto land for longer periods, and can affect their body condition and survival.

Many current forum discussions and news pieces focus on how fast the Arctic is changing, whether polar bears can adapt, and what that means for Arctic ecosystems overall.

Mini example: “A year in a polar bear’s home”

• Late fall: A polar bear near Hudson Bay waits on shore for new sea ice to form, then heads out on the ice to hunt seals.

• Winter–spring: It roams over large distances on drifting sea ice, using pressure ridges and leads (cracks in the ice) as hunting spots.

• Summer: As ice retreats, it may follow the remaining ice north or be forced onto land until the ice returns.

Quick TL;DR

Polar bears live in Arctic regions on and around sea ice in Canada, Alaska (USA), Russia, Greenland, and Norway (Svalbard), not in Antarctica; their survival is tightly linked to the extent and quality of Arctic sea ice.

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