The powerful polar bear weighs in at 600 kg, which makes it about ten times heavier than a grown-up person, and the biggest of all meat-eating land mammals. Adult bears snack on fish and seals, but they have even been spotted guzzling down fat beluga whales that weigh as much as themselves!
Amazing! Polar bears cover their nose with their paw when they hunt. Although their fur is white, their noses are black and easy to spot in the snow. By covering its nose, the polar bear makes sure that its whole body is camouflaged against the snowy Arctic landscape.
Is it true? Polar bears poisoned Arctic explorers.
Yes. Polar bears’ livers contain a lot of Vitamin A. In small doses, this is fine for humans, but when hungry explorers ate the livers, they were poisoned.
Can bears walk on water?
They can when it’s frozen! Polar bears roam across northern Europe, northern Asia and North America. If the Arctic Ocean isn’t frozen they swim, protected by thick fur and fat!
Which cubs drink the creamiest milk?
Newborn polar bear cubs are tiny. They need to fatten up quickly to survive the cold. Luckily, their mother’s milk is thick and creamy and about half of it is pure fat.
The grey wolf is biggest wild dog and the most powerful. Males can be as long as two metres and weigh up to 80 kg, as much as four six-year-old children! Some grey wolves have brown, red or black coats.
Amazing! Except for the African wild dog, all pet dogs are descended from a wolf-like ancestor, which appeared about one million years ago.
Do wolves howl at the Moon?
Wolves howl whether the Moon’s out or not. They use their powerful voices to tell other packs of wolves to stay away, and to talk to members of their own pack, especially when they have spread out to hunt.
Is it true? You should never try to out-stare a wolf.
No. You should if you’re a musk ox. Wolves usually hunt by picking off young or sick members of a group of grazing animals. Musk oxen try to stop this happening by huddling in a tight circle. Faced with a wall of horns, the Arctic wolves can’t pick off any individual oxen.
Which wolf walks on stilts?
The maned wolf is the tallest wild dog. Its legs are longer than the length of its body! The maned wolf lives in the grasslands of South America. Its stilts give it a good view over the tall Pampas grasses.
The brown bear is a top angler. It knows just the time of year that delicious salmon head upriver to lay their eggs. The bear catches the fish with a quick swipe of the paw, or it waits until the salmon leap up mini waterfalls, and become tired.
