Polar Bear Diet

The ‘polar bear’, also known as ‘nanook’ or great white bear, is the master predator of the arctic, the nonpareil master of existence of this icebound solitude. This snowy and furry member of the bear family, famous as the largest living carnivore on land, is perhaps the most befitting example of life in the craggy cold Arctic. Dwelling in one of the coldest corners of the planet, these powerful predators largely depend on other arctic dwellers for food. They love to prey on seals and often quarry ice cracks, holes and edges in search of seals, fish and carrion. Popularly known as the marine mammal, polar bears hunt both on land and in the sea to satiate their hunger. A polar bear’s stomach supports 20% of its total body weight and it can assimilate 84% of the protein and 97% of the fat that it consumes. To know more about polar bear dietary habits, explore the article.

Polar Bear Dietary Habits

Polar bears are not dainty eaters, considering their massive size and the glacial ambiance of the North Pole, these land carnivores need around four pounds of food daily to beat the chill and survive the freezing cold. The food habits of a polar bear largely vary with seasons and this apical predator loves to eat more during the ice-free seasons.
Polar bears do not have lavish dietary habits, but can be extremely fussy eaters. They are lipophillic and love to gorge on fat, which makes seal their all time favorite prey. The seal not only sums up as a rich source of energy food for the polar bears, but the rich content of fat in seals help them to stay warm throughout the year. Polar bears are especially fond of ringed and bearded seals. They love to devour on seal skin, fat, blubber and internal organs but barely like to hog on the flesh.
Polar bears are scavengers at heart and love to pig out on dead carcasses of walruses, beluga whales, grey whales, narwhals, and bowhead whales. While seals top the list of their all time favorite food, polar bears does not mind occasionally feeding on harp, hooded, and ribbon seals.
Polar bears, when the food is scarce happily hog on rodents, muskox reindeers, small animals, seabirds, eggs, shellfish, kelp, berries and human garbage to keep themselves full.

Some Interesting Polar Bear Facts

The polar bear is the most carnivorous member of the bear family.
Polar bears never eat their entire kill and only devour a part of it.
A healthy polar bear needs two kilos of fat per day to survive the extreme cold of the North Pole.
Polar bears are very fussy about cleanliness and usually take a swim or roll in the snow every time after eating.

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