Polar Bear Facts | Churchill Wildlife Guide
WHAT’S IN A NAME?
Polar bears have no name for themselves, but across the Arctic, humans have given them many. Every culture that has lived alongside these powerful predators has sought to define them, reflecting deep respect, mystery, and even kinship. In Greenlandic Inuit culture, for example, they are called tornassuk, meaning “master of helping spirits,” a name that connects them to shamanistic traditions.
Biologists, however, use the Latin name Ursus maritimus, meaning "marine bear." This scientific classification is particularly fitting—polar bears are not just wanderers of the tundra, but creatures of the ice-covered sea, thriving at the frozen boundary between land and water.
THE MARINE BEAR: LIFE AT SEA
Unlike brown or black bears that may roam coastlines, polar bears are true sea bears, spending most of their lives hunting, traveling and even mating on the Arctic ice. So dependent are they on the frozen ocean that the U.S. government officially classifies them as marine mammals, granting them the same protections as whales, dolphins and seals.
The Arctic Ocean, despite its frigid reputation, is teeming with life. Beneath the ice, an explosion of microscopic life forms the base of the Arctic food chain. Sunlight filters through cracks and thin ice, fueling the growth of phytoplankton. Tiny crustaceans feast on these blooms, followed by small fish, which are then hunted by seals—the polar bear’s primary prey. Without sea ice, this entire ecosystem collapses, leaving the world’s largest land predator with nowhere to hunt.
Polar bears have evolved to take advantage of this shifting, icy world in extraordinary ways. Their massive paws act as natural snowshoes and paddles, propelling them through the water with remarkable agility. Their fur, which appears pure white, is actually hollow and translucent, trapping heat close to their skin while blending seamlessly with the snowy backdrop. And their noses—some of the most powerful in the animal kingdom—can detect a seal nearly a mile away, even beneath thick layers of snow and ice.
THE ICE BEAR: MASTER OF THE FROZEN WORLD
While polar bears are strong swimmers, they cannot outpace a seal in open water. Instead, they rely on the ice as a hunting platform, a place where they can use their strength, patience, and stealth to ambush their prey. The Norwegian name for polar bears, isbjørn, translates to “ice bear”, reflecting this deep connection.
Polar bears are perfectly engineered for life in the cold:
Insulating Fur:
Their thick two-layered coat consists of a dense underfur for warmth and hollow guard hairs that repel water and blend with the snowy landscape.
Massive Paws:
Measuring up to 12 inches wide (the size of a dinner plate!), their feet act like built-in snowshoes, distributing their weight across the ice.
Fat Reserves:
A 4-inch-thick layer of fat provides insulation against Arctic temperatures that regularly drop to -40°F.
Claws & Grip:
Their short, powerful claws are built for traction, allowing them to grip slick ice and pull seals from breathing holes.
So well-adapted are polar bears that they can overheat before they feel cold. Even in brutal Arctic winds, they sometimes dig shallow beds in the snow, letting the icy ground cool them as they sleep.
The Arctic Ice: A Dynamic Hunting Ground
The Hudson Bay, home to Churchill’s polar bears, is unique because it freezes and melts seasonally, creating an ever-changing hunting landscape. Unlike the high Arctic, where thick multi-year ice persists, Hudson Bay’s"young ice" supports a higher concentration of seals, making it one of the best places in the world for polar bears to thrive, and thus making Churchill the “Polar Bear Capital of the World.” More ice means more seals. More seals mean more polar bears.
As winter tightens its grip, pressure from ocean currents and wind shifts the ice, creating cracks and open leads of water where seals must surface to breathe. It’s here, at the edges of these openings, that polar bears excel at hunting. They wait, still as statues, for the telltale ripple of water beneath the ice. When the moment comes, they strike with breathtaking speed—a single swipe of their massive paw is enough to snatch a seal from the water.
These specialized hunting tactics, however, depend entirely on the presence of ice. As the Arctic warms, the ice season grows shorter, forcing polar bears to fast on land for longer periods. In Churchill, where the ice once formed reliably by mid-November, recent years have seen freeze-up delayed by weeks—a dangerous shift for a predator that relies on winter’s return.
THE WANDERING BEAR: A LIFE IN MOTION
Churchill’s Inuit residents call the polar bear nanuq—“the wanderer.” This name is fitting, as an individual bear may roam across a territory twice the size of California in search of food.
Polar bears are nomads of the frozen sea, their movements dictated by the shifting ice. Unlike other large carnivores, they do not defend territories. Instead, their home ranges overlap, and they follow the ice wherever it leads them. Some bears in the high Arctic have been tracked traveling distances equal to the size of Alaska, while others, particularly females with cubs, tend to stay closer to reliable hunting areas.
THE WHITE BEAR: LIFE BETWEEN WORLDS
The Churchill region contains several areas where bears reside during the summertime in the highest densities. In large part, Wapusk National Park was created to protect these denning areas. The word wapusk is the Cree name for the polar bear, which translates to “white bear.” What a sight it is to encounter these enormous white bears on land and away from their preferred icy habitat. It’s almost comical to see them lumbering in the heat and dealing with mosquitoes, sprawled out among the purple wildflowers. Their white coats make it clear that they are born of the ice and snow and not the terrestrial environment like their bear cousins. On land, they enter a state of energy conservation, fasting for months until the ice returns. Unlike hibernating bears, they remain alert, relying on stored fat to sustain them.
With little to eat, they conserve energy, digging cool pits in the permafrost or wading into shallow coastal pools. Some even nibble on seaweed, though it provides little sustenance. The bears wait patiently, scanning the horizon for the first signs of ice.
As autumn arrives, the bears gather along the shores of Hudson Bay, waiting for freeze-up. When the first slabs of ice appear, they step cautiously onto their frozen domain, heading back to their true home—the sea.
THE OLD MAN IN THE FUR COAT: POLAR BEARS & CLIMATE CHANGE
The Sami of Northern Europe call the polar bear “the old man in the fur coat,” a name that reflects their near-human intelligence and adaptability. In the context of this mythology, it is easy to envision a polar bear returning from a day of hunting out on the ice, taking off its fur coat and coming into its warm abode for the evening. In the natural world, however, this quick adaptation to a warmer environment isn’t possible. Here, we have a simple metaphor for the biggest challenge faced by polar bears: a changing climate.
The Arctic is warming at twice the global average, and polar bears are among the first to feel the effects. Since 1981, summer Arctic sea ice has declined by 13% per decade. Earlier ice melt means bears must come ashore sooner and wait longer for it to return. For every extra week spent on land, a bear loses an average of 22 pounds—a dangerous trend for a species already living on the edge of survival.
Conservation efforts, such as those led by World Wildlife Fund (WWF), focus on protecting vital polar bear habitat and ensuring that Arctic ecosystems remain resilient. While the challenges ahead are significant, Churchill remains a critical stronghold for polar bears, offering a window into their world—and a call to action to help protect them for generations to come.
Learn how the power of conservation travel can help protect a threatened species like polar bears for generations to come. Watch Polar Bear Country, a soul-stirring journey through the realm of the polar bear following the experiences of Nat Hab guests, Expedition Leaders and a remarkable WWF scientist during a trip to Churchill.
Photo Credit: Henry Holdsworth
