Polar Bear

Hello! My name is Ursus maritimus, but you probably know me as a Polar Bear. I want to tell you my story, a tale of ice and snow. I was born around the year 2010, blind and so tiny I could fit in your hands. My mother had dug a cozy den deep in the snow, and for the first few months of my life, that den was my entire world. It was dark and quiet, except for the sounds of my brother and me nursing on our mother's rich milk. We grew quickly, putting on layers of fat that would keep us warm. Outside our den, the fierce Arctic winds howled across the frozen landscape, but we were completely safe and warm, preparing for our first adventure into the big, bright world of ice that was waiting just outside.

Polar bear cubs are born between late November and early January and emerge from their dens in spring. I remember blinking as my eyes adjusted to the brilliant white world that stretched out in every direction. The sea ice seemed to go on forever. My mother was the best teacher a cub could ask for. She taught us how to walk carefully on the slippery ice, using our rough paw pads for grip so we wouldn't fall. She showed us how to hunt for ringed seals, which are our favorite food. The most important lesson she taught me was patience. I learned how to find a seal's breathing hole in the ice and wait silently, sometimes for hours, for a seal to appear. My powerful nose was my greatest tool for hunting. I discovered I could smell a seal from almost 20 miles away, which helped me find food across the vast, empty ice.

By the time I was two years old, I had learned enough to survive on my own. It was time to leave my mother and begin my life as a solitary hunter. Many people think of me as a land animal, but I am truly a marine mammal, just like a whale or a dolphin. I spend most of my life on the frozen sea, which is why my scientific name, Ursus maritimus, is so fitting—it means 'sea bear.' I am a powerful swimmer and use my large front paws like paddles to move through the icy Arctic water. My life is a constant journey, as I travel vast distances across the sea ice, following the changing seasons and the movements of the seals. The ice is my home, my hunting ground, and my whole world.

Lately, my world has been changing in ways that worry me. The sea ice that I depend on for everything is melting earlier in the spring and taking longer to freeze in the fall. This means the hunting season is shorter, and it is much harder for me to find enough food. In the year 2008, humans recognized the challenges my species was facing and listed us as a threatened species in the United States. This special status means that people know we need help to survive. It is a frightening time because my home is shrinking, but it also gives me hope. It means that people are finally paying attention to the Arctic and are looking for ways to protect it for all the creatures who live here.

My life is a long journey on the ice, and in the wild, I will likely live to be about 15 to 18 years old. As the top predator in my habitat, I have a very important job. By hunting seals, I help keep their population healthy and in balance, which affects everything else in the Arctic food web. My story is a reminder of how everything in the Arctic is connected, from the smallest fish in the sea to the great sheets of ice themselves. By protecting my icy home, people are also helping to keep the entire Arctic world healthy and strong for generations to come.