all about polar bears 1 by david lee. what polar bears look...

All About Polar Bears 1

by David Lee

What Polar Bears Look Like……………………….………pg. 3

How Polar Bears Live in the Cold……….………………pg. 7

Are Polar Bears in Trouble?……………..………………pg. 11

Words to Know………………………………………………..pg. 15

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What Polar Bears Look Like

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Polar bears are very big. They are the largest carnivores (kar-nuh-vores) that live on land.

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Polar bears have thick white fur all over their bodies. Their fur makes them hard to see in the snow.

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White fur helps polar bears sneak up on animals they are hunting.

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Polar bears are the only bears with white fur. Here are some other ways they are different from other bears, like this black bear.

longer nose smaller ears

longer neck

How Polar Bears Live in the Cold

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Polar bears have fat called blubber under their skin. The blubber helps them stay warm.

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Baby polar bears need to be warm, so the mother bear digs a den in the snow. The bear cubs are born there.

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Most mother bears have two cubs at a time.

Polar bears’ big, wide paws help them walk on the snow. Other parts of their paws keep them from slipping on ice.

claws

fur on bottoms of feet

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bumpy foot pads

Are Polar Bears in Trouble?

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Right now, there are plenty of polar bears. But what about in the future?

13Polar bears live on ice near the North Pole. As the Earth gets warmer, the ice starts to melt. The average amount of ice is smaller.

North Pole

Ice in 2012

Average ice 1980 – 2012

Scientists are studying polar bears to see how we can help them. Nobody wants the polar bears to disappear!

This scientist is putting a tag on the bear so he can track where it goes.

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Words to Knowcarnivore: an animal that eats other animals

blubber: the fat under the skin of polar bears, whales, seals, and other sea animals

average: the middle number between the most and the least

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End