Polar Bear Eating Habits

Hunting

• Ringed seals are their favorite food
• Sometimes they also hunt the bearded seals, walrus and beluga whales
• Once a seal is captured, a polar bear bites it several times on the head and neck before dragging it several meters from the water to feed
• The skin and fat are eaten first, followed by the meat. 

Additional Information

• A polar bear's stomach can hold an estimated 15% to 20% of its body weight. A polar bear generally eats this much only when its energy demands are high. A bear can assimilate 84% of the protein and 97% of the fat it eats.
• Polar bears need an average of 2 kg (4.4 lb.) of fat per day to obtain enough energy to survive. A ringed seal weighing 55 kg (121 lb.) could provide up to eight days of energy for a polar bear.
• Hibernating polar bears do not eat.

Hibernation

switch to walking hibernation

• Polar bears do not hibernate in the true sense of the word. 
• True hibernators experience a marked drop in heart rate and a body temperature that plunges to nearly 0° C (32° F).
• Polar bears instead enter a state of 'walking hibernation' where their metabolism slows
• Only pregnant female polar bears hibernate
• She won't leave the den until her babies are ready to follow her while she hunts