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The polar bear was given its common name by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). It was known as the "white bear" in Europe between the 13th and 18th centuries, as well as "ice bear", "sea bear" and "Greenland bear". The Norse referred to it as isbjørn ' ice bear ' and hvitebjørn ' white bear '. The bear is called nanook by the ...
The species was formerly placed in the genus Plautus, [11] but in 1973 this name was suppressed by the commission of the International Code of Zoological Nomenclature [13] [14] [15] and now the little auk is the only species placed in the genus Alle that was introduced in 1806 by the German naturalist Heinrich Friedrich Link.
The English word "bear" comes from Old English bera and belongs to a family of names for the bear in Germanic languages, such as Swedish björn, also used as a first name. This form is conventionally said to be related to a Proto-Indo-European word for "brown", so that "bear" would mean "the brown one".
Bear habitats are generally forests, though some species can be found in grassland and savana regions, and the polar bear lives in arctic and aquatic habitats. Most bears are 1.2–2 m (4–7 ft) long, plus a 3–20 cm (1–8 in) tail, though the polar bear is 2.2–2.44 m (7–8 ft) long, and some subspecies of brown bear can be up to 2.8 m (9 ...
The brown bear is the top predator in Alaska. The density of brown bear populations in Alaska varies according to the availability of food, and in some places is as high as one bear per square mile. [2] Alaska's McNeil River Falls has one of the largest brown bear population densities in the state. [2]
English. Read; Edit; View history; Tools. Tools. ... Polar bears (2 C, 11 P) Pages in category "Arctic land animals"
Pinnipeds are also preyed on by terrestrial and pagophilic predators. The polar bear is a major predator of Arctic seals and walruses, particularly pups. Bears may seek out seals, or simply wait for them to come by. Other terrestrial predators include cougars, brown hyenas and various species of canids, which mostly target the young. [103]
Pipaluk, a male polar bear, was the first male polar bear born in captivity in Britain, and, like Brumas, became a major celebrity at Regent's Park Zoo in London during early 1968. His name came from an Inuit term meaning "little one". Pipaluk was moved from London to Poland in 1985 when the Mappin Terraces, which housed the bears, was closed.