Research+Mammals+in+Cold+Deserts

=** POLAR BEARS **= =** By Meera **= =** Polar bears are the biggest bears in the world. They can easily kill humans and animals if provoked. They are natural swimmers. They stay in icy cold water for stretches of time, using its front paws to swim. Humans are the only enemies of the Polar bear. The only way to track these bears down is with their paw-prints. In Canada, Denmark, Norway, the U.S.A. and the Soviet Union made an agreement in 1973 to protect all Polar bears. Today, about 25,000 to 40,000 Polar bears live in the Arctic. **= =** Polar Bears mostly eat seals, walrus and other animals. Often, these bears stay by the seals breathing hole and wait for the seal to emerge out of the water. When it does, the Polar Bear bites into the seal’s head. Other hunting techniques include following the seal. If the Polar bear spots a seal next to its breathing hole, it will slowly walk to it and then charge and grab hold of the seal with its huge claws. Bon appetite! **= =** During fall, Polar bears that are ready to give birth make dens in the earth and stay there throughout Fall & Winter. In spring the mother-bear comes out of her den with the new cubs. Normally, she will nurse them for about 2 and half years. She will teach the cubs how to hunt and protect them. **= =** ADAPTATIONS: The Polar bears gave many ways they adapt to living in the freezing cold Arctic. First of all, Polar bears have blubber (fat) under their skin to keep them warm. How else could they have survived? They have white fur to blend in with the snow and ice. They have a great sense of smell which helps them to catch their prey. Polar bears also have long, curved claws which helps it to hold onto the ice. **=

 = = **** By Meera ** **** Living in the wild the Arctic Fox has a lifespan of about 3-6 years. Females give birth every spring to a litter of about 14 pups. Arctic Fox live in groups called a Skulk or Leash. ** ** Appearance: The Arctic Fox is a snowy white mammal. Sometimes it’s a blue-gray color. White fur coats come in handy since it blends in with the ice and snow of the Arctic. During the summer the fur of the Arctic Fox changes color. It transforms into a brown fox or gray fox blending in among all the summer plants and rocks. The Fox’s tail or brush can replace a coat for warmth during the winter. It has short ears, soles that are fuzzy soles and short muzzle-features that help this Fox adapt to living. ** 
 * The Arctic Fox
 * The Arctic Fox lives in a freezing cold region-The Arctic. It has many ways in which it adapts and lives. Read this to find out all about __The Arctic Fox!__
 * Size: Head and Body-18 to 26.75 inches. Tail-13.75 inches **
 * Diet: The Arctic Fox is an omnivore. It eats rodents, birds and fish. **
 * Predator: Polar Bears **
 * Weight: 6.5 to 17 labs, 3 to 8 kilograms **