Greetings Young Explorers!

Let’s travel to the Arctic today! Before we dive into the land of snow and ice, where polar bears roam, let’s find a world map and try to locate the Arctic Circle. Have you found it yet?

(Hint: it’s in the northern hemisphere of our planet Earth.)

oto: Joanna Sulich

We’re going to meet a very special animal there: a polar bear mom! She’s strong, brave, and incredibly dedicated to her cubs. Her life is full of challenges, but she does everything she can to keep her babies safe in this harsh and beautiful world.

Imagine a world of ice and snow, where temperatures plummet and survival depends on strength and instinct. This is the world Nuna, a polar bear mom, inhabits. Inside her snow den, nestled amongst the drifts, her newborn cubs, Tikku and Nanu, are oblivious to the harsh realities outside. They are tiny, blind, and completely dependent on their mother.

Unlike human babies, polar bear cubs enter the world vulnerable and weigh barely more than a pound. Nuna, having fasted for months, now faces the ultimate test of endurance. For the next four months, she will remain in the den, nursing her cubs with incredibly rich milk – 31% fat! This super-fuel helps them grow twenty times their birth weight in just twelve weeks. It’s a remarkable feat of biological engineering, but it comes at a great cost to Nuna.

When the time comes to leave the den, Nuna has been fasting for up to eight months. She’s hungry, and weak, and must lead her cubs on a dangerous journey across the Arctic ice to find food. This is where the real challenge begins.

Tikku and Nanu, now stronger but still learning, follow their mother’s every move. They have just over two years to learn everything they need to survive: how to navigate the shifting ice, how to hunt seals, and how to avoid predators and other dangers. Nuna is their sole teacher, their protector, and their provider. Polar bears are amazing travelers! Did you know one polar bear walked from Canada to Russia? That’s like walking across a whole bunch of countries! Her trip took over two years, and she traveled almost 12,000 kilometers! You can see the image below on the journey she undertook in search of food for herself and her cub.

sources:https://polarbearsinternational.org/education-center/units-lessons/polar-bear-math-science-integrated-stem/

Speaking of food, polar bears need a LOT of energy to make those long trips. Think of it like needing fuel for a car. One of the polar bear’s favorite snacks is a ringed seal. Each ringed seal gives a polar bear about 600 MJ (Megajoules) of energy – that’s a lot of energy! But even with all that energy, a polar bear still uses about 55 MJ every single day just to live and travel.

Here’s a math challenge: Remember that super-traveler polar bear who walked from Canada to Russia? Her trip took 798 days. If she used 55 MJ of energy each day, how many ringed seals would she have to eat to get all that energy? Can you figure it out?

 (Hint: First, find the total energy she used. Then, figure out how many 600 MJ “snacks” she needed!)

Young cubs are quick learners, mimicking their mother’s hunting techniques and survival strategies. But even the best mother can’t control the forces of nature. Climate change is rapidly transforming the Arctic, causing sea ice to melt at an alarming rate.

For polar bear moms, this means less time to hunt and build up the fat reserves they need to survive and nurture their cubs. It means longer journeys across increasingly treacherous ice, and it means a greater risk of starvation for both mother and cubs. The statistics are sobering: in some areas, cub survival rates are as low as 50%. The window of opportunity for these young bears to learn and thrive is shrinking.

Nuna’s story isn’t just about struggle; it’s about hope. Polar bear moms are incredibly strong and resourceful, but they can’t face these challenges alone. This International Polar Bear Day, let’s join their team! Even small actions, like turning off lights when we leave a room, recycling, and telling our friends about polar bears, can make a big difference. Together, we can help protect these amazing moms and their cubs so they can continue to thrive in the Arctic.

Hashtags:

#InternationalPolarBearDay #PolarBearDay #ProtectMomsAndCubs

(Math Challenge Answer:

  1. Total energy used: 798 days * 55 MJ/day = 43,890 MJ
  2. Number of ringed seals: 43,890 MJ / 600 MJ/seal = 73.15 seals

So, the polar bear would have to eat a little over 73 ringed seals to fuel her two-year journey! That’s a lot of seals!)

Photo: Daniel J. Cox

References.