Polar Bears - Data, Pictures and Videos

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Polar bears, Ursus maritimus, feeding on Beluga Whales, Delphinapterus leucas.

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The high density of Belugas migrating in the spring along restricted openings in sea ice provides opportunities for predation by Polar Bears. Although there are not many documented sightings of Polar Bear predation on Belugas from Alaskan coastal areas (seven were reported by Lowry et al. (1987) since 1967, four of which occurred in April 1984 during a period of dense ice cover), the rate is high considering the low likelihood that anyone would come across a bear kill on the sea ice and report such a sighting to a scientist. Furthermore, moving ice and snow accumulation tend to cover evidence of kills. There have been several reports of Polar Bears eating Belugas in the Canadian High Arctic, including Freeman (1973), Heyland and Hay (1976), Mitchell and Reeves (1981), and Smith (1985), but the only documented observations of Polar Bears killing Belugas were made by Degerbol and Freuchen (1935), Kleinenberg et al. (1964), and Smith and Sjare (1990), along with an observation made by Harry Brower Sr.', a principal whaler in Barrow. However, the sighting reported by Lowry et al. (1987) and the original sightings of dead Belugas reported here included blood tracks on the ice, indicating relatively fresh kills. Because of their negative buoyancy. Belugas tend to sink when killed (Kemper 1980; Finley et al. 1982; Lowry 1985). This reduces opportunities to scavenge a dead Beluga until internal gasses expand, the carcass floats to the surface, and it becomes available for scavenging by Polar Bears. Since most sightings of dead Belugas on ice occur when sea ice is dense and whales are forced to use small openings in the ice, it appears that the whales are being killed by the bears and not scavenged after having succumbed due to other causes. Entrapped whales are probably vulnerable to predation, but pulling a whale onto the ice is an impressive feat because a Beluga may weigh five times as much as a Polar Bear (Freeman 1973).

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