There is a world somewhere between reality and fiction. Although ignored by many, it is very real and so are those living in it. This forum is about the natural world. Here, wild animals will be heard and respected. The forum offers a glimpse into an unknown world as well as a room with a view on the present and the future. Anyone able to speak on behalf of those living in the emerald forest and the deep blue sea is invited to join.
In category 3, competition with other predators, the polar bear has been dealt an unfavorable hand. First of all, the polar bear is in fact the greatest of living bears in that he is the biggest and certainly the most carnivorous. As for being a survivor, all credit due him is shared by his ancestral grizzly grandparents. No other carnivore ( forget herbivores ) conquered the harshest of all earthly environments; the pure arctic. No wild dogs, no wild cats, no mustelids. As for our living bears, the polar bear is almost a shoe-in. But, his predator competition, those other predators who feed on seals and walrus, live in the sea. We must also remember that the arctic ocean is as much a part of the polar bear's environment as is the solid ice. Among the Greenland sharks and the Orcas, the polar bear is not the dominant predator.
It would, however, not hurt my feelings one iota if the polar bear was to somehow win this contest. If someone was to create a family tree of Ursus arctos, the tree would be incomplete without the polar bear.