The Polar Bear: Threatened or Thriving?

On the front of the Canadian two-dollar coin is the image of an animal, Ursus maritimus, the polar bear, a creature of rare beauty. This great bear is the largest living land carnivore, the average male weighing 1200 pounds with a record of 2,200 lb. While it can look adorable, it is, in fact, one of the most dangerous animals on earth.

If one were to specifically set out to custom design a carnivorous predator for the high arctic, one could do no better than Ursus Maritimus. It can thrive in temperatures averaging -30 F in the winter, in a barren ice-covered land bordered by the freezing brine of the Arctic Ocean. What enables this noble creature to survive in one of the harshest climates on earth?