A polar bear sow and her cubs in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
© Steven Kazlowski/Minden Picture
Three cheers for polar bears!
February 27 is International Polar Bear Day, an observance created to bring attention to the important role these alpha predators play in the Arctic ecosystem. Though polar bears aren’t endangered—their current conservation status is ‘vulnerable’—these magnificent beasts have become a sort of mascot for the race to slow the melting of Arctic sea ice. The Arctic ice is crucial to the bear's survival, as they hunt the ringed seals that bob up through holes in the ice. As Arctic ice decreases, the polar bear's hunting ground does too.
Related Images
Andean cocks-of-the-rock, Ecuador
Atlantic spotted dolphins near Santa Maria Island, Azores, Portugal
Red fox cubs near their den
Yellow warbler in Canada
Rufous hummingbird, Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, Canada
Tree frog, Costa Rica
Female black-naped monarch nesting
Desert elephant with calf feeding on tall grass, Namibia
Today on Bing
Polar bear cub, Churchill, Manitoba, Canada
Feb 27, 2025
Polar bear cubs playing, Kaktovik, Alaska
Feb 27, 2024
Polar bears asleep in Canada
Feb 27, 2023
Polar bear in Hudson Bay, Canada
Feb 27, 2019