Ursus maritimus
The scientific name of a carnivorous animal who are native within the Arctic Circle and encompassing the Arctic Ocean or also known as...
Polar bears
They are classified as marine mammals because they tend to spend most of their lives on the bodies water in arctic sea. They can survive to extreme cold because of their thick layer of body fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them from the cold air and water.
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Also considered as talented swimmers since they can sustain a pace of six miles per hour by paddling with their front paws to swim.
Polar bear's diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat and protein to survive that's why they spend over 50% of their time hunting for food.
Here's a video of polar bear hunting for a ringed seal - national geographic
Depending on the time of year and other factors, a polar bear mostly can only catch one or two out of ten seals it hunts.
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They have litter sizes of 1 - 4 cubs, though 1 or 2 cubs is most common. Their mating season comes from late March to early May. The height of a common male ranges up to 8 to 9 feet nose to tail and the females ranges up to 6 to 7 feet which as well weighs 550 to 1,320 pounds for adult males (but can reach 1,760 lbs) and 200-700 pounds for females.
These cute and fluffy animals can be dangerous and deadly too lol
But why polar bears are close to extinction?
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Well, the number 1 reason? climate change!!!
Scientists and experts have divided the total polar bear population into 19 units or subpopulations. Most of them are in decline and due to climate change that is now happening, there is a big chance of estimated risk of future declination.The phenomenon also caused some other animals to suffer and resulted to ecological imbalance that dirsupts the food chain of the animals especially in arctic region. And as what have shown on the photo above, a starving to death polar bear because it has no more to eat.
Due to the ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US under the Endangered Species Act in May 2008
The decreasing of the population of polar bears are all because of global warming and climate change which humans have brought to the world. I, myself would admit that i am one of those people who made the earth warmer than before and came to the point of the death of various animals and plants.
Why are they important?
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Aside from the cuteness overload, polar bears are the ones that plays an important role in the food chain as well as in the overall health of the marine environment.
They are also taking part in the culture, traditions and economies for arctic people for almost over thousands of years. Without the sea ice which used to be their home, they wont last long and they're directly impacted by climate change and serves as an eye-opener to humans.
And now, as a human who lives in this world, I want to help in sharing awareness not just for the polar bears but for all the animals' unspoken pain and our Mother Earth's excruciating sufferings in the hands of humans through the power of art
Through this simple gesture, I want this to serve as an eye-opener to many people for them to recognize and nurture the beauty of nature that God has given us.
Did you just asked how the drawing was made? Okay here 😁 lol
1. The materials used
A pencil, paper, eraser and a fine-tipped pen
2. Light sketching
In this part, i sketched some circles that served as my guide in making up the polar bear
3. Emphasizing the details
Then I finished the shape and some features of a polar bear
4. Inking
I started applying ink to the sketch
5. Detailing using a fine-tipped pen
Using different pen drawing techniques, I added some shadings and put emphasis to the bear's features.
6. Erasing the sketches
I erased the sketches which I have firstly made.
7. Inking and detailing (continuation)
After erasing some light sketches, I then continued inking the drawing.
8. Adding some backgrounds
The bear is done and here i sketched some polygonal shapes that will serve sa the background.
9. Inking the background
I shaded the shapes using linear hatching technique and every shape has different direction of lines.
10. Finishing touches
and then... Done!
Closer view
And also here's my simple video presentation on how i did this drawing 😉
Polar bears and other creatures are now knocking into our hearts, for sympathy and help about the pain and sufferings they are experiencing today. Maybe that climate change is happening already and its too late to regret about what we've done to earth but it's never too late to do something for it.
I have my own little ways, and this is through art
