How many kilometres can a polar bear swim at a time?

Here is a polar bear living in the Arctic, walking on ice floes, hunting seals. It is clear that he needs to swim well, but how well?

In the 2000s, polar bears were equipped with satellite sensors collars for the first time, allowing their movements to be tracked. It turned out that a polar bear can swim hundreds of kilometres at a time. The record value is 687 kilometres in 9 days! Surprisingly, the record-breaking bear was caught shortly after this swim. It turned out that she had lost 20 per cent of her weight and lost her cub along the way, apparently, it could not withstand the swim and drowned en route.

On average, polar bear swims are much shorter, 100-200 kilometres, which is also impressive. Polar bears are true sea mammals (like seals, walruses and whales), they can swim huge distances between islands and ice massifs. So you are not surprised when you meet them on an ice floe in the middle of the sea. They will surely get where they need to go.

AUTHOR

Alexander Osadchiev
Ocean Around Us
Leading Researcher, Shirshov Institute of Oceanology
Head of Arctic Oceanography Laboratory, Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology