Polar bears are the largest members of the bear family and the largest and strongest meat-eating land animal in the world.

Polar bears were once brown bears. Many thousands of years ago, during the ice ages, they changed in order to survive in the Arctic. Their ears became smaller, their paws bigger and they grew extra fat. The biggest change was growing a white coloured coat of fur.

Polar bears live only in the Arctic. They are sometimes called "white bears" and "walking bears." Since they spend a lot of time swimming in the ocean, they are sometimes called "sea bears". To the Inuit, the people of the north, polar bears are called "Nanuuq" (pronounced Na-nook).