Q 01/05

Which naturalist formally described the polar bear as a distinct species, Ursus maritimus, in 1774?

A) Carl Linnaeus

B) Constantine John Phipps

C) Georges Cuvier

D) Joseph Banks

Answer · why

B) Constantine John Phipps

He had sailed towards the North Pole the year before. Linnaeus had lumped it in with the brown bear in 1758 as a 'mostly-white sea bear'.

Q 02/05

The record polar bear, shot at Kotzebue Sound, Alaska, in 1960, weighed roughly how much?

A) 1,002 kg

B) 650 kg

C) 820 kg

D) 1,400 kg

Answer · why

A) 1,002 kg

That is roughly the weight of a small car. Typical adult males run 300 to 800 kg and can add 50 percent to their mass in fat before winter.

Q 03/05

Polar bears descended from brown bears that were isolated by glaciation roughly how long ago?

A) 4 million years

B) 40,000 years

C) 400,000 years

D) 10 million years

Answer · why

C) 400,000 years

That makes it the youngest bear species. Wild grizzly-polar hybrids were confirmed by DNA in the Canadian Arctic in 2006, all traced to a single femal...

Q 04/05

A study found polar bears could swim for an average of 3.4 days at a time, covering roughly what distance?

A) 300 km

B) 550 km

C) 900 km

D) 154 km

Answer · why

D) 154 km

They paddle with the broad front paws and steer with the hind legs, at up to about 6 km/h. Their eyes sit high on the head so they can stay above the ...

Q 05/05

Why do a polar bear's guard hairs help it float and stay warm?

A) They are coated in oil

B) They are hollow

C) They are twice as thick as brown bear hair

D) They contain air-filled scales of keratin foam

Answer · why

B) They are hollow

The hairs are transparent, not white; the coat looks white because it scatters light and has no pigment. Underneath, the skin is black.