Interesting tidbit on polar bears from Polar Bears International:

Polar bears probably first appeared 200,000 years ago during the Pleistocene and were much larger than they are today. They are the most recent of the eight bear species.

Scientists believe polar bears descended from a group of brown bears that became isolated by glaciers in an area near Siberia. These bears underwent a rapid series of evolutionary changes in order to survive—from changes in the color of their fur and shape of their body to keener senses to sharper teeth.

Great picture!

Btw, near human settlements, polar bears acquire a taste for garbage.

Which is counter-intuitive. They seem so clean.

In color:

Since they are mammals they still need to breathe:

I just realized that Polar Bears are the most recent of the 8 bear species.

I wonder what the other 7 species of bear are. Will have to research that.

In doing research I discovered that 6 of the 8 types of bears are considered endangered.

According to National Geographic, this is the order of endangerment:

1. Panda Bears

2. Sun Bears

3. Asiatic Black Bears

4. Sloth Bears

5. Andean Bears

6. Polar Bears

7. Brown Bears

8. Black Bears

There are fewer than 25,000 polar bears left on planet earth.

There are only 1600 panda bears left on planet earth.