Polar Bear Walking

Watching a Polar Bear walking, what a wonderful 'time waster'. Both of us as curious as the other.

1. Like humans, polar bears walk on the soles of their feet with their heels touching the ground first. Like other bears, they can also stand on their hind feet and walk upright for short distances.

2. Polar bears generally walk with a steady, lumbering gait. The front paws swing outward with each step, landing slightly pigeon-toed. The head swings gently from side to side. The walk has a four-beat pattern, first the right front foot touches the ground, then the left hind foot, then the left front foot, and lastly, the right hind foot.

3. The bulky build and swinging gait cause polar bears to use more than twice as much energy to move at a given speed than most other mammals (Stirling, 1988).

4. The average walking speed of a polar bear is 5.5 kph (3.4 mph) (Stirling, 1988).

5. When being chased or charging prey, polar bears can run as fast as 40 kph (25 mph) for short distances (Domico, 1988)