Amazing PHOTOS: Polar bears chilling out

A polar bear shakes off water from its body at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo in St-Felicien, Quebec, October 31. According to Environment Canada, the country is home to around 15,000 of the estimated 20,000 polar bear population. The United States (Alaska), Russia, Denmark (Greenland) and Norway are the other four countries where polar bears can be found.

DID YOU KNOW: Polar bears can swim up to 100 miles (161 kilometers at a time)

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A polar bear jumps from a ledge at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: They are extremely intelligent animals. They have the ability to slow their heart rate rather than hibernating as other types of bears do.

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A polar bear swims underwater in the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: Despite what we think, a polar bear's fur is not white. Each hair is a clear hollow tube. Polar bears look white because each hollow hair reflects the light. On sunny days, it traps the sun's infrared heat and keeps the bear warm at 98 degrees Fahrenheit (when they are resting).

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A polar bear jumps into the water in the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: Male polar bears may grow 10 feet tall and weigh over 1,400 pounds. Females reach seven feet and weigh 650 pounds. In the wild, polar bears live up to age 25.

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Polar bears playfully fight at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: Polar bears hunt beside holes in the ice, where they wait for the smell of a seal's breath as it comes up for air, then plunge down to grab its head with their teeth, using their claws and powerful neck to pull it out in one movement, killing it with a bite to the head.

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Polar bears playfully fight at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: Polar bears are invisible under infrared photography as they lose so little heat.

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A polar bear plays with a tyre in the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: When the ice is very thin, polar bears crawl on their bellies to keep from breaking the ice and falling in. By crawling, the bears spread out their weight more evenly.

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A polar bear jumps into the water at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: The Polar Bear is the largest land carnivore on the planet. Although the Kodiak brown bear is sometimes just as big, the Polar Bear on average reaches larger sizes. The largest Polar Bear we know of weighed over 1,000 kilograms.

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Polar bears playfully fight at the St-Felicien Wildlife Zoo

DID YOU KNOW: Moderate climate projections suggest that two thirds of the estimated 22-25,000 polar bears living within and around the Arctic Circle could disappear by 2050.

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