It's almost National Polar Bear Day! If you are looking for an excuse to study and/or share polar bears, here is a good one! National Polar Bear Day is celebrated on 27th February each year.

SEND YOUR PARTNER ANYTHING W/A POLAR BEAR!

• Be kind!
• Read profile pages to avoid any allergies.
• Send only new/unused items, unless partner okays vintage/used.
• Hand-crafts welcome too! Some of us like the handmade, so again, PLEASE read profile pages.
• Send only what you yourself would like to receive.

• Newbie-friendly, with an adequate profile page completed. (because it is SUPER helpful for sender's to learn what your "happy mail" might look like!)

• Rate a five once something Polar Bearrific is received!

• I will angel, once flaker has been contacted and rated in accordance with swapbot rules.

Fun Fact: Have you ever seen a green polar bear? Some polar bears in captivity have begun to look green as algae grows inside their hollow hairs!

Did you know that polar bears have black skin and transparent, hollow fur - not white? The fur looks white because of the way it reflects the light. It is very efficient at trapping heat from the sun to keep polar bears warm, and for repelling water. They also have a thick layer of fat underneath the skin to help them stay cozy.

Polar bears are marine mammals, spending many months of every year at sea. But they are the only marine mammal which can run - and cover many miles - on land. They live up to 25 years old in the wild. They are carnivores and have 42 teeth. They are well adapted to living in snow and ice conditions, with rough feet and short claws to help them grip ice, and webbed toes to help them swim. They can swim a long way!

Male polar bears can weigh as much as 8 full grown adults put together, at up to 700 kg (1500 lbs)! They can grow up to 3 meters (10 feet) tall.

Female polar bears are much smaller than males, reaching about 2.4 meters (7 feet) tall and weighing up to 250 kg (650 lbs). They have an average of two cubs. They dig themselves a cave, known as a maternity den, in a snow-drift and retreat to it to give birth, staying inside over winter and emerging in spring with their babies. Polar bear babies are very small - less than 1 kg (2 lb) at birth!

Polar bears eat seals, which they can smell up to a mile away! They will often lie in wait by a hole in the ice, waiting for a seal to pop its head up to breath, and then pounce! Seals are often hard to find, though, and baby polar bears often go hungry, with up to 3/4 dying before they are 3 years old. Humans are the polar bears only predator. With global warming, mining of coal and oil, oil spills and man-made pollution, polar bears are now regarded as vulnerable.