Adult Polar Bears Have No Natural Predators

It pays to be the biggest creature around, and at 10 feet tall on their hind legs and weighing up to 1,300 pounds, polar bears are king. As the world’s largest land carnivores, they have no natural predators, instead spending their days as the toughest hunters around, stalking seals across sea ice and diving into frigid waters in search of their next meal.

That doesn’t mean polar bears are invincible. Cubs are occasionally vulnerable to wolves or even other polar bears, but healthy adults have little to fear from other wildlife. Their greatest threat today isn’t another predator at all — it’s the rapid loss of Arctic sea ice. As the ice disappears, polar bears lose the hunting grounds they depend on, making it harder to catch enough seals to survive.