What protects polar bears from the extreme cold?
Polar bears are covered with a heavy fur. The coat consists of two layers – a dense undercoat of fine white hair and outer coat composed of glossy guard hairs. The individual guard hairs are hollow which helps to make the polar bear more buoyant when swimming. The guard hairs also shed water easily, so that after a swim the polar bear can shake itself like a dog to decrease chilling and to dry itself fairly quickly. The thick layer of fat beneath their skin protects them against the cold. The actual colour of the skin of the polar bear is black.
