Why don polar bears live in the South Pole?
Answer Dear Alex Thanks for your question. I also wish to thank the authors of the websites I used. It seems that the polar bear evolved from the brown bear about 100,000-250,000 years ago (see http://www.geol.umd.edu/~candela/pbevol.html and http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/polar-bear-evolution/). It is adapted to icy regions and would be unable to thrive in habitats between the Arctic and Antarctic. It would also take a long time for polar bears to travel this distance, even if they were able to adapt to deserts, forests and other habitats. There are animals that have travelled long distances, thoughout the Americas. For example, the puma stretched its range from Canada to Argentina and has adapted to various habitats. The American opossum has spread from South America, via Central America, to Canada. The polar bear is specially adapted to a cold Arctic environment (see http://www.7thfloormedia.com/projects/exwork/best/bearden/polar.htm and http://bss.sfsu.edu/holzma
