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Polar Regions

Polar Bears - Introduction

Polar Bears - Introduction
Reading Level
     edHelper's suggested reading level:   grades 4 to 6
     Flesch-Kincaid grade level:   6.66

Vocabulary
     challenging words:    ambush, non-stop, pose, reflection, sneaking, underfur, extremely, strategy, survival, entire, species, air-filled, meat-eating, waterproof, effective, chasing

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Polar Bears - Introduction   
1     
Question: What are the world's largest meat-eating animals on land?
Hint: They spend almost their entire life on ice!
 
2     Polar bears are not only the largest bear species, but also the largest meat-eating animals on land! Weighing more than 1,000 pounds and measuring about 8 feet long, polar bears pose a significant threat to any animal - including humans - in the Arctic. Even though polar bears live in extremely cold places, they have everything they need to survive. Indeed, polar bears have the ultimate winter gear that we can only dream of!
 
3     The white fur coats that polar bears wear are their first line of defense against the frigid weather. If we ever lose our mind and dare go near them to examine their hairs, we will notice that polar bears actually have transparent, hollow hairs. We call these "guard hairs." Many scientists believe that these clear-colored, air-filled guard hairs help transmit heat from the sunlight to their black skin as a solar heat collector. Their guard hairs are waterproof, so they also function as effective buoys. Why do we see polar bears in white, if their true hair color is clear? Well, reflection of the sunlight makes polar bears appear white, in the same way as reflection of the sunlight makes snow and ice look white.

Paragraphs 4 to 6:
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