How Many Penguins Can a Polar Bear Eat?
No, Polar Bears do not eat penguins. Polar bears are found in the Arctic region of the Northern Hemisphere while Penguins live in the Southern Hemisphere ranging from the Galapagos Islands to the coast of Antarctica. Both have similar types of habitats, but you will never find them living together.
Polar bear and penguins love to swim. They both eat fish, rodents, shellfish, waterfowl, and thrive on some of the harshest climates in the world. But live on the opposite ends of the earth and are destined never to meet each other. They have made different homes for themselves in different continents.
Assuming both the species are together and the polar bear is so hungry, and the polar bear’s primary diet is not available — a polar bear on average eats 150 pounds of meat in one sitting. The emperor penguin average weight is about 85 pounds, so a polar bear may devour three penguins in one sitting presumptuous that it does not consume the whole of the penguin.
When the seal is not available, it goes for carcasses of whales, narwhals, walrus and narwhals. When it is incapable to find any of these, it may eat fish, shellfish, waterfowl, rodents, muskox, berries, kelp human garbage and reindeer for its survival. The northern region is the ecosystem in which the polar bears live. Penguins are not a part of this ecosystem.
Polar Bear is the predator of the northern region. It eats seal mostly as seals provide them with the vital fat that is important for their endurance in the severe cold of the northern region. Based on the observation, polar bears like to eat the blubber of the ringed seal which is not the only source of thousands of calories but also provides the fat which facilitates in its ongoing fasting days.
Penguins do not have such blubber that is rich in fats. Hence, there is no possibility that they can form a part of the polar bear’s primary diet.
A Final Word
Polar bear eating or killing penguin has in no way been found in the wild neither in captivity. So there’s no possibility that you may see a polar bear eat a penguin in the arctic region.
Reference:
http://zooologist.com/do-polar-bears-eat-penguins/
https://www.peregrineadventures.com/blog/20/07/2011/penguins-polar-bears-same-same-different/
