Noses with Legs - Polar bears have an extraordinary sense of smell. They can detect a seal’s breathing hole under three feet of snow or ice from more than half mile away. Their sense of smell is their most important sense for detecting prey on land. A polar bear can smell a seal on land 20 miles away.
Stealth Hunter - Polar bears may wait beside a breathing hole in the ice for hours until a seal comes up for air. They crouch low or stretch out flat on the ice to reduce their profile and avoid alerting the seal below. With lightning speed the bear slaps at the seal, hooking it with the sharp claws on its 18-inch paw and pulling the seal through the hole onto the ice.
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