Here’s a look at exactly what polar bears eat—and why those foods matter for their survival. Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) mostly go for high-fat marine mammals like seals, but they’ll also eat fish, birds, carcasses, eggs, berries, and, in some places, even human garbage. You’ll find the 20 foods they eat most often here, plus a bit about how their diet shifts with the seasons and as sea ice disappears.
As you go through the list, you’ll get a sense of how polar bear hunting skills and body needs shape what they choose to eat. Expect clear examples of prey, with short notes on how polar bears adapt when ice melts or food runs low.
20 Foods Polar Bears Eat Most
Polar bears mostly depend on fat-rich marine mammals, but when seals get scarce, they’ll eat plenty of other things. Their menu includes seals, big carcasses, some birds, a few land mammals, and even plants or garbage.
Ringed Seals
Ringed seals are the mainstay in many polar bears’ diets. These seals live under sea ice and breathe through small holes. Polar bears often wait by those holes or at seal lairs, ambushing ringed seals as they come up for air.
Ringed seals have a lot of blubber, which gives bears the calories they need to bulk up for cold months and fasting periods. When sea ice stays stable, ringed seals let bears feed well in spring and early summer. If ice melts early, bears have a harder time catching ringed seals.
Bearded Seals
Bearded seals are bigger and give polar bears a hefty meal. You’ll sometimes spot a bear stalking a bearded seal hauled out on sea ice. Since these seals can weigh several hundred kilograms, one kill can feed a bear for days.
Bearded seals hang out where ice is thick and there’s open water nearby. In spring, polar bears often go for bearded seals because of their size and fat content. Bears really need that fat to survive lean times and to feed their cubs.
Harp Seals
Harp seals are more of a seasonal treat, showing up where their migrations cross into polar bear territory. Bears hunt harp seals on pack ice or at the ice edge in spring and early summer. Since harp seals travel in big groups, bears might get more chances to hunt them.
Harp seals aren’t as big as bearded seals, but there are usually more of them. That makes them a good backup when ringed seals are hard to find. Bears still focus on blubber-rich parts to get the most energy.
Hooded Seals
Hooded seals are another Arctic species polar bears eat when they can. These seals haul out on ice floes and shorelines. Bears approach hooded seals quietly, then strike if a seal is alone.
Hooded seals have thick blubber that’s valuable to bears. Most bears eat the skin and fat first. In places where hooded seals are common, they’re part of the bear’s seasonal menu.
Ribbon Seals
Ribbon seals don’t show up everywhere, but in some regions, they’re part of a polar bear’s diet. These seals spend a lot of time on ice floes and near open water. Some bears hunt ribbon seals in offshore ice zones.
Because ribbon seals are smaller and quick, hunting them takes more effort. When bears catch them, ribbon seals still give important calories, especially for younger bears or mothers with cubs.
Walrus Calves
Walrus calves are tempting targets for polar bears since calves are vulnerable when away from the herd. Bears often go after young walruses on beaches or ice floes. Adult walruses are dangerous, so bears usually avoid them unless the bear is big and the odds look good.
Walrus calves are rich in meat and fat. Chasing walrus calves is risky but can pay off. In some areas, bears count on walrus calves if seals are hard to find.
Beluga Whales
Beluga whales end up as polar bear food mostly when they wash up dead or get stranded. Bears scavenge beluga carcasses along the shore, especially after storms or human hunting. One beluga can feed a bear for a long time.
Hunting healthy belugas isn’t something bears do often, since belugas stay in open water and are tough to catch. But when a beluga beaches or is killed, its blubber and meat are valuable for bears and other scavengers.
Bowhead Whale Carcasses
Bowhead whale carcasses can keep polar bears fed for weeks, even months. Several bears and other scavengers often gather at a single bowhead carcass. There’s just so much blubber and meat—bears use it to put on weight.
Bowhead carcasses usually turn up after strandings or human harvests. When they do, they help bears survive tough seasons and raise cubs. You’ll often see more bear activity around these carcasses.
Narwhal Carcasses
Narwhal carcasses are a rare but valuable meal. Sometimes bears find narwhal carcasses washed up or left by hunters. Narwhal blubber packs calories just like other whales.
Polar bears don’t chase narwhals in open water. Instead, they use stranded or harvested narwhals when they’re available. Narwhal remains are just one more patch in the quilt of food sources for Arctic bears.
Seal Pups
Seal pups are easier to catch than adults and are crucial for many polar bears in spring. Bears search for seal birthing lairs or dens to nab newborn pups. Pups don’t have much blubber, but they’re plentiful during pupping season.
Catching pups takes good timing and some know-how about where seals give birth. Female bears with cubs often depend on pups to meet energy needs in key months.
Seal Blubber
Seal blubber is usually the first thing polar bears eat from a kill. It’s the most calorie-dense part. Fat keeps them warm, fuels long swims, and helps them survive when they can’t eat for weeks.
Blubber helps a bear build up its own fat layer and make milk for cubs. When seals are around, bears always go for blubber over lean meat. That shapes how and where they hunt.
Fish
Fish are more of a backup food for polar bears, especially near shorelines and river mouths. Bears catch Arctic cod and other fish when seals are tough to get. Fish give some protein, but not much fat.
Fish matter most in summer when sea ice pulls back. You might see bears wading in shallow water or picking at fish leftovers. Fish help them get by when there’s nothing better, but seals are still the gold standard.
Arctic Foxes
Sometimes, polar bears will eat Arctic foxes—usually if a fox gets too close to a bear’s kill. Bears take small mammals when they’re desperate or when an easy chance comes up. Foxes are small, so they don’t provide much energy.
Usually, foxes scavenge from bears, not the other way around. But if a bear can get a fox, it won’t say no.
Reindeer
Reindeer (caribou) show up in polar bear diets when bears are on land. Bears hunt lone or weak reindeer, especially in late summer and fall. Reindeer meat and fat help tide bears over during ice-free months.
Caribou are harder to catch than seals, but one can feed a bear for a while. Bears mostly go after calves or sick animals. In spots where sea ice vanishes each year, reindeer matter more for bears.
Muskox
Muskoxen are big, tough grazers, but polar bears will attack if the chance is right. Bears usually go for calves or weak adults. Muskox herds defend themselves, so bears pick off stragglers.
Muskox meat and fat give bears a good calorie boost if marine prey isn’t around. These hunts are risky and need some planning. Bears also scavenge muskox carcasses when they find them.
Waterfowl and Seabirds
Waterfowl and seabirds make it onto the polar bear menu in summer, near coasts and tundra. Bears eat geese, eiders, and other birds they catch or find dead. Birds give some protein, but not much fat.
Bird hunting is easiest at nesting colonies or on shorelines. During egg-laying and chick seasons, you’ll see more bears at bird colonies.
Bird Eggs
Bird eggs are a quick, easy meal during nesting season. Bears rip open nests of sea ducks and other birds on tundra and islands. Eggs have fat and protein in a neat little package.
Egg raiding usually happens in summer when there’s no sea ice. Eggs help bears keep going until sea ice returns.
Small Rodents
Small rodents—like lemmings—pop up in polar bear diets now and then, mostly when there’s not much else. Bears take rodents in tundra areas during summer. Lemmings give a bit of protein and energy.
Rodents alone can’t keep a bear going, but they add some variety. Bears eat them when they stumble across them while foraging.
Human Garbage
Human garbage can lure polar bears into towns and camps, where they look for an easy meal. Bears check out dumpsters, cabins, and hunting camps. Garbage can include food scraps, fuel, and junk that might harm bears.
Garbage puts both people and bears at risk. It can make bears bolder and lead to dangerous run-ins. People really need to secure their waste to keep everyone safe.
Berries and Arctic Vegetation
Berries, kelp, and tundra plants show up in polar bear diets in summer. Bears eat crowberries, blueberries, and some seaweed for vitamins and moisture. Plant foods are low in calories compared to blubber.
Plants help bears during long ice-free spells when their fat stores run low. Vegetation can’t replace marine fat but gives some variety. Mothers with cubs may graze on plants as they roam coastal tundra.
How Polar Bears Hunt and Adapt Their Diet
Polar bears use patience, a strong sense of smell, and flexible eating habits to catch prey. Here’s how they use still-hunting and stalking, how they scavenge carcasses, and how their diet changes with the seasons and shifting sea ice.
Hunting Techniques: Still-Hunting and Stalking
Still-hunting is all about waiting at a seal breathing hole or ice edge for hours. A bear crouches low, nose near the hole, ready to grab a seal as it pops up. This method relies on surprise and the bear’s sharp nose. Polar bears can sniff out seals from pretty far away.
Stalking happens on open ice or along floe edges. The bear moves slowly, keeping low, and uses the wind to avoid alerting the seal. When it’s close enough, the bear charges with a short, powerful burst. It’s a tough move—seals are quick in water and on ice.
Both techniques need sea ice. As ice shrinks due to warming, bears get fewer hunting chances and have to fast longer. That pushes them to travel farther and take bigger risks for the blubber they need.
Opportunistic Scavenging and Carrion Feeding
When live prey runs out, polar bears switch to scavenging whale, narwhal, or beluga carcasses. Sometimes, several bears feed on a single whale that’s washed up. They go for blubber first because it packs the most calories and hydration.
Scavenging also means stealing from human kills or grabbing leftovers from other predators. Bears eat seal carcasses left by killer whales or pick at parts left from walrus hunts. This helps them get by when hunting is tough.
Scavenging isn’t without risk. Eating near coasts or human camps can cause conflicts. Still, it shows how bears adapt—taking whatever high-calorie meals they find to rebuild fat lost during ice-free months.
Seasonal Dietary Changes and Food Scarcity
Spring and early summer? That’s when bears really chow down. They eat mostly ringed and bearded seals during these months, packing on fat for the lean times ahead.
An adult bear needs a lot of fat each day in this period just to build up enough insulation.
When summer and fall roll around, the ice melts and sticks around less. You’ll spot bears foraging for berries, kelp, eggs, or maybe a small mammal here and there.
But let’s be honest—those foods don’t come close to matching the calories from seal blubber. If the warm season drags on, bears end up fasting longer and dropping weight.
Global warming speeds up ice loss, so you can expect food to get even scarcer. Bears travel farther, scavenge more, and sometimes take risks—like going after bigger prey or wandering near people in search of something to eat.
