Image of the majestic creatures remain powerful communicators of humanity’s connection with nature.

Not all animals retreat to their shelters in cold weather.

The way polar bear paws help them walk safely on ice could lead to better traction for shoes, tires, and other products.

Polar bears and wolves may get the glory, but small predators like weasels, foxes and their cousins play outsized ecological roles. And many of these species are declining fast.

Polar bears are increasingly seeking sustenance in human trash because of melting sea ice and a loss of hunting opportunities. The result is a rise in human-bear conflict – and dead bears.

Polar bears that hunt from freshwater ice in Southeast Greenland are "the most genetically isolated population of polar bears anywhere on the planet."

Polar bears that hunt from freshwater ice in Southeast Greenland are "the most genetically isolated population of polar bears anywhere on the planet."

Rather than simple splitting events, the evolution of polar bears and brown bears are like those of humans, a tangled story of divergence and interbreeding.

Polar bears are being forced to adapt their feeding habits due to climate change – so reports of summer scavenging, foraging and terrestrial hunting are unsurprising.