The Polar Bear is a bear native to the Arctic Ocean, and it is the world's largest predator on land it is bigger than the Grizzly Bear and has many body characteristics which help it live in Tundra biomes. It is also a very good swimmer, and a dangerous predator for seals and humans.
From the Zoo Tycoon website: The polar bear is the only marine bear, with a longer, more streamlined body than other bears for aquatic life. It has the plantigrade feet (heel and sole touching the ground) typical of bears, with five sharp, curved claws on each foot for grasping the ice and holding its prey. Long hair between the pads protects the bear's feet from the cold and provides traction on the ice. Stiff hairs on the forelegs, and very broad front feet, help the bear swim. All polar bears are white, although their fur may yellow in the summer. The largest wild bears ever weighed have been polar bears. Polar bears have little interest in other Arctic species, and they often ignore people entirely.
In Zoo Tycoon
In the original game, the Polar Bear is an adoptable animal with the cost of $1,500 and lives in the tundra biome combined with a high quantity of saltwater. It is quite difficult for the player to make this bear reproduce if it has no privacy. A special Polar Bear is introduced in this game, named Magnet the Polar Bear.
In Zoo Tycoon 2
"The only bear streamlined for aquatic life." - Animal Panel description
In Zoo Tycoon 2, the Polar Bear is an adoptable animal once the player's zoo hits three stars. The cost to adopt this animal is $10,000.
In this game the Polar Bear can swim underwater with the Marina Mania expansion pack. It requires plenty of space and must have several toys in its exhibit. It can chew on large Ice Floes like other tundra animals and can also chase the Artic Cod enrichment object from Marine Mania. It is considered strongest Zoo Tycoon 2 predator because it can kill all in-game species, even the Nile Crocodile. It is also considered like a marine animal in Marine Mania; the player can even put the Polar Bear in a tank. One of their rare behaviors is sliding on ice and climbing tundra rocks. With the addition of Marine Mania, the Polar Bear is no longer the most powerful predatory animal in the game, as it is able to be hunted by the much larger Killer Whale, although it still hunts mammals like Beluga or Narwhal. When Extinct Animals came, it became one of the weakest predators, due to the addition of dinosaurs. However, the Polar Bear is still one of the more powerful mammalian carnivores, as it is currently the third-strongest tundra predator, losing often to the short-faced bear (despite the fact that the Polar Bear is more powerfully built.)
Zoo Tycoon (Xbox)
In Zoo Tycoon (Xbox), the Polar Bear is an adoptable animal for the Tundra Biome.
Grolar Bear
[two bears in zoo tycoon] The Grolar Bear is a hybrid between Grizzly Bears and Polar Bears, available as a user-made Zoo Tycoon 2 download.
In the Zoopedia
Polar bears have black skin.
For camouflage when hunting on ice, many polar bears hide their black noses with their paws.
Female polar bears give birth while in a state similar to hibernation.
Trivia
- Despite the Polar Bear's status as a low risk animal in Zoo Tycoon, it's real-world counterpart is of vulnerable status.
- The polar bear is one of the three updated animals in Marine Mania of Zoo Tycoon 2, along with the Hippopotamus and the Emperor Penguin, all of which can now swim underwater.
- In the Xbox, it is currently the only animal that is comfortable in the Tundra Biome.