Aquatic animals, polar bears are marine mammals, protected under the Marine Mammals Protection Act of 1973. As sea ice starts to form in the arctic in october, they seem to become excited about the coming winter and seal hunting season. This young polar bear enjoyed breaking through the recently formed sea ice as he played in the ocean.

During the warmer summer months, hunting is difficult for polar bears, as their preferred habitat is the shallower waters of the continental shelf; the deeper waters further off the coast are biologically less productive. Polar bears are generally unable to hunt their primary prey, seals, in open water, and rely on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean to effectively hunt. Polar bear (Ursus maritimus), Southern Beaufort Sea, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska.