The polar bear is distributed along the coasts in the arctic region, and occupies most of Greenland's coastal regions. It is the biggest member of the bear family. An adult male can weigh more than 800 kg, and grow to lengths of more than 2.5 meters. The female is somewhat smaller, but the weight of both sexes, markedly increases during wintertime. The fur is thick and long, with a white, greyish or yellowish colour. The snout, lips and footpads are black. The Polar bear feeds on various preys, such as seals (especially ringed seals), belugas and narwhals, fishes, walrus' pups and sometimes carcasses. The polar bear becomes sexual mature in the age of 3-4 years, and can reach a maximum age of about 20-30 years.

The Sledge dog (Canis familiaris)

Is a common animal i Greenland. They are used to pull sledges on hunting trips and for sports racing by many Inuits.

Read more about the projects on effects of contamminants on dogs and polar bears by The Department of Arctic Environment:

The Sledge dog study

The Sledge dog study

Polar bear studies

Polar bear studies

Contaminants in the Arctic

<p>NERI conducts studies of contaminants in Greenland from local sources (in particular mining) and from outside sources from where contaminants are transported via the atmosphere and ocean currents to the Arctic.</p> <p><img alt="" src="/fileadmin/Attachments/narhval2.jpeg" border="1" /></p> <p>In recent years these studies have been conducted as part of the international <a href="http://www.amap.no/">AMAP project (Arctic Monitoring Assessment Programme)</a>.</p> <p>AMAP is a cooporation between the eight Arctic nations with the objective to monitor and assess circumpolar contamination. It has been observed that contaminants are transported to the Arctic and that some contaminants (e.g. PCBs) are biomagnificated and may be found in high concentrations in birds and marine mammals in the top of the food chain. Since many people in the Arctic eat these, they are particularly exposed a high intake of these contaminants from local food.</p> <p><a href="http://www.dmu.dk/International/AboutNERI/Departments/ArcticEnvironment/">The Department of Arctic Environment</a> conducts projects related to the greenlandic/biological part of the AMAP-programme:</p> <p><a href="http://www2.dmu.dk/1_Om_DMU/2_Afdelinger/3_AM/4_Expertise/5_Research/6_marine_mammals/Litterature_pdf/ENPO%20minke%20proofs.pdf">Populations and contaminants of minke whale (PDF-format)</a></p> <p> </p>