<P> The polar bear is found in the Arctic Circle and adjacent land masses as far south as Newfoundland . Due to the absence of human development in its remote habitat , it retains more of its original range than any other extant carnivore . While they are rare north of 88 ° , there is evidence that they range all the way across the Arctic , and as far south as James Bay in Canada . Their southernmost range is near the boundary between the subarctic and humid continental climate zones . They can occasionally drift widely with the sea ice , and there have been anecdotal sightings as far south as Berlevåg on the Norwegian mainland and the Kuril Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk . It is difficult to estimate a global population of polar bears as much of the range has been poorly studied ; however , biologists use a working estimate of about 20 -- 25,000 or 22 -- 31,000 polar bears worldwide . </P>
where do most polar bears live in canada
as far south as James Bay in Canada