🐳 Orca vs Polar bear 🐻❄️
The orca is about 5 times as long as the polar bear. The orca weighs about 15 times as much as the polar bear.
Getting the animals ready…
| Row | 🐳 Orca | 🐻❄️ Polar bear |
|---|---|---|
| Size The orca is about 5 times as long as the polar bear. | 23 to 26 ft7 to 7.9 m1 | 4.9 ft1.5 m2 |
| Top speed We don't have a checked number for the polar bear yet. | 35 mph56 km/h3 | no checked number yet |
| Weight The orca weighs about 15 times as much as the polar bear. | 4 to 8 tons3.6 to 7.3 tonnes1 | 399 to 1,450 lb181 to 658 kg2 |
| Lives The orca usually lives about one and a half times as long as the polar bear. | 30 to 50 years30 to 50 years1 | 25 years25 years2 |
| Eats Both eat meat. | fish such as salmon, and seals, depending on the pod | mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice |
| Lives in They can live in the same kind of place. | every ocean, from the icy poles to warm seas | the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole |
Which one? Orca or polar bear
🏁 Who would win the race?
We don't have a checked top speed for the polar bear yet, so there is no race.
We only race. Real animals mostly avoid each other. A race is the only fair contest: who reaches the tree first, by top speed. Our face-off books compare real numbers, and nobody gets hurt.
10 things to know about Orca vs Polar bear
- The orca: Orcas live in close families that are often led by a grandmother.
- The polar bear: The biggest bear, at home on the frozen Arctic sea ice.
- They are the same kind of animal: both are mammals.
- The orca is about 5 times as long as the polar bear: 1 against 2.
- The orca weighs about 15 times as much as the polar bear. That is 1 for the orca and 2 for the polar bear.
- The orca usually lives about one and a half times as long as the polar bear. Usual lifespans: 1 for the orca and 2 for the polar bear.
- Both eat meat. The orca eats fish such as salmon, and seals, depending on the pod; the polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice.
- The orca lives in every ocean, from the icy poles to warm seas. The polar bear lives in the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole. They can live in the same kind of place.
- The orca: not enough known (Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List). 4
- The polar bear: needs help (Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List). 5
Wow facts
🐳 Orca
- Orcas are the biggest members of the dolphin family.
- Each pod teaches its young its own favorite foods.
- Orcas can leap out of the water and slap it with their tails.
🐻❄️ Polar bear
- Under its white-looking fur, a polar bear's skin is black.
- Each hair is clear and hollow, not white.
- Its huge paws work like paddles and snowshoes.
Questions kids ask about Orca and Polar bear
Which is bigger, orca or polar bear?
The orca is about 5 times as long as the polar bear: 1 against 2.
Which is heavier, orca or polar bear?
The orca weighs about 15 times as much as the polar bear. That is 1 for the orca and 2 for the polar bear.
Which lives longer, orca or polar bear?
The orca usually lives about one and a half times as long as the polar bear. Usual lifespans: 1 for the orca and 2 for the polar bear.
What do orca and polar bear eat?
Both eat meat. The orca eats fish such as salmon, and seals, depending on the pod; the polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice.
Where do orca and polar bear live?
The orca lives in every ocean, from the icy poles to warm seas. The polar bear lives in the Arctic, on the sea ice around the North Pole. They can live in the same kind of place.
Do orcas eat polar bears?
The orca eats fish such as salmon, and seals, depending on the pod. Polar bears are not in that list, which comes from its page.
Do polar bears eat orcas?
The polar bear eats mostly seals, caught at holes in the sea ice. Orcas are not in that list, which comes from its page. And the orca is about 5 times as long as the polar bear.
Who would win, orca or polar bear?
We never show fights, because a fight is not a fair way to compare animals. They can share the same kind of place, and real animals mostly keep out of each other's way. What we can compare is how big, how heavy, how fast, how long they live and what they eat, as above.
📤 Share this pair
The link carries only the two animals’ names: peabody.kids/animals/compare/orca-vs-polar-bear
Where these numbers come from
- National Park Service, Kenai Fjords National Park, checked 30 October 2026.
- National Park Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.
- Wikidata, from the IUCN Red List, checked 30 October 2026.