Editing Polar bear (section)

===Social life===
[[File:Play fight of polar bears edit 1.ogv|thumb|right|Young bears play-fighting]]
Polar bears are typically solitary, aside from mothers with cubs and mating pairs.{{sfn|Stirling|2011|p=105}} On land, they are found closer together and gather around food resources. Adult males, in particular, are more tolerant of each other in land environments and outside the breeding season.<ref name=Derocher1990>{{cite journal|last1=Derocher|first1=A. E.|last2=Stirling|first2=I.|year=1990|title=Observations of aggregating behaviour in adult male polar bears (''Ursus maritimus'')|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume=68|issue=7|pages=1390–1394|doi=10.1139/z90-207|bibcode=1990CaJZ...68.1390D }}</ref><ref name=Ferguson1997>{{cite journal|last1=Ferguson|first1=S. H.|last2=Taylor|first2=M. K.|last3=Messier|first3=F.|year=1997|title=Space use by polar bears in and around Auyuittuq National Park, Northwest Territories, during the ice-free period|journal=Canadian Journal of Zoology|volume=75|issue=10|pages=1585–1594|doi=10.1139/z97-785|bibcode=1997CaJZ...75.1585F }}</ref> They have been recorded forming stable "alliances", travelling, resting and playing together. A [[dominance hierarchy]] exists among polar bears with the largest mature males ranking at the top. Adult females outrank subadults and adolescents and younger males outrank females of the same age. In addition, cubs with their mothers outrank those on their own.<ref name=Ovsyanikov2005>{{cite journal|last=Ovsyanikov|first=N. G.|year=2005|title=Behavior of polar bears in coastal congregations|journal=Zoologicheskiĭ Zhurnal|volume=84|issue=1|pages=94–103|url=https://www.arlis.org/docs/vol1/E/Walrus/Russian/Ovsyanikov.2005.BehaviorPolarBearCoastalCongreg.ZoolZhurnal.pdf}}</ref> Females with dependent offspring tend to stay away from males,<ref name=Ferguson1997/> but are sometimes associated with other female–offspring units, creating "composite families".<ref name=Ovsyanikov2005/>

Polar bears are generally quiet but can produce various sounds.{{sfn|Derocher|2012|p=30}} [[Prusten|Chuffing]], a soft pulsing call, is made by mother bears presumably to keep in contact with their young.<ref name=Wemmer1976/> During the breeding season, adult males will chuff at potential mates.{{sfn|Derocher|2012|p=31}} Unlike other animals where chuffing is passed through the nostrils, in polar bears it is emitted through a partially open mouth.<ref name=Wemmer1976>{{cite journal|last1=Wemmer|first1=C.|last2=Von Ebers|first2=M.|last3=Scow|first3=K.|year=1976|title=An analysis of the chuffing vocalization in the polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'')|journal=Journal of Zoology|volume=180|issue=3|pages=425–439|doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1976.tb04686.x}}</ref> Cubs will cry for attention and produce humming noises while nursing.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Derocher|first1=A. E.|last2=Van Parijs|first2=S. M.|last3=Wiig|first3=Ø|year=2010|title=Nursing vocalization of a polar bear cub|journal=Ursus|volume=21|issue=2|pages=189–191|doi=10.2192/09SC025.1|s2cid=55599722}}</ref> Teeth chops, jaw pops, blows, huffs, moans, [[growling|growls]] and [[roar]]s are heard in more hostile encounters.{{sfn|Derocher|2012|p=31}} A polar bear visually communicates with its eyes, ears, nose and lips.<ref name=Ovsyanikov2005/> Chemical communication can also be important: bears secrete their scent from their foot pads into their tracks, allowing individuals to keep track of one another.<ref>{{cite journal |author1=Owen, M. A. |author2=Swaisgood, R. R. |author3=Slocomb, C. |author4=Amstrup, S. C. |author5=Durner, G. M. |author6=Simac, K. |author7=Pessier, A. P. |year=2014 |title=An experimental investigation of chemical communication in the polar bear |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=295 |issue=1 |pages=36–43 |doi=10.1111/jzo.12181}}</ref>