Overview
Whether a Polar Bear attacks you depends entirely on whether there is a cub nearby. A lone adult is neutral and will ignore you completely unless you hit it first; an adult with a cub is hostile on sight, chases at speed across ice, and hits for 6 on Normal with 30 health behind it. Since bears usually generate as one adult and one cub, the neutral case is rarer than it sounds. They also swim well, so diving into the water is not the escape it is with most land mobs, and in a snowy biome there is rarely cover to break line of sight. The honest advice is to go around. The drops — 0 to 2 raw cod and 0 to 2 raw salmon — are not worth the armour damage, and there is no secondary reward: a Polar Bear cannot be tamed, cannot be bred, and cannot be led with any food. They spawn on snow or ice in snowy plains, ice spikes, frozen ocean, deep frozen ocean, snowy slopes and frozen peaks at any light level, which makes them a standing hazard on any northern expedition rather than a target.
Very little. A Polar Bear drops 0 to 2 raw cod and 0 to 2 raw salmon, which is a poor return for a 30-health fight, so the practical use is knowing when to avoid one.
A lone adult polar bear ignores you unless attacked, but any bear with a cub nearby is hostile on sight and will chase you across the ice at speed. They swim well, which means the water is not an escape, and their swipes stack quickly against unarmoured players. They cannot be tamed or bred. Killing one for its fish is rarely worth the fight; go around instead.
Polar Bear sits under Neutral mobs in Minecraft 1.21.4. Health sits at 30 points (15 hearts). It deals 6 damage on Normal difficulty.
Expect 3 experience per kill.
Properties
Polar Bear has 30 health, which is 15 hearts. It drops up to 3 experience when a player kills it. Its hitbox is 1.4 blocks wide and 1.4 tall, which is what decides whether it fits through a gap or a one-block-high opening.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Added in
- 1.10
Damage by difficulty
Polar Bear hits for 4 on Easy, 6 on Normal and 9 on Hard — the site's stat strip shows the Normal figure, which is the one most guides quote.
A full set of diamond armour cuts that by up to 80% against a small hit and less against a large one, and Protection IV on all four pieces — 16 EPF — takes a further 64% off what is left.
| Difficulty | Attack damage | Hearts |
|---|---|---|
| Easy | 4 | 2 |
| Normal | 6 | 3 |
| Hard | 9 | 4.5 |
Spawns in
Spawns on snow or ice, alone or as one adult with a cub.
It is restricted to Snowy Plains, Ice Spikes, Frozen Ocean, Deep Frozen Ocean, Snowy Slopes and 1 more, so it will never turn up outside those biomes however dark it gets.
- Dimension
- Overworld
- Light level
- Any
- Biomes
- Snowy Plains, Ice Spikes, Frozen Ocean, Deep Frozen Ocean, Snowy Slopes, Frozen Peaks
- Added in
- 1.10
Dimension: Overworld · Added in 1.10
Drops
Killing Polar Bear drops Raw Cod and Raw Salmon, plus up to 3 experience. Looting raises the maximum on most of these by one per level.
- Raw Cod: 0–2
- Raw Salmon: 0–2
How it behaves
The Polar Bear ignores you until provoked, and once provoked it usually stays provoked — often for the whole group, which is what makes a single mistake expensive.
Killed by a player it drops up to 3 experience; killed any other way it drops none.
Command
In a world with cheats on, this spawns one Polar Bear where you are standing.
Summon
/summon minecraft:polar_bear ~ ~ ~Guides and tools that cover this
Frequently asked questions
Are polar bears hostile?
Only when a cub is nearby. A lone adult is neutral and attacks only if you hit it first.
Can you tame a Polar Bear?
No. Polar bears cannot be tamed, bred, leashed or led with any item.
What do polar bears drop?
0 to 2 raw cod and 0 to 2 raw salmon, plus 1 to 3 experience.
How much health does a Polar Bear have?
30 health, 15 hearts, and it deals 6 damage per hit on Normal difficulty.
How much health does the Polar Bear have in Minecraft?
The Polar Bear has 30 health points, which is 15 hearts.
What does the Polar Bear drop?
It drops Raw Cod and Raw Salmon, plus 3 experience when killed by a player.
Where does the Polar Bear spawn?
Spawns on snow or ice, alone or as one adult with a cub.
How much damage does Polar Bear do?
6 on Normal difficulty — 3 hearts — with 4 on Easy and 9 on Hard.
Related pages
How to get it
Polar Bears spawn on snow or ice in snowy plains, ice spikes, frozen oceans, snowy slopes and frozen peaks at any light level, usually as 1 adult with 1 cub. They cannot be tamed, bred or led with food.
Tips
- Check for a cub before approaching — an adult with a cub attacks on sight, while a lone adult ignores you.
- Do not swim away, since polar bears swim well and will follow you into open frozen water.
- Fight from a raised block or a boat if one is unavoidable, because 6 damage a hit adds up quickly.
- Skip them entirely on an ice spikes crossing; the fish drops are not worth the durability.