Endangered Species Lab

The Year of the Polar Bear

This year 2013, marks the 40th anniversary of conservation for the Ursus maritimu, meaning "sea bear," in Latin, or who most know as the polar bear. It was back in 1973 that the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was signed- an international action to protect this majestic species and its habitat. 

 

Source: © WWF / Geoff York A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and her cub

Sadly, in 2008, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) listed the polar bear in Alaska as threatened, the first listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) due primarily to climate change. Yes, the most serious threat posed to polar bears now is climate change. As the sea ice in the Arctic melts earlier each Spring and forms later each Fall, their chances for survival become less and less. They rely on the sea ice to hunt and store energy for the summer and autumn, when food is scarce. As they spend longer times without food, their health declines, which eventually can lead to local extinction. Other major risks are toxic pollutants, oil and gas explorations and over harvesting.

Source: www.squidoo.com

The polar bear is one of the largest land carnivores. Males can grow up to three times the size of females and weigh anywhere from 772 to 1433 lbs.  A bears coat is approximately one to two inches thick. Very dense and woolly with insulated under hairs, covered by a relatively thin layer of stiff, shiny, hollow guard hairs, which can be as long as six inches. Their fur is water repellent and oily, which makes it easy for them to shake off ice and water from sometimes below freezing temperatures .  Their large paws act like snowshoes, spreading out the bear's weight as it moves over ice and snow, with sole of  their thick, black pads covered with small, soft papillaes (dermal bumps). These bumps create friction between the foot and ice to prevent slipping. The bear's head is oblong and relatively small, and. their muzzle is elongated with a "Roman-nosed" (slightly arched) snout. Their eyes are dark brown, and have 42 teeth, which are used for catching food and for aggressive behavior.

Source: www.tumblr.com

 

Today, polar bears are among the few large carnivores left that are still found in roughly their original habitat and range, and in some places, in roughly their natural numbers. There are approximately 20 - 25,000 polar bears worldwide, in 19 distinct sub-populations, with about 60 to 80 percent of those numbers in Canada. Other places they are located are:  Greenland/Denmark, Norway, Russia and Alaska. Although the populations of polar bears  have gone back to some healthy numbers, there are some stable, some increasing and some decreasing due to various stresses, and  7 to 19 of the sub populations seem to be shrinking--two of these shrinking areas is due to the reduction of sea ice.

Walker as a cub at Rhenen Zoo in Holland

 Source:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11682872

Creating breeding programs for polar bears is not a simple task. As Ross Minett, who campaigns director at OneKind, says, 'that polar bears have complex behavioral needs that cannot be met in captivity.' He also says, "It is impossible to re-create the natural conditions these animals would experience in the wild, therefore polar bears are one of the most inappropriate animals to keep in captivity. Any captive breeding programme is inherently flawed as any bears born are likely to be incapable of surviving in the wild, and therefore condemned to remain in captivity for the rest of their lives." Although with this said, there are breeding programs happening at the Highland Wildlife Park, in Scotland. It's a colder climate here for the bears and they have four acres that are designed closest to their natural habitat as they can get. They have slowly be introducing the females bears to the male bears and leaving them alone during the mating season to reproduce. It seems to be working. Minnet goes on to say, ""True conservation is about protecting these wonderful animals in the wild in their natural habitat."

Participants at the WWF-sponsored Polar Bear Human Conflict Workshop in Tromso, Norway, February 2013.

 © Tine Marie Hagelin,

In more recent news, stressed out and hungry bears are coming more into conflict and into the neighborhoods of people more often in search of food in some of the regions. Geoff York, of World Wildlife Fund (WWF), says this is the opportunity now to "...develop plans and programs on the ground and across the Arctic ahead of anticipated increases in conflict situations." Yes, as the sea ice continues to melt, the longer these bears will be on land with people, over years this problem will just worsen. Local communities in these regions are putting preventative actions together including: polar bear patrols to education on safety measures to understanding the approaching to understanding the behavior of bears and human interaction better. With this year of 2013 being the year of the polar bear, WWF is making sure that all regions concerned get involved and make some serious commitments of action to preserving these wonderful beautiful majestic mammals.

 

  

Sources

Retrieved on: 5/1/2013. 
World Wild Life Fund

http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/wildlife/polar_bear/

Retrieved on: 5/1/2013
Defenders of Wild Life

http://www.defenders.org/polar-bear/basic-facts

Retrieved on: 5/1/2013
BBC News

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-highlands-islands-11682872, November 3,  2010