![]() ![]() Polar bears will also go after small whales, reindeer and seabirds. The prey of polar bears varies regionally but includes several species of seals, an energy-rich diet because of the fat content of seal blubber. They are declining in some of the areas, one identified culprit being habitat loss because of human development, petroleum exploration and climate change. Polar bears are found throughout the circumpolar Arctic, with 19 subpopulations being recognized. More: Use all of your senses while taking a nature walk | ECOVIEWS In the 1950s, the most extensive and successful polar bear education program in the world was established to protect not only the people but also the bears. I asked Larry about his recent trip to Churchill, Manitoba Province, Canada, the polar bear capital of the world.Įach autumn, polar bears congregate in the area of Churchill. Polar bears are fascinating creatures, and I was pleased to learn that Larry Wilson of Emory University has a polar bear research site on Hudson Bay. Polar bears apparently know that a black nose is a dead giveaway against a stark white background. Why three legs? Because the bear had covered its nose with a paw, thus allowing it to blend into the snowy backdrop. He concluded the bear was stalking him but was too far away to reach him before he could reach the other door. As he crossed from one hut to the other, he saw a polar bear walking on three legs, camouflaged against a snowbank. On a more positive note, the scientists found that if greenhouse gas emissions are reduced to be more moderate over this century, polar bears in some parts of the Arctic will be able to survive even with increased risks.Polar bears are one of the few animals that consider humans as prey.Ī colleague who studied polar bears told me about the time he was walking between two Quonset huts at a field research station in the Arctic. If greenhouse gas emissions remain high, cubs will be at risk in 12 out of the 13 bear populations that the researchers studied by the end of this century. They found that as the climate continues to change, polar bear cubs are the most vulnerable and are at risk of not surviving to adulthood. The scientists compared the needs of polar bears with Earth system model projections of temperature and sea ice for different areas of the Arctic. A study published in 2020 took a detailed look at which polar bear populations are most at risk over this century. Throughout the Arctic, polar bear populations are projected to decline by 30% by 2050, according to the World Wildlife Federation. They are the first species added under the Endangered Species Act because of climate warming. Endangered Species Act because of the loss of their sea ice habitat. Polar bears have been listed as a threatened species under the U.S. In Canada’s Hudson Bay the number of bears has dropped 22 percent. Even so, scientists have found that polar bears weigh less than they used to and that polar bear cubs off the North coast of Alaska are less likely to survive. Polar bears, it has been reported, occasionally eat land animals like reindeer and musk oxen. With less sea ice, polar bears cannot hunt for food as often, and so they wind up with less to eat. This separates the bears from their preferred hunting grounds, the sea ice. Polar bears are moving to land on the north coast of Alaska because the sea ice is melting and no longer connects to shore. At the northern edge of North America, polar bear populations are particularly vulnerable. And we don't know about the rest of the polar bear populations. A couple of populations are stable or growing. Eight groups, or populations, of polar bears are declining in numbers. There are polar bears living all around the Arctic. ![]() The map above shows the distribution and of polar bear populations in the Arctic and whether they are increasing, stable, decreasing, or unknown.Ĭredit: Hugo Ahlenius ( GRID-Arendal) Not all bears are equally at risk. ![]()
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