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If arctic sea ice continues melting at its current rate, polar bears could become extinct by the end of this century. © WWF-Canon / Jack Stein GROVE |
Current bear populations:
20-25,000 polar bears worldwide
Aproximately 19 distinct sub-populations (see above map)
60% of these are in Canada
Tracks have been reported as far north as the pole
Few scientists believe few bears travel beyond 82° north latitude. This is because the northern Arctic Ocean has little food for them.
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Locations of polar bear populations around the Arctic as of July, 2009. Click on the image above to see a larger jpeg version of this map. © WWF |
In 2005, the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG) reviewed the status of polar bears using the IUCN Red List categories and criteria.
The group concluded that the Red List classification of the polar bear should be upgraded from Least
Concern to Vulnerable based on the likelihood of a decline in the total global polar bear population of more than 30% within the next 35 to 50 years.
The main cause of this projected decline in polar bear numbers is climatic warming and its consequent negative effects on the sea ice habitat of polar bears.
This agreement on the status of polar bears regulates hunting and habitat protection, but it does not protect bears against the biggest man-made threat to their survival: global warming.
If current warming trends continue unabated, scientists believe that polar bears will be vulnerable to extinction within the next century.
This is basically saying that at the rate that global warming is continuing at the moment that the 30% decrease in total population of the Polar bears in the next 35 to 50 years is very likely. It also clearly states that the main cause for the decrease will be global warming which is a man made effect that only we can control as humans.
Polar Bear
The Arctic’s polar bears (Ursus maritimus) have become the iconic symbol of early victims of climate-induced habitat loss. Designated a threatened species for protection by the Endangered Species Act in the U.S., many polar bear populations will be vulnerable to extinction within the next century if warming trends in the Arctic continue at the current pace. WWF is supporting field research to better understand how climate change will affect polar bears and to develop adaptation strategies. WWF also works to protect critical polar bear habitat by working with governments and industry to reduce threats from shipping and oil and gas development in the region and with local communities to reduce human-bear conflict in areas where bears are already stranded on land for longer periods of time due to lack of ice.
http://www.wwf.org.uk/wwf_articles.cfm?unewsid=3618
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| Threatened polar bear mother and cubs in Hudson Bay. © WWF-Canada / Peter Ewins |
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| A polar bear cub sleeps on its mother. © WWF / Geoff York |
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| A polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and her cubs © WWF / Geoff York |
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| Large male polar bear eight kilometres north of Oliktok, Alaska, US, in the Beaufort Sea. © Eric V. Regehr/USGS |
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| Polar Bears on the ice. © WWF / Jim Leape |
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| POLAR BEARS IN PERIL: The U.S. Geological Survey forecasts that two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear by 2050, based on moderate projections for the shrinking of summer sea ice caused by global warming. © WWF-US |
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| A swimming polar bear photographed by WWF International Arctic Programme Polar Bear Coordinator Geoff York. © WWF / Geoff York |
