Polar Bear: Fight for Habitat

Country: Canada
Location: The polar bear lives in the icy waters and frozen tundra of the arctic. 19 subpopulations exist in Alaska, Canada, Russia, Norway and Greenland.

About :The Polar Bear's Physical attributes

• The polar bear lives for 20-25 years and is the largest species of all bears.
• It stands 8-10 feet tall. Males weigh in at anywhere from 550-1700 pounds. Females weigh 200-700 pounds. Their extra blubber is needed for warmth in arctic temperatures and frigid waters.
• The polar bear has the thickest fur of any bear species; it’s needed for warmth. Its white color serves as camouflage for the hunter.
• The polar bear has oversize feet to distribute its substantial weight. These feet make great paddles for swimming and it uses its hind legs as rudders. The feet have vacuoles that act as suction cups on the ice.
• The polar bear can swim for many hours and travel up to 43 miles a day.

Food source

Ringed seals are the polar bear’s main food source. They will hunt some bearded seals and an occasional walrus. Given the chance, they will eat a beluga or other arctic whale and feed on carcasses, birds, berries, kelp and other vegetation.

The polar bear needs to eat 1 ringed seal every 6 and ½ days to sustain itself.

Social behavior

• Polar bears are solitary animals except for mothers and their young.
• Although the polar bear is a solitary hunter, it does not fight over territory and will feed with other bears.
• The polar bear has the little-understood ability to navigate from drifting ice to dens in autumn.
• Most of these arctic bears do not need to hibernate because their food supply is available year round. Females do hibernate while pregnant.

Reproduction

• The polar bear has one of the lowest reproductive rates of any mammals.
• Mating occurs in March or May but implantation is delayed until September and October.
• Females bear 5 litters in a lifetime. Litters usually consist of 1-2 cubs. Litters of four may be born but they rarely all survive.
• Pregnant females dig out dens by coastal waters to hibernate while gestating.
• Cubs are born November through January while the mothers are in hibernation.
• Cubs remain with their mothers for 2 and ½ years so females only reproduce every 3 years.

Reason they are engangered

Global warming

• The Arctic ice cap has shrunk by 1 million miles in the past 30 years. The ice cap is shrinking at a rate of 9% each decade. All summer sea ice could vanish by year 2040.
• As the sea ice melts, fish and seal populations decline.
• Polar bears are swimming for longer and farther and are drowning in their search for food.
• The melting ice creates movement of sea ice that leaves many bears stranded in unsuitable habitats.
• Increased rainfall causes coastal birthing dens to collapse upon hibernating mothers and helpless infant cubs.
• Females are not producing enough fat to survive the reproductive process and hibernation. They are now seen to cannibalize their own young.

Conflict with humans

Food shortages and increased human contact has polar bears feeding on garbage dumps, often ingesting poisonous substances.

Polar bears are unaware of the dangers fire presents, so burning garbage can often takes thier life as well.

The melting sea ice has made tourism an easier endeavor. Increased human contact (and garbage) results in more conflicts between bears and humans. This danger often results in the shooting and killing of polar bears.

Pollution

The arctic is often thought of as the “sink” for toxic substances. Chemicals and pesticides end up in arctic waters and affect the whole food chain.

The polar bear is at the top of the food chain and so ingests the most toxins.

The concentration of these poisons has been found to be extremely high in polar bears. It creates physiological damage and hormonal imbalances. It compromises their immune systems and drains them of necessary minerals for bone density and reproduction.

Hunting

Subsistence hunting of the polar bear has been allowed in Canada, Greenland and Alaska. Scientists feel that the dwindling numbers and increasing habitat threat should spark legislation to impose limits or quotas on the bears that are taken.

Sport hunting of the polar bear is allowed in Canada and Greenland and may be one of the reasons Canada refuses to declare the polar bear endangered.

Although the US Marine Mammal Protection Act is supposed to prohibit Americans from killing marine mammals or importing their products, exceptions are made for American hunters returning with trophy bears from Canada.

In 2007 Russia lifted its 50 year ban on killing polar bears to try and stop poaching. Poaching has always been a problem since the ban and has increased with the ease of hunting in the melting cap. Officials hope that a legal quota will appease hunters.

The search for oil

The melting sea ice and easier navigation through arctic waters has also triggered the interest of oil seekers.

President Bush leased almost 30 million acres of polar bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea for oil and gas drilling. This happened even though the $3.3 billion in bids from 7 giant oil corporations did not include any proven way to clean possible oil spills in broken-ice waters.

After a 3-year legal battle waged by the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC), The Center for Biological Diversity and Greenpeace against the Bush administration, the classification of the polar bear as a “threatened” (but not endangered) species was finally won.

The protection plan provided for the polar bear has loopholes for oil companies and other pollutant sources. It does not designate critical habitat areas or recognize global warming as a cause for the polar bear’s disappearing habitat.

Present legislation

President Bush is now pushing a plan to weaken Endangered Species Act laws. His plan will:

• Eliminate informal consultations with the Fish and Wildlife Service. Companies have to request these preliminary consultations to determine the impact of their product or service on wildlife and habitat.
• Reduce the number of formal consultations on impact needed to introduce a new product or service. If the company or agency unilaterally decides that there will be no impact: formal consultations will be eliminated.
• An agency or company can avoid or minimize consultations by the “Lack of Causation” argument. This avoidance can occur if they determine that their product or service will only have marginal impact on a species. Cumulative marginal impact is the cause of extinction.
• Impose an arbitrary deadline on the consultation process. If an agency like the Fish and Wildlife Service fails to respond to a request for a consultation within a certain time frame, the company or agency can go ahead with development and production with impunity.

How you can help

Visit the National Resources Defense Council site for their plan to stop global warming and help Polar Bears http://www.polarbearsos.org/. -supergreenme