Jack O’Leary
Bio 227
Lisa Needles
Polar Bear
With their iconic white fur and
large size, polar bears are extremely easy to recognize. Polar bears, or the
Ursus Maritimus, is part of the Ursidae family. They are a K-selected species
and have one of the lowest reproductive rates among mammals. It takes a female
4-5 years to mature, and 195-265 days for babies to be born. Unfortunately, cub
mortality is very high during the first year, depending highly on the fat
storage of the mother. Polar bears most usually have white fur, however, polar
bears are known to have soft yellow furs as well as even somewhat brown fur in
the summers months. The sheer size of the polar bear can leave many in awe. A
male polar bear can weigh up to 2,000 lbs. and as long as ten feet. Even though
the female polar is only usually half the size of males, the soft and cuddly
polar bears that most people think of can turn into ruthless beasts very
quickly as they are one of the worlds largest carnivores in size. The claws of
the polar bear are short and rock hard, making it easy for them to travel on
snow. Their teeth are sharp and rugged, making it very easy to shred apart their
meat. Interestingly, polar bears have short and stout ears and tails due to their
cold environment, allowing for less heat loss. Also, polar bears have
absolutely massive feet. Their big feet play many roles such as flippers while
swimming as well as snowshoes while walking in the snow. A polar bears feet are
so big and can support their weight so well that they can walk on snow that
even humans would break right through.
Polar
Bears inhabit the ice covered areas of the Arctic region. They are most
commonly found living on the year round ice blocks in the Arctic, yet, they are
still found in areas that aren’t ice covered year round. The southern extent of
polar bears is in Newfoundland, Canada and are native to Canada, Alaska,
Greenland, Norway, and the Russian Federation. Today, there are 19
subpopulations of polar bears in the world and often occur at low densities. Currently
there are an estimated 20-25,000 polar bears in the 19 subpopulations. The
massive decline in the polar bear was due to hunters using traps and weapons
dating all the way back to the 1600’s. Then, in 1973 a treaty was signed by the
U.S., Canada, Denmark, Norway, and the USSR to regulate commercial hunting. In
that same year, the U.S government put the polar bear in their Endangered
Species Act. In 2013, the first ever Polar Bear Forum met to discus the decline
of polar bear population recently and in the future due to loss of habitat. The
polar bear has also been listed under a type T recovery plan, the Polar Bear Draft Conservation Management
Plan, as of July 8th, 2015.
Right
now, the primary threat to the polar bears continued existence is the thinning
of sea ice. This is not only threatening the polar bear’s existence because of
habitat destruction, but its also reducing the amount of prey for polar bears
as well. The cause of the thinning sea ice is climate change due to a large
level of greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere. The next step in the
movement to help the polar bear species is recovery. The first action, and perhaps
the most important, that needs to be taken is limiting greenhouse gases to a
level that will sustain sea ice levels at a high enough point so polar bears and
their prey can inhabit old habitats that have recently disappeared. Secondly,
we must continue to manage the human and polar bear interactions so that polar
bears aren’t being illegally hunted. Also, we must protect the den areas that
polar bears hibernate in as well. Lastly, a major action to be taken is
limiting the amount of gas and oil spills in the North Slope. This is causing
contaminated prey for polar bears as well as unregulated temperatures in polar
bears. With these actions, along with continual research and monitoring, we
will see the polar bears begin to recover at a high rate.
As
far as personal action is concerned, there are definitely ways for me to help the
recovery of polar bears. Most importantly, I can help reduce the amount of
greenhouse gases there are in the atmosphere. Actions to do this would include:
recycle, use less heating and air conditioning, drive less and drive smart, buy
energy efficient products, use less hot water, unplug appliances, and plant
trees. Doing these things would help reduce my greenhouse gas emissions, which
would in turn help the sea ice from melting in the Arctic where the polar bears
live. The polar bear is a majestic animal that is losing its habitat quickly
and needs to be recovered as quickly as possible.
Works Cited
U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Services. “Polar Bear Draft Conservation Management Plan.” Mon. 29,
2015.
Endangered Polar
Bear. “Polar Bear Description: What a Polar Bear Looks Like.” Endangered
Polar
Bear Company website: endangeredpolarbear.com (Accessed November 29, 2015.)
Red List. “Ursus
Maritimus.” The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN Red List
Organizational
webstie: iucnredlist.org (Accessed November 29, 2015).
WWF. “Polar Bear
Status, Distribution, and Population.” World Wide Fund for Nature Panda
Organizational
webstie: wwf.panda.org (Accessed November 29, 2015).
