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 8^th, 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).