The Race Against Extinction
Known to all as the polar bear, to most as the King of the Arctic, and to scientists as the Ursus maritumus, these magnificent animals do much more than just serve as the mascot for Coca-Cola.
Description & Ecology:
For a lot of us, hearing the word blubber may send an image of a pile of gross fat into our minds (or maybe that's just me.) BUT if you were a polar bear, and could understand that word, you would be shouting, "YES PLEASE!" It turns out that blubber is a necessity for polar bears, and seals steal the number one spot on their dietary list, as the seal's blubber is critical for maintaining their massive body weights. (Although they do casually indulge on the remains of whales, or other small mammals.) Polar bears are the "poster-animal" for predators, because not only are they the largest predatory land mammal on the planet, but they can also sniff out food as far as 20 miles away. Not even 6-feet thick ice can stop this bear from feeding itself and it's cubs, talk about determination. Even though polar bears do have rather impressive swimming abilities, they've still got a clever trick up their fur for an easier meal snatch. Polar bears often stalk their prey by waiting for them to pop up by a breathing hole along the ice. With a potential nose-to-tail length of ten feet, and females weighing anywhere from 330 to 650 lbs, and males typically between 775-1,300 lbs, it definitely does not have any predatory threats. So what really is contributing to the decline of these furry friends?
Cause of Listing and Main Threat to its Continued Existence: No shocker that the primary threat to polar bears is greatly influenced by the actions of humans. The primary reason of listing under the ESA is the decline of their sea ice habitat, most specifically in the regions of the United States. Polar bears rely on this sea ice to hunt for seals, and Sea ice is rapidly thinning due to a ridiculous amount of greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere. The release of these is due to our excessive use of electricity, heating, and fuel, among many others. Scientists hypothesize that if the emissions continue to rise at the present rate, polar bears will no longer exist in most regions by the the end of the 21st century.
Geographic and Population Changes: Polar bears live in frigid areas many of us dare not venture to: The Circumpolar North. This area encompasses 19 different sub-populations which include parts of Canada, the U.S (Alaska), Greenland, Russia, and Norway. More specifically, the species is broken into four ecoregions: Archipelago, Convergent, Divergent, and Seasonal. Due to the large number of sub-populations, the bears represent a wide variation of genetics, behavior and strategies of survival. Most recently, polar bear populations are estimated to be around 20,000 to 25,000.
Listing Date and Type of Listing: The polar bear was listed as a threatened species on May 8, 2008.
Description of the Recovery Plan: The conservation strategy is obviously aimed to protect the survival of these animals, which today are considered to be threatened. This plan has five fundamental goals. These plans are:
1. To secure a long-term persistence of polar bears as a species
2. To secure a long-term persistence of polar bears at all scales of genetic diversity,
behavior, and life-history
3. To protect the two sub-populations in the United States (Southern Beaufort Sea &
Chukchi Sea sub-populations)
4. To continue to manage human-bear interactions
5. To achieve this without strenuous restrictions on certain economically benificial activities.
The number one and most important solution described in the plan is to "significantly reduce the present levels of global greenhouse gas emissions." In addition, there are plans to manage human-bear conflicts, manage subsistence harvest, protect their denning habitat, and minimize the risk of contamination from spills.
What can you do? Since the main threat to polar bears is primarily caused by humans, it's important to fully understand what effects we are having on these animals. Not only should we be aware of those effects, but also don't forget to EDUCATE OTHERS. Some ways to help polar bears and to reduce your impact is to monitor the amount of carbon you are releasing into the atmosphere. Some simple ways to reduce are to carpool more, drive less, turn off the lights when you leave a room, and use household fuel efficiently.
Description & Ecology: For a lot of us, hearing the word blubber may send an image of a pile of gross fat into our minds (or maybe that's just me.) BUT if you were a polar bear, and could understand that word, you would be shouting, "YES PLEASE!" It turns out that blubber is a necessity for polar bears, and seals steal the number one spot on their dietary list, as the seal's blubber is critical for maintaining their massive body weights. (Although they do casually indulge on the remains of whales, or other small mammals.) Polar bears are the "poster-animal" for predators, because not only are they the largest predatory land mammal on the planet, but they can also sniff out food as far as 20 miles away. Not even 6-feet thick ice can stop this bear from feeding itself and it's cubs, talk about determination. Even though polar bears do have rather impressive swimming abilities, they've still got a clever trick up their fur for an easier meal snatch. Polar bears often stalk their prey by waiting for them to pop up by a breathing hole along the ice. With a potential nose-to-tail length of ten feet, and females weighing anywhere from 330 to 650 lbs, and males typically between 775-1,300 lbs, it definitely does not have any predatory threats. So what really is contributing to the decline of these furry friends?
Cause of Listing and Main Threat to its Continued Existence: No shocker that the primary threat to polar bears is greatly influenced by the actions of humans. The primary reason of listing under the ESA is the decline of their sea ice habitat, most specifically in the regions of the United States. Polar bears rely on this sea ice to hunt for seals, and Sea ice is rapidly thinning due to a ridiculous amount of greenhouse gas emissions being released into the atmosphere. The release of these is due to our excessive use of electricity, heating, and fuel, among many others. Scientists hypothesize that if the emissions continue to rise at the present rate, polar bears will no longer exist in most regions by the the end of the 21st century.
Geographic and Population Changes: Polar bears live in frigid areas many of us dare not venture to: The Circumpolar North. This area encompasses 19 different sub-populations which include parts of Canada, the U.S (Alaska), Greenland, Russia, and Norway. More specifically, the species is broken into four ecoregions: Archipelago, Convergent, Divergent, and Seasonal. Due to the large number of sub-populations, the bears represent a wide variation of genetics, behavior and strategies of survival. Most recently, polar bear populations are estimated to be around 20,000 to 25,000.
Description of the Recovery Plan: The conservation strategy is obviously aimed to protect the survival of these animals, which today are considered to be threatened. This plan has five fundamental goals. These plans are:
1. To secure a long-term persistence of polar bears as a species
2. To secure a long-term persistence of polar bears at all scales of genetic diversity,
behavior, and life-history
3. To protect the two sub-populations in the United States (Southern Beaufort Sea &
Chukchi Sea sub-populations)
4. To continue to manage human-bear interactions
5. To achieve this without strenuous restrictions on certain economically benificial activities.
The number one and most important solution described in the plan is to "significantly reduce the present levels of global greenhouse gas emissions." In addition, there are plans to manage human-bear conflicts, manage subsistence harvest, protect their denning habitat, and minimize the risk of contamination from spills.
What can you do? Since the main threat to polar bears is primarily caused by humans, it's important to fully understand what effects we are having on these animals. Not only should we be aware of those effects, but also don't forget to EDUCATE OTHERS. Some ways to help polar bears and to reduce your impact is to monitor the amount of carbon you are releasing into the atmosphere. Some simple ways to reduce are to carpool more, drive less, turn off the lights when you leave a room, and use household fuel efficiently.
Take a few moments to really look at and admire these beautiful creatures. Notice the white light engulfing them, the resemblence of a halo highlighting their pure white bodies. Would you be able to look into these bears' eyes, and watch their home melt from right beneath their paws? Would you be able to watch that baby waiting nervously and hungry for mom to come back from a hunting trip, but she never returns? It's apparent that these animals do not look like us, and obviously they live a very different life than us humans do. But someone tell me, how could they deserve all of the pain that we are recklessly creating for them? If you are drawn to donate to help the polar bears recover, please visit https://support.worldwildlife.org/site/Donation2?df_id=10500&10500.donation=form1&s_src=AWG1308SSGC0&gclid=Cj0KEQiA6_TBBRDInaPjhcelt5oBEiQApPeTF5DNk3KchVUIaYeVR4_wb7Pn1ZK4CX6A5nf5cQjzEOAaAi7K8P8HAQ
Other Resources:
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/essentials
https://carbonfund.org/reduce/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear
Citations:
-UFWS Polar Bear Draft Conservation Management Plan
Other Resources:
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/about-polar-bears/essentials
https://carbonfund.org/reduce/
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear
Citations:
-UFWS Polar Bear Draft Conservation Management Plan
Great post. Gives great background and details, and has good voice. –Austin K.
ReplyDeleteThe tone and voice in the post are great. I thought that the graphic showing polar bear sub-populations was really eye catching and conveyed the information very clearly. - Natalie LaFollette
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written and organized blog, I love the photos and videos that you included as well. This was both very scientific and heartfelt.
ReplyDelete-megan molloy