Polar Bear

Polar Bear laying on the ice

Photograph from Friendak.com

     Polar bears are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean. They have a thick layer of body fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them from the cold air and water. Considered talented swimmers, they can sustain a pace of six miles per hour by paddling with their front paws and holding their hind legs flat like a rudder.
     Their diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat to survive.
     Polar bears are at the top of the food chain and have an important role in the overall health of the marine environment. Over thousands of years, polar bears have also been an important part of the cultures and economies of Arctic peoples. Polar bears depend on sea ice for their existence and are directly impacted by climate change—serving as an important indicator species.
    The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group show that three subpopulations are in decline and that there is a high estimated risk of future decline due to climate change.
Because of ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US under the Endangered Species Act in May 2008.
     There are several factors that contribute to the decline in Polar Bears, such as climate changes, conflicts with humans, environment destruction, and industrial development.
     As climate change forces polar bears to spend longer time onshore, they come in contact more often with Arctic coastal communities and others working in the Arctic. Unfortunately, these interactions sometimes end badly for both humans and bears.
    In the Arctic, most industrial development has been on relatively small pieces of land. As summer sea ice retreats, a new ocean is emerging, which allows more opportunities for industrial development at sea and on larger parcels of land.
At the same time, the retreating ice is resulting in more polar bears spending longer periods on land for denning. These factors combined are putting polar bears and industrial activities on a potential collision course.
     Offshore petroleum installations and operations in the Arctic are expected to increase in number. This expansion would affect polar bears and their habitat in many ways, including contact with spilled oil would be fatal, an oil spill would affect the entire food chain, and noise generated from onshore and offshore oil operations would cause disturbance.
     Increased Arctic shipping represents a risk to polar bears. As traffic by barges, oil tankers and cargo ships in Arctic waters increases, so do the risk of oil spills and human disturbance to polar bears.

How to Help:
People can help increase polar bear population by adopting a polar bear on websites, such as the World Wildlife Fund, by reaching out to local and national activists about the polar bears' current state of destruction, and by learning about the polar bears and raising awareness about their importance to the environment.

Sources:
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/polar-bear
https://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Polar-Bear.aspx