Plight of the Polar Bears

The polar bear has been called the 'poster child' and 'a canary in a coal mine' for global warming. Unfortunately, there is more against them then that. Polar bears are rapidly losing their habitats due to rising temperatures, enviromental contaminants, development, and the unsustainable hunting that threatens many of their populations. They are the top predator in the arctic and although their populations are hard to estimate, it is known that they are dropping severely. The World Conservation Union's Polar Bear Specialist Group has estimated that the polar bear populations will have dropped by 30% in the next 35-50 years. Its purpose is to "conduct national research programs on polar bears, particularly research relating to the conservation and management of the species. They shall, as appropriate, coordinate such research with the research carried out by other Parties, consult with other Parties on management of migrating polar bear populations, and exchange information on research and management programs, research results, and data on bears taken."

It has been recommended that the bears be classified as vulnerabe by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUNC), and added to the IUNC Red List of Threatened Species.

The US and Canada have classified the polar bears as requiring special protections.

The US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed, in January 2007, to list the bears as threatened due to the possibility that “all or a significant proportion of the total population will become endangered in the foreseeable future”, although the habitat loss of sea ice should be justification enough for the listing.