The polar bear (also known as the Ursus Maritimus or the “sea bear”) is the world’s largest terrestrial predator, and can be found in the Arctic, Alaska, Canada, Denmark, Norway and Russia. The polar bear lives in extreme cold climate conditions on the annual arctic sea ice, with temperatures dropping as low as -45 degrees Celsius. In fact, the polar bear needs sea ice to survive. The arctic sea ice allows the polar bear to hunt, live, and breed – sea ice is the basic foundation of the arctic marine ecosystem.
It is estimated that there are currently 20-25,000 polar bears worldwide; most of which live in Canada. With that being said, studies have shown that approximately two-thirds of the world’s polar bears could disappear by the year 2050. Why you ask? Because of global warming. As temperatures increase, the ice, that the polar bear depends so heavily upon, melts away – destroying the polar bear’s natural habitat. Global warming is a growing ecological issue that is inflicting an abundance of negative effects upon the polar bear’s wellbeing. As the severity of this issue increases, the possibility of the polar bear’s eventual extinction comes into play.
The polar bear is situated at the top of the Arctic marine ecosystem, and feeds primarily off the seal. The sea ice is where the seal rests, and therefore where the polar bears can capture them to eat. As the excess heat melts away the sea ice, the polar bears are left wandering, with nothing to eat. The scarcity of their food supply is increasing and the polar bears are left with nothing to feed off of. This reduced food availability is leading to the death of many polar bears. Scientists and researchers have found the bodies of multiple polar bears that had starved to death. Both their habitats and food supply are disappearing – which poses a life-threatening concern upon their species.
Although polar bears are recognized as rather strong swimmers, there have been multiple cases of polar bears drowning. Polar bears are being obligated to swim excessive distances across open sea to find food (up to 60 miles!). These ‘sea voyages’ are becoming longer and essentially never-ending. The ‘ice floes’ from which they feed are decreasing in size and drifting further away from one another. These ‘voyages’ are leaving them susceptible to extreme exhaustion and hypothermia which is causing them to drown while attempting to swim to safety. “Last summer the ice cap receded about 200 miles further north than the average of two decades ago, forcing the bears to undertake far longer voyages between floes”. (Information from The Sunday Times – “Polar bears drown as ice shelf melts”)
“Our results have demonstrated that as the sea ice goes, so goes the polar bear,” – Steven Amstrup, a USGS wildlife research biologist. Global warming is currently the most powerful threat to polar bear extinction and it is under OUR control to put a stop to this.