Polar regions contain vast, undiscovered biodiversity but are both the most threatened and least-understood areas of the world.
Ecology
Nov 20, 2023
0
3
This week, we covered developments about a record-breaking black hole, the continued plight of polar bears, ChatGPT trying to learn intuition and more. Don't worry if you missed those stories. We've got you covered here.
A federal judge upheld the Biden administration's approval of ConocoPhillips' 600-million-barrel Willow oil development in Alaska, a blow to environmentalists who argued it would imperil wildlife and exacerbate climate change.
Environment
Nov 10, 2023
0
4
The fact that polar bears in Greenland are under threat is not a recent development. They have increasingly come to symbolize the challenges posed by melting polar ice and the broader climate crisis in recent years. Nevertheless, ...
Plants & Animals
Nov 10, 2023
0
32
In 1967, two simultaneous grizzly bear attacks in Montana's Glacier National Park launched an era of research into human-bear conflicts.
Plants & Animals
Nov 2, 2023
0
2
Research testing new technology to more effectively locate polar bear dens across the Arctic is showing promising results. Researchers from Simon Fraser University and Brigham Young University (BYU), collaborating with Polar ...
Ecology
Oct 18, 2023
0
25
A new study provides compelling evidence that animal care and management practices at zoos and aquariums have significantly improved over time. The study, led by Species360 and University of Southern Denmark Research Scientist ...
Ecology
Oct 17, 2023
3
81
"Flagship" individual animals like Cecil the lion or Freya the walrus can boost conservation, new research suggests.
Plants & Animals
Oct 12, 2023
0
52
When sea ice melts, polar bears must move onto land for several months without access to food. This fasting period is challenging for all bears, but particularly for polar bear mothers who are nursing cubs.
Plants & Animals
Oct 6, 2023
0
10
To hunt the narwhal, whose long tusk was the unicorn horn of medieval myth, you need absolute silence.
Ecology
Oct 4, 2023
0
1
Ursus eogroenlandicus Ursus groenlandicus Ursus jenaensis Ursus labradorensis Ursus marinus Ursus polaris Ursus spitzbergensis Ursus ungavensis Thalarctos maritimus
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear native to the Arctic Ocean and its surrounding seas. It is the world's largest carnivore species found on land. It's also the largest bear, together with the omnivore Kodiak bear which is approximately the same size. An adult male weighs around 400–680 kg (880–1,500 lb), while an adult female is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrow ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, it spends most of its time at sea, hence its name meaning "maritime bear", and can hunt consistently only from sea ice, spending much of the year on the frozen sea.
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with 5 of the 19 polar bear subpopulations in decline. For decades, unrestricted hunting raised international concern for the future of the species; populations have rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect. For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and the hunting of polar bears remains important in their cultures.
The IUCN now lists global warming as the most significant threat to the polar bear, primarily because the melting of its sea ice habitat reduces its ability to find sufficient food. The IUCN states, "If climatic trends continue polar bears may become extirpated from most of their range within 100 years." On May 14, 2008, the United States Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act.
This text uses material from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA
