Rare hunting scene raises questions over polar bear diet
A polar bear chases a reindeer into the water, drags it ashore and devours it, in a striking scene caught on film for the first time.
A polar bear chases a reindeer into the water, drags it ashore and devours it, in a striking scene caught on film for the first time.
Ecology
Nov 28, 2021
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Russian explorers headed home Thursday after proving it is possible to drive from Russia to Canada across the North Pole, in buses with bloated tires over drifting ice, using a pickaxe to clear the way.
Earth Sciences
May 16, 2013
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Ancient humans, Neanderthals and Denisovans were genetically closer than polar bears and brown bears, and so, like the bears, were able to easily produce healthy, fertile hybrids according to a study, led by the University ...
Evolution
Jun 3, 2020
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Norwegian scientists have seen polar bears eating dolphins in the Arctic for the first time ever and blame global warming for the bears expanding their diet.
Ecology
Jun 12, 2015
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A 21-second newsreel clip featuring the last known images of the extinct thylacine, filmed in 1935, has been digitised in 4K and released by the National Film and Sound Archive of Australia (NFSA).
Plants & Animals
May 20, 2020
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Polar bear numbers could drop a third by mid-century, according to the first systematic assessment, released on Wednesday, of how dwindling Arctic sea ice affects the world's largest bear.
Ecology
Dec 7, 2016
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Bears are not cats or dogs, and feeding them like they are likely shortens their lives.
Plants & Animals
Oct 3, 2022
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429
The Arctic Ocean in summer will very likely be ice free before 2050, at least temporarily. The efficacy of climate-protection measures will determine how often and for how long. These are the results of a new research study ...
Earth Sciences
Apr 20, 2020
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In work that has major implications for improving the performance of building insulation, scientists at the University of Namur in Belgium and the University of Hassan I in Morocco have calculated that hairs that reflect ...
Optics & Photonics
Jan 23, 2014
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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.
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