Researchers discover swath of previously undocumented polar bear dens
Dr. Doug Clark (Ph.D.) has crawled into many polar bear dens as a graduate student and in a former job as a park warden.
Dr. Doug Clark (Ph.D.) has crawled into many polar bear dens as a graduate student and in a former job as a park warden.
Plants & Animals
Jul 4, 2024
0
15
Melting Arctic glaciers are in rapid recession, and microscopic organisms colonize the newly exposed landscapes. Dr. James Bradley, Honorary Reader in Arctic Biogeochemistry in the School of Biological and Behavioral Sciences ...
Earth Sciences
Jul 1, 2024
0
390
Inuit hunter Hjelmer Hammeken spotted a ringed seal near its breathing hole on the Greenland ice. In his white camouflage, he slowly crept towards it then lay down in the snow and waited.
Ecology
Jun 17, 2024
0
0
An international team of scientists said Thursday that polar bears faced local extinction in Canada's Hudson Bay by mid-century if global warming exceeds limits set under the Paris climate accords.
Ecology
Jun 16, 2024
0
40
Global warming is projected to lengthen the ice-free period in the Hudson Bay, reducing the length of the resident polar bears' hunting season, according to research published in Communications Earth & Environment. Under ...
Plants & Animals
Jun 13, 2024
0
43
Our family dog used to have a rather noticeable extra eyelid that became especially apparent when he dozed off, usually upturned on the rug. This is the fleshy curtain seen at the corner of each eye, closest to the nose. ...
Plants & Animals
May 18, 2024
0
15
The first case of a walrus dying from bird flu has been detected on one of Norway's Arctic islands, a researcher said Monday.
Ecology
Apr 29, 2024
0
31
When darkness falls on central Ohio during the total solar eclipse on April 8, will animals think it's time to go to bed? Will they be anxious? Will they care?
Plants & Animals
Mar 22, 2024
0
2
Encompassing over 16,000 km2 of towering mountains, long fiords, lush valleys, and massive ice caps, Agguttinni Territorial Park is a protected area on northern Baffin Island, Nunavut, Canada. This park, and all of Nunavut, ...
Plants & Animals
Mar 12, 2024
0
15
Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) like clean, cold water and can be found around northern Greenland, Svalbard, Alaska and in Arctic parts of Russia and Canada.
Plants & Animals
Mar 8, 2024
0
2
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