In the southern Beaufort Sea, polar bears may be turning to cannibalism because longer seasons without ice keep them from obtaining food from their natural sources. Normally, polar bears feed primarily on ringed seals and use sea ice for basic functions like feeding, mating and giving birth.
American and Canadian scientists reviewed three examples of polar bears preying on each other from January to April 2004, in northern Alaska and western Canada. In one incident, a bear killed a female of the species in her den shortly after she had given birth.
In the wild, polar bears do kill each other for population regulation, to exert their dominance, and to gain reproductive advantage. But killing one another for food is much less common. Steven Amstrup, of the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center, says that "During the 24 years of research on polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea region of northern Alaska and 34 years in northwestern Canada, we have not seen other incidents of polar bears stalking, killing and eating other polar bears.".
Environmentalists believe that the shrinking of the polar ice (due to global warming) may lead to the extinction of polar bears before the end of the 21st century.
The Center for Biological Diversity of Joshua Tree, CA, petitioned the federal government in 2005 to list polar bears as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, saying that cannibalism demonstrates the adverse effects that global warming has had on the bears.
Less than thirty years ago, there was 7 million square kilometers (2.5 million square miles) of ice at the end of each summer. Today's levels are down about 40% from those numbers. A research scientist with the National Snow and Ice Data Center in Boulder, Colorado stated that "Seven million square kilometers roughly corresponds to an area of the lower 48 United States." Imagine if, back in the early 1980s, the lower 48 states were covered in sea ice in the summer and now, the sea ice east of the Mississippi River is gone.
Polar Bear SPECIES- Ursus Maritimus, Polar Bear, lord of the Arctic. Lives in an area of five million square miles of snow and ice. ... It lives in the brutal cold, ice, and snow. ... Usually the pregnant female polar bear stays in the den. ... The hairs of its thick coat are hollow, giving extra insulation against the bitter arctic cold. ...
The polar bears in the Arctic are the animals that are most affected by the changes in the Arctic ice. The polar bears rely on the ice in order to reach the seals on which they feed. The polar bears eat very little else except ringed seals. ... The change in the ice will affect the food chain of which polar bears are a part. ... There wouldn't be enough arctic cod because there would be to many seals without the polar bears eating any and so on. ...
And a sea bear is just what the polar bear is. ... But, however, despite its aquatic lifestyle and its desire to reside outside on sea-ice year round, though, they are also much like other bears. Most commonly found in or around the ice-covered waters of the Arctic, a scientific explanation approximates that there are anywhere between 25,000 to 40,000 polar bears currently living in the world. ... Different than other bears though, the polar bear's foot has five claws that are sharp and curved in order to make grasping ice and holding onto prey and easier task. ... The polar bear&...
Metabolic rate decreases, so less energy is generated by the body Arctic Polar Bears (Thalarctos maritimus) Polar bears have successfully adapted to one of the world's most inhospitable climates, and remain active throughout the harsh winter. They are found on the sea ice of the Arctic throughout the North Polar basin. ... Long hair between the pads protects the bear's feet from the cold and provides traction on the ice. ... Animals living in cold climates, polar bears and seals for example have a particularly thick layer of sub-cutaneous fat. ... In all Endotherms, including polar b...
Polar Bear's My report is on Polar Bears. ... Polar Bears are found throughout the Circumpolar Arctic. ... The Polar bears inhabit the Arctic sea ice, water, islands, and coastlines, even though they prefer sea ice habitat with leads (water channels or cracks through ice which may remain ice free for only a few minutes to a couple months, depending on the weather and water conditions) next to continental coastlines or islands. most pregnant females spend the autumn and winter on land during there maternity days. ... Polar Bears breeding season st...
Polar bears are the biggest animals in the bear family. ... Polar Bears live where there is a lot of ice and snow near open water. ... Other Information bout the polar Bears The mating season for the Polar Bears is in the springtime. ... Polar bear cubs are whiter than the adult bears. ... "Works Cited" Neilson, Barbara "Polar Bears Alive" online. 1997 Polar Bears Alive International. ...
They top the food chain in the Arctic, where they dine primarily on seals. ... The large paws of a polar bear act like snowshoes, spreading out the bear's weight as it moves over ice and snow. ... Polar bears make shallow dives when stalking prey, navigating ice floes, or searching for kelp. ... On warm days polar bears sprawl out on the ground or ice, sometimes on their backs with their feet in the air. ... Once the polar bear reaches the ice edge, the bear quickly emerges from the water and grabs the seal with its claws or teeth. ...
For over 230 year, the poles of the Earth have been visualized by the world as white lands without economic potential, surrounded by massive ice where only native citizens traditionally know as Eskimos, passionate scientists and specific species of animals such as polar bears, narwhals and walruses live in. ... "Since the 1980s, agencies around the globe have deployed satellites to measure the extent of Ice in the Arctic Sea" (Plumber, 2012, n.p). Figure 1.1 from the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency report (2013) reveals how over the last three decades, the summer Arctic sea ice ...
The areas of the world that are permanently covered in ice are shrinking 9% each decade. Arctic animals like polar bears, walruses, whales, and seals are having to change their migration and feeding patterns. ... Polar bears main prey is a seal. ... That makes for less food for the polar bears and now the polar bears are having to compete even more for food. ... If polar bears go extinct then the whole arctic ecosystem will be screwed up. ...
