Polar Bears : Ecological Impacts And Conservation Efforts

The melting sea ice is also affecting the polar bear's main prey, seals, forcing the bears to turn to alternate, less nutritious food sources. Once sea ice forms in the winter, seals use the ice to create dens to give birth to their pups. In these months, polar bears use sea ice as their hunting grounds to find seal dens. Now that Seasonal Ice is forming later and melting earlier (IPCC, 2013), seals have less time to build dens and give birth. Consequently, polar bears have less time to hunt their preferred prey of seal pups. They must spend more time on land hunting other animals of less nutritional value. Organizations like Sea World Parks have reported male polar bears occasionally eating newly-born polar bear cubs because they cannot find other food to eat. Lack of nutritional food leads to a reduced body size. Polar bears are becoming thinner and weaker from not eating enough (Rode, Amstrup, & Regehr 2010). They have to swim longer distances to find ice to hunt upon, causing many cubs to die because they are not yet strong enough. In the Hudson Bay, the average polar bear weight has decreased by 15% and the population has decreased by 20% (National Wildlife Federation). In the summer when there is no ice, polar bears in the Hudson Bay go onto land to fast until the ice reforms. Now that ice is

Polar bears are the top predator in the tundra biome. The polar bear mainly eats seals. Polar bears are the largest land carnivore on earth, their average weight is 990 for males, and 500 for females. Polar bears have white fur, but black skin. The black skin is used to absorb sunlight for warmth, while the white fur is used for camouflage.

The polar bear, the largest land carnivore in North America, one of the largest animals in the world and a favorite at zoos worldwide, has, over the years, adapted to its harsh Arctic environment. The appropriately named ‘ursus maritimum’ or sea bear usually lives between 15 and 18 years in the wild and spends most of its life on ice. It is the most recent of the eight bear species. The first polar bear was a brown bear subspecies, with brown bear dimensions and brown bear teeth. The polar bear evolution was rapid due to the small population and extreme pressure to survive. Even today, the polar bear continues to evolve to better adapt to the harsh realities of Arctic life.

Their feet are made for the ice and snow; they have rough leather pads so they don’t slip on ice, fur between toes and sharp claws as a weapon. They are plantigrade and left handed. Their toes are webbed so they can swim in water. Their fur is a yellowish white; the top lay is long and hollow to absorb heat and can float in the water. The undercoat covers their black skin that has four inches of blubber, which is an extra layer of warmth. This kind of coat makes it uncomfortable for polar bears to be in the heat. A polar bears sense of smell is the best sense they have, they mostly rely on it. It can smell a dead whale 15 miles away, can smell where a seal is hiding in six inches of ice, and can smell a human before they could even see them. Their eyes are small to block out the sun reflecting off the snow and their ears are small, close to their heads to keep warm.

The bears in Alaska rarely have people near them so they eat berries and whatever they can find. " Polar bears can live anywhere they find food and they prefer the area they were born." (Ned Rozell) Eating a polar bear's liver can kill you because it contains so much Vitamin A that humans can't handle. "

The Polar Bear are found on the icy coasts that surrounds the North Poles and as far south as Hudson Bay. Around 60%of Polar Bears can be found in Canada with the remainings throughout Greenland, Alaska, Svalbard, and Russia where tend to be close to the ocean across the icy fields. The habitats are affected by human encroachment by hunting , and releasing chemical pollutants into the water.The Polar Bear eats Seals, Walrus, and Seabirds. Polar Bears can live up to 20-30 year. Polar Bears have a lot of fur and their fur is clear, white, or yellow. The Polar Bear is 6.5 ft-8.3ft. they can weigh up to 330lbs -1,322lbs and they can swim up to 25mph.

The polar bears are losing sea ice for their habitation. Polar bears live in countries around the Arctic Circle, these areas included Canada, Alaska, Greenway, and Norway. There are 19 identified populations of polar bears living in four different sea ice regions across the Arctic. The Artic surrounds the North Pole however, the ice is melting and darkening of the artic. There is supporting evidence about air pollutions and how the greenhouse effect is affecting the polar bears environment. Polar bears will eventually only have one last stronghold left for them and even then, researchers do not know how long that one will even last. The last stronghold for them are small islands in the middle of Canada called the Artic Archipelago. This is

The disappearance of ice in summer is forcing polar bears to go ashore. There may feed on bird eggs, berries and small mammals. But does the largest bears in the world will be able to survive the change of diet to ashore diet in a warming Arctic?

Recently, Kerstin Langenberger, a photographer at Arctic Dreams, shared one of her portraits of a severely thin bear on social media. The image, taken in the region of Svalbard in the Arctic Ocean,

Polar Bears ply the Artic Niche Where Air,Ice,and water intersect. Their Powerful Front Legs and Huge curve claws are especially adapted for striking and killing their pray. They have the thickest fur of any Bear species. Thick fur, Two Layers, one The undercoat, Plush Hair That helps keep Warm. the outer insulates Them and repel water. This insulation Coat also reflects all light, Reason why we see there coat white when it is colorless. Excellent Divers Stay underwater for 2 min goes as deep as 15".

Can you imagine going from your warmy, sunshine state to the cold, tundra Artic? The polar bear and the Anglerfish are adapted to the extreme enviornments in which they live in. The polar bear and the anglerfish have characteristics to match each habitat they live in. The polar bear lives where the air, ice, and air intersect. They live most of their lives on sea ice. Where, the temperature an drop as low as 50 degrees Farenheit. On occasion, they might visit land only to build birthing dens for females. The famous polar bear may sound like it hibernates because you must think all bears hibernate, but believe it or not, the polar bear does not! They hunt year round which leaves no time to hibernate. The polar bear is the world's largest carnivore

The polar bear waits patiently at the breathing hole, waiting for its prey. Seals are just one of the many things polar bears eat, from fish to seals, to beached whales. Polar bears are predators of sheer size and power.

Polar bears are evolved one to three million years ago from the brown or grizzly bears but polar bears are unlike with brown and grizzly bears. Polar bears are only bear species to be considered marine mammals. This is a big different with other bear species. Polar bears are also called by Ursus maritimus.Ursus maritimus is a scientific name of the polar bear. Polar bear means ‘sea bear’ in Latin language. They are biggest carnivores among land animals and they are largest species of bear. There is 25000, to 40,000 polar bears in the world. They are divided into 6 core population. Usually, they are live Greenland, Barent, Canadian Arctic, Alaska, North Slope, and Soviet Union (Russia). They are eat ringed seal, bearded seal, walrus, and whale

The Ursus maritimus this is the polar bear it is the worlds biggest bear. It is commonly found in the Arctic Ocean. It usually is weighed at 600kg. It is a very strong swimmer and can stand cold water. The polar bear is a threatened species. It is threatened from getting hunted, from pollution, and drilling of oil and gas.

The arctic is a whole area covered in ice and snow cover. It is dark and especially bitterly cold in the winter with blizzards and snowstorms. Polar bears are able to roam this arctic weather with their thick coat of skin and fur to bare it’s freezing climate. It is almost always too cold to study the whole ecosystem and how polar bears interact and if we do go it’s during the summer months where it is a little bit warmer. The bad part of this area is that it is starting to get warmer and the ecosystem and food web are going down.