Polar+Bear+Period+6

Britannica online http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/ Questions: 1.	Where does your animal live, and what are its characteristics? The five "polar bear nations" in which the bears are found include the U.S. (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Denmark (Greenland), and Norway. Polar bears do not live in the southern hemisphere. Locate your animal’s habitat (Where does it live? Does it migrate?) Britannica Research-Ursus maritimus is the scientific word for Polar bear. Polar bears have several easy ways to identify them. Polar bears are husky, have a long neck, small head, short round ears, and a short tail. The male, weighs 900 to 1,600 pounds. It grows to about 5.3 feet tall at the shoulder and about 8 feet in length. The tail is 3–5 inches long. Sunlight can pass through the thick fur, its heat being absorbed by the bear's black skin. Under the skin is a layer of insulating fat. The broad feet have hairy soles to protect and insulate as well as to facilitate movement across ice, as does the uneven skin on the soles of the feet, which helps to prevent slipping. Strong, sharp claws are also important for gaining traction, for digging through ice, and for killing prey. Include all subspecies or varieties of your animal. Sun Bear, Sloth Bear, and Asian Black Bear 2.	Where and why is your animal endangered Identify the factors, environmental and/or anthropogenic (caused by man) that cause it to be endangered. Carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases, hunting, pollution are the main causes of polar bear endangerment. Dust from storms in the Sahara Desert, soot from the cooking fires of India and Africa, and chemical fumes from third-world industries rise in the sky and travel around the world and land on the snow and ice of the Arctic. Contaminants entering rivers and seas from agricultural run-off, untreated sewage, and discharge from ships and factories drift in ocean currents to enter environments far from their source. Illegal polar bear hunting of polar bears was ended more than 30 years ago by an international agreement among the polar bear nations. But legal hunting continues to kill more than 700 polar bears a year. Indigenous peoples for whom hunting is an important cultural activity and a source of income conduct most hunting. In the United States, only Alaskan natives can hunt polar bears. Provide statistics and other facts related to its endangerment There are about 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears with about sixty percent of those living in Canada. The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group reclassified the polar bear as a vulnerable species on the IUCN's Red List of Endangered Species at their recent meeting wtch was held in Seatle 2005. They reported that out of the 19 subpopulations of polar bears, five are declining, five are stable, two are increasing, and seven don’t have enough data to base a decision. 3.	Where is your animal in captivity and/or conserved?

Locate at least two zoos and/or conservation centers where the animal is held. The Alaska zoo and the Aalborg zoo are two zoos in two of the five polar bear nations.

4.	What is being done to restore your animal’s populations? Where is it being done? Global Warming is the reason for the endagerment of polar bears. If everyone around the world does some easy things, global warming might not kill off the polar bears. wrapping a five year old water heater in an insulating jacket will result in a 100-pound reduction of carbon dioxide emissions. Keeping a water-heater thermostat no higher than 120 degrees F can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 550 pounds a year. Leave your car at home twice a week take a walk, ride a bike, or take other public transportation and you can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 1,590 pounds per year. Turn off your TV, video player, stereo, and computer when you aren't using them. Also turn off your lights when you don't need them. Identify the experts, leaders, and/or groups guiding the conservation PBI( Polar Bear International) is a group promoting polar bear conservation.


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G-TOUR Heres a link to our google earth tour ( may be incomplete due to its saving issues consult us for further explenation.)\\\\\\

Bibliography (All Resources Used)**Britannica online http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/