Polar+Bear+Period+4

Kathleen Connell and Walt Muller


 * How Will We Work Together:**


 * Research:**

1. Where does your animal live, and what are its characteristics?

Locate your animal’s habitat (Where does it live? Does it migrate?)

The polar bear lives mostly in the Arctic and in Canada (about 16,500 polar bears live around hear, mostly in the Hudson Bay area and in Northern Alaska). The polar bear lives in the Arctic, the Hudson Bay area, the northern coast of Alaska, and western Canada. They also also make extensive seasonal migrational movements because they have seasonal preferences for specific geological areas ranging from East Greenland to the Chukchi Sea. In the summer, polar bears have been found from the Chucki Sea and the Artic Ocean from 70 to 72 degrees north latitude. In winter, they are seen in places like St. Laurence Island, St. Matthews Island, and the Kuskokwin Delta. Pregnant polar bears have been found denning in places like Wrangel and other Russian Islands, also the Canadian Arctic, Spitsbergin, and on the north Alaskan coast.

Identify at least 10 characteristics that will give an in-depth, accurate description of your animal Scientists have found no sub species, but they say there are nineteen different populations found in polar bear territories. The scientific name for the polar bear is ursus maritimus. The polar bear is easily recognized because it has many unique physical traits. (For starters, it is a giant, shaggy, bear!!) The polar bears' body length is around three meters for males and two meters for females, their coats are white or yellowish from the staining of sea oil, they are the largest carnivores that walks on four feet, they have very sharp claws and teeth, they are short and stocky, they have short ears (an adaptation to living in extremely cold and harsh enviorenments), they have partially webbed feet (for all of their swimming), they have a thick layer of fat and fur (to keep them warm), the fur is all over their body except for on their nose and paws, they have long necks and short tails. 2. Where and why is your animal endangered?

Locate where it is endangered (might not be endangered in all its habitats)

The polar bear is very endangered and seems to be in all of it's habitats.

Identify the factors, environmental and/or anthropogenic (caused by man) that cause it to be endangered

Polar bear population has decreased due to two main things, illegal poaching (hunting) and global warming. Men have hunted the polar bears for their tendons, meat, and fur; there has been an increase in hunting and poaching in the Chukotka region over the last decade. Also, polar bears are being threatened by global warming. (Which seems to cause equal, if not more damage) In areas where long-term studies are available, populations are showing signs of stress due to shrinking sea ice. An example is in Canada's Western Hudson Bay. It's population has dropped 22% since the early 1980s. The declines have been directly linked to an earlier ice break-up on Hudson Bay. Polar bears hunt seals from ice shelves and the shelves are diminishing, making it harder and harder for the polar bears to hunt seals. The melting ice has led to increased polar bear deaths because of climate change and reduced ice coverage. Like what was stated before, polar bears have seasonal preferences for specific geological areas. With the ice melting because of global warming, the polar bears can't spread out as much as the should be able to and this has led to more problems. An example is, some bears may have moved from the East Siberia sector, which has experienced a dramatic reduction in the sea ice, to the Canadian sector, which has more substantial ice coverage. This affects the distribution problems that the polar bears face.

Provide statistics and other facts related to its endangerment

The worldwide population of polar bears cis now between 20,000 and 25,000. This number is broken into 19 groups in and around Russia, Denmark, Norway, Canada and the United States. One-quarter to one- fifth of that population occupies waters off the shores off Alaska or the nearby coastlines, with separate groups in the Chukchi Sea off northwestern Alaska, the Northern Beaufort Sea and the Southern Beaufort Sea off the North Slope of Alaska. The Western Hudson Bay in Canada is the most-studied bear population. It dropped 22 percent from 1,194 polar bears, in 1987 to 935 polar bears in 2004.

3. Where is your animal in captivity and/or conserved?

Locate at least two zoos and/or conservation centers where the animal is held.

In the wild, polar bears can be found mostly in places near Canada and the Arctic, ranging from northern Alaska and the Hudson Bay area, to Russian Arctic places. Many zoos in the high northern parts of the world now house polar bears. A few of those zoos are the Bronx Zoo in New York, the Berlin Zoo home to the polar bear Knut, the Calgary Zoo and the Budapest Zoo.

4. What is being done to restore your animal’s populations? Where is it being done?

Locate where research is done on your animal and where efforts are underway to conserve its population (Note: It may be that this is done at the same location(s) you identified in #3)

A major polar bear research group is PBI, which stands for Polar Bears International. Here is some background information on PBI. Since 1995, Polar Bears International has provided annual funding to allow research to continue on Wrangel Island in Russia's High Arctic. Wrangel Island is well known for its large concentrations of polar bears and has the highest amount of polar bear dens in the world. Being on the island not only gave PBI the opportunity to study polar bears, but it has helped to cut down on poaching on the island, and it has allowed PBI to record the changes in ice coverage and bear numbers on the island.

Identify the experts, leaders, and/or groups guiding the conservation

One of the leaders of PBI is Nikita Ovsyanikov who is a well known scientist. He and his colleagues run PBI and help to research polar bears. Outline any research and efforts to conserve the population


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Bibliography

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Bibliography (All Resources Used)**