The polar bears are dying rapidly, and if we don’t start thinking about the environment then they will blow out to extinction. Polar bears, known as the bears of antarctica, are magnificent animals. They are the top consumer for most prey. Without them, the secondary consumer would overpopulate and eventually lose control and take over.
Lately scientists have remarked that despite polar bears’ uncanny ability to survive and thrive in freezing cold water, this unfortunately doesn’t help them in other environmental challenges. When the food supply (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctic_fur_seal) for polar bears decreases, they appear to be incapable of slowing down their metabolism to adapt to this changing environment. Merav Ben David, a co-author and part of a team of University of Wyoming researchers whose field in the Arctic (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Ocean) was headquarters for the new report, explicated that “many colleagues, even some on our own research team, doubted whether the study was possible, until we actually did it.”
Ailuropoda melanoleuca (Giant Panda), Ursus maritimus (Polar Bear), and Ursus americanus (American Black Bear) all have the same life cycle. Once a cub is born, they are extremely small, blind, and consist of a little or no hair. Within a few months, the cub’s eyes are open and they begin to develop their natural hair colour as well as begin to crawl. At four to twenty-four months, the cub is able to run, hunt, and start eating solid food. Once a cub turns two years, they become very independent. At this age, the cub will decide whether they want to stay with or leave their mother. At age four to six, a cub becomes mature and is able to mate. Once two same species of the opposite gender have sexual interactions,
Polar bears are declining in numbers as the sea ice is diminishing. There are fewer than 25,000 polar bears left in the wild, “the population has dropped about 40 percent between 2001 to 2010, from 1,500 to 900 bears.” Not only has the number of polar bears decreased, but they have been acting strangely as their surroundings continue to decrease. The different strategies that polar bears are using to survive are what’s keeping them alive, according to Becker the polar bears are changing their appetite by eating a species of dolphins that got trapped in the melting ice. Also, the polar bears have started eating snow geese eggs as a backup source of food. In addition, the bears are starting to spend more time on the shores during the summertime instead of hibernating. Lastly, the polar bears are so desperate to eat that they end up eating human food and
The polar bear possesses a low, flat skull with high-sitting eyes which is best suited to a semi-aquatic life. This also benefits the Polar bear by enabling them to put their heads into puppy dens or breathing holes.
(2013) found that polar bears have been documented chasing and preying on wild geese, also on eggs of goose, other mammals, and even berries all of these in land. Animals have to adapt to the environment change, polar bears have found a way to find food, but the big questions is, is it enough for polar bears to eat terrestrial food? Polar bears feed on ringed seals because they provide the necessary fat and nutrients that the polar bear needs in other to live. As described by Rode et al. (2015), the consumption of terrestrial food by polar bears has not been sufficient to replace their usual diet. This situation can have a big impact on polar bears, and other species in the environment. Polar bears need ringed seals to survive, but without the seals they have to look for other types of animals. Sritling and Derocher (2012) stated that because of this phenomenon the body mass of polar bears have had a decrease, and also a bigger mortality in polar bears. These can have serious effects on this species because there can be a point in time where polar bears would become extinct. Also encounters of humans with polar bears have become more common because of the necessity of these animals to look for
The polar bear lives up in the Arctic region where global warming and climate change are melting the ice caps that the bears thrive on. They use the ice as a platform from hunting and rest. The random pocket holes in the ice, where the seals pop up at, is where the polar bear catches its prey. With this reduction of ice, “the abundance of seals, and increases the amount of energy and time needed for hunting, leaving less energy for reproduction” (Endangered Species and Habitats).
Differences include the size of legs, ears, noses, paws, claws, jaws and the colour of the bear's fur. Polar bears generally have larger legs, smaller noses and ears, soft paws, short claws and small jaws with strong teeth. These adaptations have occurred to improve the polar bears wellbeing and chance of survival whilst living in the Arctic. Whereas, Brown bears have larger and more claws and a heavier and larger skull (Difference Between, 2014). This is too to help them survive in the environment.
The Sun bear is the smallest bear in the bear family. They`re also known as the Malaysian sun bear the honey bear and the dog bear. The sun bear has a unique golden u shape in the middle of its chest. That’s how the sun bear gets its unique name. Male Sun bears can weigh up to 150 pounds and be 5 feet tall.
The polar bear is a burly white bear that lives in the lands surrounding the north pole. The polar bears is threatened species because their population is decreasing due to sea ice melting
The latest survey conducted by the US Forest Service shows that as many as 97% of the animals of the Arctic could be affected as a result of the observed warming. The climate change may occur faster in the Arctic region. Scientists have developed computer models to predict changes in the environment and their impact on the 162 species of birds and 39 species of mammals in the Arctic.
Kermode bears today are very rare to find. Human Beings are going out to find a Kermode bear you will probably not find one. However, these bears are really rare off the coast of the Princess Royal and Gribbell island.
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 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
The Polar bear lives in the artic and uses the area’s costal waters and ice sheets. They are well equipped to live in this environment because they have a thick coat which serves as an insulator. They mainly prey on seals but have also been known to consume dead whales. They can grow to be 7.25 to 8 feet tall and can weigh around 900 to 1,600 pounds. Polar bears are a keystone species, if their numbers decrease there is a possibility that the seal populations will increase which could be devastating for crustaceans and fish. They help keep populations in balance.