Polar Bears Endangered

Polar Bears Endangered and Conservation

There are currently 5 of the 19 species of Polar Bears out there with a status of vulnerable. This is due to the drop in their numbers and concerns that if that continues they will become extinct. Part of the problem has to do with the fact that Polar Bears were constantly hunted for decades. There were no restrictions on that and the challenge of such a hunt was very inspiring to hunters all over the world.

With the other Polar Bear species, 5 of them seem to be holding steady. There are reports that 2 categories have actually increased in numbers which is very encouraging. Not enough data can be compiled though for the remaining 7 species of Polar Bears to place them in a category though. It is estimated that their numbers will drop by 30% over the next 45 years if action isn’t taken now to prevent that from occurring.

Conservation efforts include government restrictions on the hunting of Polar Bears today. However, it is estimated that hundreds of them are illegally killed every single year around the world. This is often due to the penalties for doing so not being very strict or very well enforced in many locations. Many humans think that Polar Bears are a huge threat so they want to take them out before they can attack.

While it is true that any attack on a human by a Polar Bear usually ends in death, they don’t usually pursue humans. They tend to remove themselves from a potentially dangerous situation. The big exception is when they are very hungry and other food sources aren’t around for them to benefit from at that time.

Another huge concern is the amount of pollution out there. There seems to be an abundance of pesticides that they are exposed to. They also consume the blubber from seals that have plenty of toxins in them. The presence of excessive heavy metals for Polar Bears is a concern as well. They can lead to miscarriages during pregnancy, low birth weight, and the immune system being weakened. All of these scenarios prevent more Polar Bears from being added to the numbers.

The biggest threat to the livelihood of the Polar Bear is global warming. In order to combat that, all of us will need to make changes to our lifestyles. Being aware of the constant problem that will continue if we don’t can encourage people to take action. So many of the animals out there including the Polar Bear have no control over these environmental changes. Only humans do, and now is the time to take positive action.

Due to the diverse distribution of Polar Bears it is reasonable to anticipate the number of them dropping in certain locations than others. In fact, in some areas the numbers seem to be increasing. However, overall those numbers are very low. Hopefully we can find ways to conduct additional research. Finding out more about the lives of Polar Bears as well as why they die can help use to get them out of the endangered status.

In late 2008 the Polar Bear was officially added to the United States list of Endangered Species. It is estimated that there aren’t more than 25,000 Polar Bears remaining in the world. However, due to their wide distribution and the fact that they are often in isolated areas the exact number is hard to determine. Not everyone feels that the numbers are low enough yet to place Polar Bears in this status. Yet the need for it is based upon scientific research and predictions for these animals rather than just their numbers.