Polar Bear | Species

Species
Polar Bear

Species
Polar Bear

Polar Bear

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Facts
Why They Matter
Threats
What WWF is Doing
How You Can Help

Facts

Status
Vulnerable
Population
22,000-31,000
Scientific Name
Ursus maritimus
Weight
800–1,300 pounds
Length
6–9 feet
Habitats
Arctic sea ice

This map shows the 19 subpopulations of polar bears across the Arctic.

Polar bears are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean. They have a thick layer of body fat and a water-repellant coat that insulates them from the cold air and water. Considered talented swimmers, they can sustain a pace of six miles per hour by paddling with their front paws and holding their hind legs flat like a rudder.

Polar bears spend over 50% of their time hunting for food. A polar bear might catch only one or two out of ten seals it hunts, depending on the time of year and other variables. Their diet mainly consists of ringed and bearded seals because they need large amounts of fat to survive.

Scientists have divided the total polar bear population into 19 units or subpopulations. Of those, the latest data from the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group show that one subpopulation is in decline (Southern Beaufort Sea) and that there is a high estimated risk of future decline due to climate change and data deficiency.

Because of ongoing and potential loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US under the Endangered Species Act in May 2008.

The survival and the protection of the polar bear habitat are urgent issues for WWF.

Places
Arctic
Habitats
Polar Regions

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Why They Matter

Importance of polar bears

Polar bears are at the top of the food chain and have an important role in the overall health of the marine environment. Over thousands of years, polar bears have also been an important part of the cultures and economies of Arctic peoples. Polar bears depend on sea ice for their existence and are directly impacted by climate change—serving as an important indicator species.

Threats

Population 22,000-31,000
Extinction Risk Vulnerable
1. EX
  Extinct
  
  No reasonable doubt that the last individual has died
2. EW
  Extinct in the Wild
  
  Known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalised population
3. CR
  Critically Endangered
  
  Facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the Wild
4. EN
  Endangered
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
5. VU
  Vulnerable
  
  Facing a high risk of extinction in the Wild
6. NT
  Near Threatened
  
  Likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future
7. LC
  Least Concern
  
  Does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable, or Near Threatened

The loss of sea ice habitat from climate change is the biggest threat to the survival of polar bears. Other key threats include polar bear-human conflicts, unsustainable hunting and industrial impacts.

Effects of Climate Change

Polar bears depend on sea ice as a platform from which to hunt seals, rest and breed. The summer sea ice has been decreasing in size for decades and melting for longer periods of time. Bears must move longer distances to stay with the rapidly receding ice.

In most areas, they come ashore when ice melts and rely on fat stores until the ice refreezes so they can go back out to hunt. Some polar bears may suffer from malnutrition. In extreme cases—especially females with cubs— they may face starvation.

Traditional prey species may be less accessible in a new sea ice environment, and seals that use the ice are predicted to fare poorly in the warming Arctic region.

Climate change is also resulting in more habitat fragmentation. As Arctic ice melts, polar bears are affected by increased shipping activities and a rise in opportunities for oil and gas development.

Polar bear- Human Conflicts

As climate change forces polar bears to spend longer time onshore, they come in contact more often with Arctic coastal communities and others working in the Arctic. Unfortunately, these interactions sometimes end badly for both humans and bears.

Industrial impacts

In the Arctic, most industrial development has been on relatively small pieces of land. As summer sea ice retreats, a new ocean is emerging, which allows more opportunities for industrial development at sea and on larger parcels of land.

At the same time, the retreating ice is resulting in more polar bears spending longer periods on land.

Offshore petroleum installations and operations in the Arctic are expected to increase in number. This expansion would likely affect polar bears and their habitat in many ways, including the following:

Contact with spilled oil would be fatal.
An oil spill would affect the entire food chain.
Oil spilled in one part of the Arctic will not remain there and will have far-ranging and devastating effects.

Increased Arctic shipping represents a risk to polar bears. As traffic by barges, oil tankers and cargo ships in Arctic waters increases, so do the risk of oil spills and human disturbance to polar bears.

Unsustainable Hunting

Many Arctic areas have strong polar bear management and monitoring. But there are a few places where unsustainable hunting appears to be happening, including unreported and illegal hunting.

What WWF Is Doing

As climate change forces polar bears to spend longer time onshore, they come in contact more often with Arctic communities. Unfortunately, these interactions sometimes end badly for humans and bears. In Russia and Alaska, WWF addresses this challenge by supporting local efforts to protect people and polar bears. Watch this video to learn more about the benefits of involving local people to protect polar bears and communities.

Addressing climate change

WWF advocates directly for governments to recognize and mitigate the effects of climate change on polar bears.

At meetings with governments whose countries are in the polar bear range, WWF has successfully pushed for a statement formally recognizing the urgent need for an effective global response that will address the challenges of climate change. WWF has also successfully advocated for the creation of an international polar bear management plan.

Reducing conflict

WWF supports community projects in Alaska and Russia to prevent unintended and potentially fatal encounters between polar bears and people. Local polar bear patrol teams help keep towns and bears safe. Better lighting near public places, electric fencing, bear-proof food storage containers and warning plans for when bears enter communities all help reduce conflict.

We bring Arctic communities together to share their expertise on effective nonlethal deterrence methods. We advocate for deterrence tools such as noisemakers to protect both people and bears. Such methods continue to prove effective.

Monitoring populations

Scientists are currently monitoring the conditions and movement of polar bears in the US, Canadian and Norwegian regions of the Arctic. WWF and our partners are working to understand the impact that different threats, such as climate change and the expansion of industry in the Arctic, are having on different polar bear populations.

For many years, we have run a polar bear tracker, using data from WWF-supported researcher teams to monitor some of the animals by satellite. By tracking these bears, scientists can map a polar bear's range and examine how habitat use may change in response to shifting sea ice.

This information reveals changes and adaptations over time. WWF also provides funding for polar bear researchers to travel to Russia and the US to share and exchange scientific information about polar bears with other researchers. WWF continues to work with scientists at SPYGEN, a DNA specialist firm, to pioneer an innovative tool that can extract DNA from a polar bear footprint.

Reducing industrial impacts

WWF’s goal is to ensure that wherever industrial development takes place, it is sustainable and does not damage wildlife populations and ecosystems to any great extent. We offer technical expertise on oil spill prevention and response. We also advocate for the highest development standards through national and international venues.

WWF collaborates with scientists, conservationists and local people to oppose oil and gas development in areas whose ecological value is far too great for risking exposure to spills.

To help maritime vessels stay clear of ecologically fragile places, WWF is preparing sensitivity maps for areas of the Arctic. We have also offered best practices for shipping in the Arctic and continue to work at the International Maritime Organization on a polar code that would make Arctic shipping safer.

Protecting the Last Ice Area of the Arctic

Scientists believe that a natural safety net of ice in the High Arctic of Canada and Greenland covering 320 million acres—or twice the size of Texas—may persist longer than the ice anywhere else. Since 1992, WWF has been working with partners to sustainably preserve the rich biodiversity of this region.

Now, WWF works with local people to establish an appropriate management plan for this “last ice area” in Canada and Greenland. This plan could provide many benefits, such as conserving habitat for Arctic ice dependent species and protecting the cultural heritage and economies of local communities.