Are the polar bears actually dying?

Question

I've read that they are becoming an endangered species and have no hope of recovery; and I've read other pieces that say that the polar bears are having a hard time, but will survive well and are not becoming endangered.

Obviously, someone is lying. Who? How do you know?

Answer 1

nobama they are going exticnt  the ice in antartica and alaska were they live is melting an all the seals who are endangered are it's main food they are dieing because of no where to live and starvation and glabal warming is true if we don't take action recycle and use low energy stop using boats often in water stop taking the car and ride with a friend or something  we are poulting this earth! if we don't take action in 5 to 10 or even 20 years the world might become exticnt!     nobama she does research and she has gone to anartica on an expadition before sooooooo u don't know my couisn do u ? no!    plus she can be a vet and a scintest u need to first rea and understand and by the way it's tobymacgirl! and ur wrong i have donr research ,y sister has done research my cousin has gone on an expadtion so mind ur answer and i'll mind mine so!

Answer 2

Predictions of extinction is based on fortune telling.  Apparently believers like to quote scientists who speculate what might happen.  Nobody can tell the future.  

As of today, polar bears are doing fine and thriving.

As the sea ice goes, so go the polar bears," said Steve Amstrup, who led the study.

But Taylor says that's not the case. He points to Davis Strait, one of the southern-most roaming grounds of polar bears. According to the USGS, Davis Strait ought to be among the first places where polar bears will starve due to shrinking seasonal sea ice, which scientists say will deprive the bears of a vital platform to hunt seals.

Yet "Davis Strait is crawling with polar bears," Taylor said. "It's not safe to camp there. They're fat. The mothers have cubs. The cubs are in good shape."

The Government of Nunavut is conducting a study of the Davis Strait bear population. Results of the study won't be released until 2008, but Taylor says it appears there are some 3,000 bears in an area - a big jump from the current estimate of about 850 bears.

"That's not theory. That's not based on a model. That's observation of reality," he says.

http://www.nunatsiaq.com/archives/2007/7...

Answer 3

I am curious how polar bears in San Diego's Sea World survive and why Greenpeach and animal rights advocates aren't protesting them....  I am certain that it is warm in San Diego....

Answer 4

Yes, it is really sad, but they are going extinct. Due to the warming atmosphere, the ice in the Arctic is melting. It is true that there has been some gain, but that is due to the La Nina effect, (which drops the oceans temperatures down by a little more that 0.4 degrees C) and it happens once every ten years or so, on average. This ice will not last long, and even with that addition, the ice amount is still at the lowest amount it has ever been at. Polar bears, being forced to retreat earlier and earlier in the year because the ice is retreating, are being forced to attack full grown walrus' because the seals they normally eat are out in the water, to far for them to reach. These walrus' are far to difficult to kill, unless it is a baby or very old, and the polar bears often come out of the fight with a mortal wound or they are killed. Polar bears are also beginning to drown because there isn't enough ice, and they may get stranded, but the majority or them are starving to death. Often people lie and say the polar bear population is fine, so that they don't have to pay taxes on their cars, or pay higher gas money, or pay anything for that matter for the environment. And, if it is true that polar bears are going extinct, which it is, then it must be true that we as humans are causing global warming, and that it IS real, and people are afraid of that. It is natural that humans are afraid of the unknown, and they want to deny everything that could possibly prove that we as a species are killing and maiming the environment, being cruel to the planet, and causing global warming. There are things you can do, though. It really isn't to late to save them! Try buying attachable bags for your bike, and bike to the store, or bike and take P.T (public transportation) to work. As always, conserve energy, keep the heat low during the winter, and use fans, not A.C in the summer. Use reusable grocery bags for shopping. There are so many ways to help, encourage your friends and family to help, please. Don't let this happen to the planet, not OUR planet, the planet. We are only using the earth to live on, coexist with nature, it is possible. Plant a tree, bike around. Don't kill the planet along with all the poor innocent animals, plants, and everything else out there.

Best Wishes,

Lily K

Answer 5

LOL  mister Nobama O8    Polar bears don't live in Antartica, they live in the Arctic.

And nothing that is happening in Antartica is any different than what the IPCC scientists have said.

They say that Antartica is the only part of the globe not warming.  However the ice sheets are melting quickly on the west coast of that continent.

Polar bears:

http://environment.newscientist.com/chan...

"There are thought to be between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears in 19 population groups around the Arctic. While polar bear numbers are increasing in two of these populations, two others are definitely in decline. We don't really know how the rest of the populations are faring, so the truth is that no one can say for sure how overall numbers are changing."

"The two populations that are increasing, both in north-eastern Canada, were severely reduced by hunting in the past and are recovering thanks to the protection they and their prey now enjoy."

"The best-studied population, in Canada’s western Hudson Bay, fell by 22% from 1194 animals in 1987 to 935 in 2004, according to the US Fish and Wildlife Service. A second group in the Beaufort Sea, off Alaska’s north coast, is now experiencing the same pattern of reduced adult weights and cub survival as the Hudson Bay group."

"A comprehensive review (pdf) by the US Fish and Wildlife Service concluded that shrinking sea ice is the primary cause for the decline seen in these populations, and it recently proposed listing polar bears as threatened (pdf) under the Endangered Species Act. The World Conservation Union projects the bears' numbers will drop by 30% by 2050 (pdf) due to continued loss of Arctic sea ice."

  I think the real point is what will happen in the future if the sea ice continues to disapear.  No one in climate science is making outrageous claims about their current rate of decrease.

It's really a non issue, brought about partly because they have been used as a poster child for global warming, and so people assume that means they will all be gone next week, or that that is what is being claimed by scientists.  It isn't.

Answer 6

i searched for the terms 'polar bear population statistics' on a 'well known search engine'* and got;

the latest from the world wildlife fund;

http://www.worldwildlife.org/polarbears/

the study last year;

ScienceDaily (Sep. 8, 2007) — Future reduction of sea ice in the Arctic could result in a loss of 2/3 of the world's polar bear population within 50 years according to a series of studies just released by the U.S. Geological Survey.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/200...

cute picture;

International Herald Tribune (Dec 28, 2006)

Melting arctic ice pushes polar bear population closer to the edge

http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/12/28/n...

article about that chap that tried to say they were ok after all;

The Observer, Sunday October 14 2007

Row erupts over risk to polar bears

One of the most controversial voices in the global warming debate believes too much emphasis is put on extinction fears for ecology's poster animals

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/20...

* do try it sweetheart,it only takes a bit of practice to get the search terms right. remember to be critical; these are all from pretty reputable sources, a scientific magazine that shows its references, and two internationally respected newspapers. happy searching! :-)

Answer 7

Its not JUST the poor polar bears that are endangered species...google the actual endangered species and you'll surprise yourself that so many beautiful living beings on earth on the mercy of the poor human stupidity and ignorance about "global warming"

rich countries would rather burn their money on wars and lobbying but they never to chose to accept the actual danger of losing the "real" beauty of the planet...the animals and the plants and trees etc

Answer 8

I believe so. Those Canadians are killing off the seals like bugs, so pretty soon their will be nothing for the polar bears to eat.

Answer 9

yes, ice caps are melting, they have no solid land to live on top, to go fishing is basically suicide for them, because they have to travel sooo long before finding real, sustainable land.

of course they're beacoming endangered, they die if they can't swim 160 miles to find solid land.

c'mon ..golbal warming is gonna put all those animals endangered.

Answer 10

It's melting, they are dieing. They won't be around much longer. The ice is melting much too quickly.

Answer 11

Polar bears are not going extinct. (one of many articles)

http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/e...

Answer 12

Lol no, their population is actually booming. They are nowhere near endangered. Ok, if your reading this, your obviously not ignoring my answer. 98% of the ice in Antarctica is expanding and the pollar bears survived many warming periods and it will  this one.

I'm still not sure what to think. I don't know for a fact weather global warming is true or not. I'm leaning more onto the true side now.

EDIT: Topymac, your sources are a joke. (No offense). I highly doubt your cousin ever visit Antarctica and saw a polar bear drown. And I doubt a vet is any help on knowing about polar bears. A vett takes care of sick animals not visits Antarctica..

Answer 13

Apparently those who make a habit of counting polar bears find their populations to be relatively stable.  If polar bears are endangered, they have yet to read the memo.

Polar bears are bears, hence the name.  Bears are survival artists.  They can and will eat almost anything, including global warming alarmists if given the chance.  A warmer arctic region will give them more food to eat.  

As for the Antarctic polar bear population, they aren't doing so well, mainly because there never were any polar bears in Antarctica.

Polar bears have a huge advantage.  People think they are cuddly and will work hard to save them.  Bears think we are delicious and will work hard to endanger us.  So it's not exactly a two way street.  If their numbers start to diminish in nature every town and burb with at least two traffic lights and a mule will be building zoos to give them a place to live.

Having a use to humans, in this case entertainment, isn't all bad for a species.  Cows are slaughtered by the millions every year and yet the world is over run with the darn things.  There are more dogs and cats in the world than nature could ever support.  Rats and cockroaches do well by living off our  remains.

Polar Bears will survive.

Answer 14

NO

Answer 15

There are no polar bears in anartica there only found in the artic and there poulation has increased in the last few years... atleast thats what iv'e read

Answer 16

World Wildlife Federation says:

Polar bears are among the few large carnivores that are still found in roughly their original habitat and range, and in some places in roughly their natural numbers. Now most populations have returned to healthy numbers, though there are large uncertainties regarding some that are still harvested quite heavily and others for which information is lacking. There are believed to be at least 22,000 polar bears worldwide, and about 60% of these are in Canada. They are found in 20 more or less distinct populations.

Polar bear populations can be found in northern Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway and Russia, and there have been reports that polar bear tracks have been found as far north as the North Pole, although scientists believe few bears travel beyond 82 ° north latitude. The northern Arctic Ocean has little food for them.

The general status of polar bears is currently stable, though there are differences between the populations. Some are stable, some seem to be increasing, and some are decreasing due to various pressures. The status of several populations is not well documented.

Answer 17

Some are dying, some are being born and some are living large.  As a species, they are doing quite well.

Nobama:  There are no polar bears in the antarctic, but they are doing fine in the arctic.

Tobymac:  Your cousin obviously needs to do a little more research as there are no polar bears in the antarctic.  You also need to learn how to spell