Polar Bears And The Affect of Global Warming

By Henry Groos

Polar bears, found along the shores of the Arctic Ocean, weight about 780-1000lbs and have a length of about 6.5-9 feet. They are the top predator in the arctic marine life yet they at the brim of extinction. These large mammals are suffering from loss of habitat and are down to only 20,000-25,000 of their species left. On the Red list of endangered species since 2005, polar bears have been listed as species of concern in Canada and Russia.

Polar bears are creatures adapted to their ice cold environment that does not surpass 50°F and can go down to a temperature of -22°F. They have a layer of fat about 11 inches in thickness that keeps them warm, this fat comes into play with keeping the bear warm in the icy waters. Their doubled layer of water repellent fur also allows polar bears to conserve heat. Black skin, found under their coat, is used to absorb the suns light for added heat. Another adaptation would be their enormous paws that they can utilize as snow shoes to walk over the snowy surface of the arctic.

So well adapted to their environment and yet struggling to keep alive in it. Is it the bear itself that is to blame? No, it is due to the increase in the average temperature of the Earth's near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century, or global warming. The increasingly shrinking polar ice cap that is the consequence of global warming is depriving the polar bears of their icy habitats. The polar ice caps are melting away, so much in fact that for the first time in human history the North Pole can be circumnavigated. Just last summer the ice loss in the Arctic was equal to an area the size of Alaska, Texas, and the state of Washington combined. Thses lsoe of ice greatly affect polar bears that depend on a frozen platform to hunt seals, on eof their main food sources.

 

References-

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/for-the-first-time-in-human-history-the-north-pole-can-be-circumnavigated-913924.html

http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/

http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/europe/what_we_do/arctic/area/species/polarbear/polar_bear_facts/

http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/for-the-first-time-in-human-history-the-north-pole-can-be-circumnavigated-913924.html