...The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a carnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is a large bear, approximately the same size as the omnivorous Kodiak bear (Ursus arctos middendorffi).[3] A boar (adult male) weighs around 350–700 kg (770–1,540 lb),[4] while a sow (adult female) is about half that size. Although it is the sister species of the brown bear,[5] it has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet.[6] Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time at sea. Their scientific name means "maritime bear", and derives from this fact. Polar bears hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when no sea ice is present. The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with eight of the nineteen polar bear subpopulations in decline.[7] For decades, large scale hunting raised international concern for the future of the species but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect.[citation needed] For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and polar bears remain important in their...
Words: 251 - Pages: 2
...physiology to live in certain conditions. One of those animals is the polar bear who lives in the extreme cold temperatures of the Arctic. In figure F-1, shown are several features which helps the Polar bear adapt to environment minus a few which will be noted later. These amazing powerful creatures are one of the few mammals which have adapted to its marine environment. As seen in figure F-1, the polar bear has large feet. “To help protect their feet, there are pads on the bottom of them. They are designed to give them plenty of traction for walking on the slippery ice” (2011). The ground in the arctic is permanently frozen. In order for the polar bear to be able to walk on the ground and keep warm, they have these large padded feet to assist them in their living environment. These padded feet are also equipped with large claws which are used in hunting their prey. The polar bear's Latin name, ursus maritimus, means “sea bear” (2011). This animal is one of the few mammals which depends on it s marine environment for survival. As shown above in Figure F-1, the polar bear has short legs and large feet to allow them to propel through the water quickly. Because of these physiological features, the polar bear is able to catch its prey quickly and efficiently. Another interesting feature of the polar bear is its skin and fur. The above figure does not display this as one of the important features of the polar bear. “Its distinctive white coat acts as camouflage in the snow...
Words: 817 - Pages: 4
...Coke’s Polar Bears Coca Cola’s polar bear has been around for quite a long time, being introduced in a paper ad in France, 1922. The polar bear is a well-known symbol for Coke even though they portray the animal much different than it lives in the wild. It’s a symbol because an animated polar bear wouldn’t mean much to someone outside of our culture, but Coke has ingrained in our culture that it aligns with them. We created our infographic to display the benefits that both Coca Cola and the polar bears receive. Coke has done some great things for the polar bears but much more can be done. The polar bears have receive almost $2 million in support from the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). There has been a substantial reduction in deaths of polar bears from trying to uphold a section in the high Artic that the ice will last the longest. Certain surrounding tribes have also slowed down or even completely stopped killing polar bears. Coke has also alerted the public and since they are becoming aware they want to help. I added the picture of the three cubs laying on top of their mother to allude that the polar bears are happy and in stable conditions. Coke has garnered much public appeal since starting the campaign. They teamed up with WWF in 2011 and since then they have accomplished in reducing carbon emissions by 8.5%. The benefits they receive are substantial. The more people they bring onto the product, in turn their profits will increase profoundly. Even though coke has provided...
Words: 461 - Pages: 2
...The Tragedy of Polar Bears Polar bears in the Arctic are tremendously affected by pollution now. As global warming progresses, wind and water currents carry pollutants, most of which come from industrial sources in different parts of the world, and cause them to travel to the Arctic because of the ‘conveyor belt’ nature of the atmosphere and ocean (Yarim 2013). These chemicals accumulate in the fat of many animals, mainly through the food chain, which are then eaten by top predators such as polar bears. Thus, polar bears inevitably have severe health problems and risk death. When consumed at high levels, the pollutants can have a dramatic and potentially fatal impact, which affects the polar bear population in the Arctic severely. The most prevalent chemicals found in the Arctic are “Persistent Organic pollutants (POPs)”, such as the pesticide DDT, the industrial chemical polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), which can biomagnify up the food chain. Other pollutants may include acid rain, heavy metals and radioactive isotopes (Yarim 2013). According to studies, bears with high levels of some POPs have low levels of vitamin A, thyroid hormones, and some antibodies (WWF Global 2009). The pollutants load of polar bears in the Arctic are negatively affecting the immune system, hormone regulation, growth patterns, reproduction, and survival rates of polar bears. The studies have suggested that the immune system is weaker in some polar bears with higher levels of PCBs. A weakened...
Words: 587 - Pages: 3
...already been seen in the life of a polar bear. In times past, the polar bear found food to be abundant, if somewhat hard to get, and they would have miles and miles of unbroken ice covered tundra in which roam. In recent years, however, that beautiful frozen oasis has been shrinking. It is time that the human race considers what global warming is doing to the polar bear, and see it as a glimpse into our own future if we do not take the necessary actions to get the present situation under control. Humanity’s contribution to global warming has had a dramatic effect on the polar bears by reducing their frozen habitat, making food sources more difficult to find, and by diminishing their population due to early death and low reproduction rates. All of these could be in our future if we do not acknowledge the plight of the polar bear....
Words: 625 - Pages: 3
...environmental article told from the perspective of a polar bear. Aimed towards a specific audience, this passage is intended for an ignorant population of people who are hurting the environment. Attempting to provoke guilt by giving the perspective of a polar bear on becoming extinct, so that the readers will be inspired to change their ways that have injured the global ecosystem is the purpose of the article. The overall tone of the passage is sympathetic, depressing, judgmental, angry, and upset. To begin, the writer integrates multiple anaphora and repetition to help enhance the article and to help enforce her ideas and to emphasize these beliefs. In the last paragraph, the polar bear repeats “you” multiple times. The employment of anaphora puts the blame of the polar bears dying, and the importance of saving the environment, on the reader. By doing this, the author relates back to her purpose of arousing a sensation of shame. As for repetition, throughout the passage, the author employs a particular expression...
Words: 428 - Pages: 2
...Polar Bears, the largest members of the Ursidae family, are bears that have transparent fur, which keeps them warm in icy and cold environments. They have large bodies, where male polar bears can weigh anywhere from 700 to 1,000 pounds, and female polar bears weighing anywhere from 300 to 700 pounds. While standing upright, they typically measure around 10 feet tall. Lengthwise, they measure around 7 to 8 feet long. The average lifespan of most polar bears ranges from 20 to 25 years. While they do appear as harmless majestic creatures, they are actually some of the most vicious hunters and carnivores out there. Furthermore, Polar bears have strong large legs with some webbing on their feet, making it easier to walk on ice as well as swim. Their...
Words: 823 - Pages: 4
...Imagine you are a polar bear, and you want to get to shore, but you can't because it's too long of a swim, because the ice caps at the shore have melted and the ice caps you are on our floating further and further away becauses of greenhouse gas effects on the environment. Therefore you can't get home, you can't get food, and you can't survive. The polar bear was added to the endangered animal list in 2008 because of multiple causes, most are from impacts caused by greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases in Alaska and Northern Canada have three major Impacts on polar bears and their ecosystem: Greenhouse gases cause pollution in the ecosystem. They cause climate change in the ecosystem, melting the ice caps the polar bears live on, and lastly the greenhouse gases cause shorter hunting seasons, less food for the polar bears, and bad body conditions for polar bears, causing the polar bear population to go down....
Words: 777 - Pages: 4
...Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) are marine mammals that spend most of their time foraging for other marine mammals at sea or on ice. It is the behavior of U. maritimus that classifies them as marine mammals, however their DNA classifies them under Ursidae along with the brown bear (Ursus arctos) and black bear (Ursus americanus). Bruce et al. (1989) suggested that these bears share 4 physiological stages including hibernation, walking hibernation, normal activity, and hyperphagia, however the polar bear is the only sister species that only females are known to hibernate. Polar bears are found only in the Arctic and feed mainly on seals and face many problems with global warming. Brown and black bears are known to have a wider habitat range, as they are land dwellers and do not need an open ocean near by as a food source. The presence of hibernation-induction trigger (HIT) found in all three species is another indicator of the sister relationship and possibility of polar bears hibernating. Studies have shown that pregnant polar bears show advanced bone formation during hibernation. Polar bears and their habitat conservation can be important to society by studying this advancement in bone formation for future health...
Words: 941 - Pages: 4
...The Survival And Cubbing of Polar Bears The survival and cubbing of Polar bears is rapidly getting affected due to climate change and Global Warming, as says the Wildlife technical report(Michelle Allsopp, 2012). The healthy breeding of Polar bears relies greatly on the Arctic’s ice covered waters and cultivate Arctic Wildlife, as well. Polar bears are the most precious habitats of Arctic wildlife, Not only because they are limited in numbers but also on the grounds that the specie have now endangered for conservation. According to authentic information(Michelle Allsopp, 2012), a female Polar bears can only give birth to 1 to 3 cubs with in life time. Also, the mortality rate of infant cubs exceed from 70 %. Hence, there are less chances that the individuals of the Polar bears can be replaced by new generations. Furthermore, the other factors of climate change and global warming have intensified the threat to the species conservation due to climate changes in Arctic Wildlife. The projected claim can be justified with supporting observations presented below for reference. * Comprised survival rates of sub adult due to poor nutritions resulted from the sea ice breakup. * Inefficient reproduction cycle due to early spring ice breakup. * Deprived access to prey for sufficient...
Words: 640 - Pages: 3
...Save the Polar Bears! Reduce Your Carbon Footprint Polar bears are some of the world’s most majestic animals, but their survival is being threatened due to climate change. Their habitat is diminishing. Polar bears need ice to move around so they can easily find food to sustain life. Some areas of the Arctic provide sea ice year-round and in other areas it melts off every year. Governments and scientists have designated 19 populations of polar bears based in four different sea ice regions in the North Circumpolar Region known as the Arctic. These four regions vary greatly when it comes to sea ice, geography and climate change (Polar Bears International, September 2017). The first area is known as seasonal ice. This is the southern...
Words: 1189 - Pages: 5
...Hunting is not the biggest threat to polar bears. Scientific studies point to a much larger issue as to why polar bears are becoming endangered. The true reason is that global warming is not only affecting people, but the whole environment. The home of the polar bear is Antarctica, in the South Pole. The lowest recorded temperature was once -136 F, but is suddenly increasing and becoming warmer. Recent temperatures in the home of the polar bear show that they are around -20 fahrenheit-on its coldest days-and that's saying something (Gorman 2014). To understand how polar bears are being affected by global warming, there are three things to learn about first: how they currently live, how people are affecting them and why it is becoming increasingly...
Words: 436 - Pages: 2
...about the cute, white polar bears living up in the north. However, one thing you may or may not know is that because of the high demand of polar bear fur, their meat being one of the main sources of food for the native people of the north, and tourist not being careful when visiting polar bear habitats, the polar bear population in Canada has started to decline at a rate which may cause them to become endangered and then extinct in the near future. Now with polar bears being the main predators in the North Pole and the largest land predators in the world, a threat to the polar bear population is a very big deal and would have a big impact on the terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems up in the northern regions. Polar bears...
Words: 779 - Pages: 4
...Polar Bears: WWF Polar bears are classified as marine animals because they spend most of their life on the ice from the Arctic Ocean. Their bodies are structured with layers of fat along with water resistant fur to stay warm in such cold, wet conditions. They spend about 50% of their time hunting for seals, which most of their diet consists of. Recently, the polar bear population has significantly declined due to climate change. Because of oil spills, the warming of the atmosphere and illegal hunting of the species, polar bears are now listed as an endangered species. The Worldwide Wildlife Fund is making efforts to increase polar bear population by decreasing human pollution, preventing conflict between humans and polar bears, and...
Words: 627 - Pages: 3
...Polar bears are known for their vibrant white coat of fur. They have adapted this beneficial trait to help them survive and it provides the polar bear with fitness in its environments.this trait makes the polar bear white and makes them blend in with those icy surroundings. The hairs on a polar bear aren't actually white but appear white and thats what helps them blend in here's how the fur looks white,the polar bears long outer hairs that protect their undercoat are transparent and the thinner hairs are colorless as well. This makes it appear white because of the air spaces.when it reflects the colors and the light it appears white on the polar bear. The trait helps the polar bear stay safe from predators, and makes it so they can sneak up...
Words: 306 - Pages: 2