0
I've heard that they are very threatened right now. I saw a TV News report that said 25% of the arctic ice mass has melted in the past few summers. Plus, overall, the ice caps have been reduced by 50% since NASA began photographing it in the 1960's. Since polar bears hunt mostly on sea ice, they are now very thin and on they are have little stored fat to survive the winter. I also heard that they are getting thinner every year and will most likely will be extinct in the next 10-20 years.
Polar bears can only hunt when there is sea ice, because that is how they access seals, their primary prey. As a result of global warming, sea ice has been melting earlier in the year and freezing over later in the year than it used to. This means that many polar bears do not have a long enough hunting season to build up their fat reserves so that they can survive the months without sea ice. This is causing many polar bears to starve, thus decreasing the population. Occasionally, people hunt them for trophies, which doesn't help either.
Wiki User
∙ 7y ago
Wiki User
∙ 10y agoAs of June 2nd, 2011, according to the IUCN Red List website, the status of the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) is Vulnerable with a decreasing population trend. While this rating is NOT the same as 'Endangered', they are still in danger.
Its habitat is being destroyed because of global warming melting the ice. Polar bears live on the floating Arctic sea ice, where they hunt seals, their main food, throughout the winter. They need to build up their fat supplies in winter because the ice shrinks in summer and many bears are forced onto land.
Winters are getting shorter and summers are getting longer, and many bears are weakened by the end of a summer where they have little food. Weakened female bears can't easily catch seals, and they have fewer cubs.
Wiki User
∙ 13y agoThey are listed as threatened because some believe that global warming could someday start to cause issues. The current population is about 20,000 to 26,000 and is up from several decades ago. They used to have issues with over hunting.
Wiki User
∙ 7y agoJust 40 years ago, when hunting was widespread, there were fewer than 10,000 polar bears. Today hunting is much restricted and there are over 25,000. Some populations of polar bears are declining, some are increasing, a few are stable.
However, global warming is melting the sea ice in the Arctic, the habitat of the polar bear. Like other animals, polar bears will not survive if their habitat disappears. Every year the Arctic ice gets smaller.
Wiki User
∙ 6y agoPolar Bears are threatened by Global Warming and Greenhouse Gasses
Wiki User
∙ 6y agoAll the ice where they live is melting and they depend on the ice to live on, breed on, and hunt on. So without the ice their species is basically dead.
Wiki User
∙ 15y agothey are under threat because the polar ice caps are melting leaving the polar bears no where to go
Add your answer:
Earn +20 pts
Why do polar bears enemies pose a threat?
i believe they cause a threat of leading the polar bears to extinction
Why is melting sea ice such a threat to the polar bears?
Melting sea ice is a threat to the polar bears because without the sea ice the polar bears predators will see them and swim away.
What is going to be the next extict animal?
The next extinct animal is probably going to be the polar bear, for nobody knows for sure, but polar bears are under serious threat.
Are polar bears hunted by humans or another animals?
Polar bears are hunted by people, and circumstantially by orca. The biggest threat to them is global warming.
Where is the food or animals polar bears eat located?
Under the ice on which the Polar Bears roam.
Are polar bears a threat to humans?
They can be,but are more prone to attack if provoked.
Are spectacled bears extinct?
No, but they are under threat presently.
What do polar bears have under their feet?
The fashion industry has reached so far all polar bears wear Crocks
Are the bears endangered in the US?
No. No species of bear is endangered in the U.S. The bears found there, the brown and black bears, are listed as least concern, and the polar bear is listed as vulnerable. Some local populations may be under threat, but as full species, none are endangered.
How do polar bears breathe through water if they can only breathe with lungs?
They don't. Polar bears cannot breathe under water.
What is under the polar bear thick fur coat?
there is pink light skin under the polar bears coat
Do polar bears have special features?
Polar bears, like other animals in that region, have a kind of blubber under their fur to insulate them from the cold.
