why are polar bears only found in the arctic

[126][127] As of 2006, in Alaska, 42% of cubs were reaching 12 months of age, down from 65% in 1991. The polar bear kills the seal by biting its head to crush its skull. It is the largest extant bear species, as well as the largest extant land carnivore. Some regulations of hunting did exist. [46] However, it is the only living marine mammal with powerful, large limbs and feet that allow them to cover kilometres on foot and run on land. Why Polar Bears Trapped Russian Scientists In The Arctic. Such was the intensity of human fascination with this magnificent predator, the only marine bear. [64] Polar bears gradually moult from May to August,[65] but, unlike other Arctic mammals, they do not shed their coat for a darker shade to provide camouflage in summer conditions. [135] Several animal species, particularly Arctic foxes (Vulpes lagopus) and glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus), routinely scavenge polar bear kills. [124], Female polar bears have been known to adopt other cubs. – National Geographic Blog", "PBSG statement on proposed transfer of polar bear to CITES Appendix I", "Nunavut hunters can kill more polar bears this year", "Rethink polar bear hunt quotas, scientists tell Nunavut hunters", "Melting Under Pressure: The Real Scoop on Climate Warming and Polar Bears", "Nunavut hunters still enraged over bear quotas", National Polar Bear Conservation Strategy for Canada, "Russia tries to save polar bears with legal hunt", "Red Data Book of Russia: Marine Mammals: Carnivores", "Strategy for Polar Bear Conservation in the Russian Federation", "Environmental Conservation Online System", http://www.fws.gov/alaska/PDFs/PBRT%20Recovery%20Plan%20Book.pdf, "Possible effects of climate warming on selected populations of polar bears (, "Polar bear distribution and abundance on the Southwestern Hudson Bay coast during open water season, in relation to population trends and annual ice patterns", "Observations of mortality associated with extended open-water swimming by polar bears in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea", "Next up from climate change: More polar bears on land, potentially running into humans", "As Sea Ice Shrinks, Can Polar Bears Survive on Land? [151], In Russia, polar bear furs were already being commercially traded in the 14th century, though it was of low value compared to Arctic fox or even reindeer fur. [3][2] He chose the scientific name Ursus maritimus, the Latin for 'maritime bear',[14] due to the animal's native habitat. Polar bears live in the Arctic, on ice-covered waters. A. Baker, M. E. Obbard, and B. Malloch, eds.). Where do polar bears live? Their southernmost range is near the boundary between the subarctic and humid continental climate zones. [2], The bear family, Ursidae, is thought to have split from other carnivorans about 38 million years ago. Appenzeller, T. and Dimick, D. R. (2004) "The Heat is On,", List of We Bare Bears characters § Ice Bear, International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment, International Union for Conservation of Nature, 2019 mass invasion of Russian polar bears, "Late Pleistocene fossil find in Svalbard: the oldest remains of a polar bear (, 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2015-4.RLTS.T22823A14871490.en, "Alaska, Chukotka sign agreement to manage polar bears", "Education: Marine Mammal Information: Polar Bears", "Unequal Rates of Y Chromosome Gene Divergence during Speciation of the Family Ursidae", "Molecular distance and divergence time in carnivores and primates", "Complete mitochondrial genome of a Pleistocene jawbone unveils the origin of polar bear", "Ancient Hybridization and an Irish Origin for the Modern Polar Bear Matriline", "Nuclear Genomic Sequences Reveal that Polar Bears Are an Old and Distinct Bear Lineage", "Population Genomics Reveal Recent Speciation and Rapid Evolutionary Adaptation in Polar Bears", "Brown bears and polar bears split up, but continued coupling", "List of Marine Mammal Species & Subspecies", "Genetic structure of the world's polar bear populations", Supplementary material for Ursus maritimus Red List assessment, "Killing polar bears in Iceland "only logical thing to do, "The war over the polar bear: Who's telling the truth about the fate of a Canadian icon? [56] The largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing 1,002 kg (2,209 lb), was a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960. [68] Males have significantly longer hairs on their forelegs, which increase in length until the bear reaches 14 years of age. Estimates of total historical harvest suggest that from the beginning of the 18th century, roughly 400 to 500 animals were being harvested annually in northern Eurasia, reaching a peak of 1,300 to 1,500 animals in the early 20th century, and falling off as the numbers began dwindling. The permit process required that the bear be taken from an area with quotas based on sound management principles. [19] However, evidence of hybrids between polar bears and brown bears, and of the recent evolutionary divergence of the two species, does not support the establishment of this separate genus, and the accepted scientific name is now therefore Ursus maritimus, as Phipps originally proposed. 1987. After several years of negotiations, Russia and the United States signed an agreement in October 2000 to jointly set quotas for indigenous subsistence hunting in Alaska and Chukotka. [173], The Soviet Union banned the harvest of polar bears in 1956; however, poaching continued, and is estimated to pose a serious threat to the polar bear population. Dubbed the unicorn of the sea due to their long, spiraled tooth, … [73], Brown bears tend to dominate polar bears in disputes over carcasses,[136] and dead polar bear cubs have been found in brown bear dens. Down south in Antarctica you’ll find penguins, seals, whales and all kinds of seabirds, but never polar bears. It has been claimed that polar bears will be able to adapt to terrestrial food sources as the sea ice they use to hunt seals disappears. [35] The 13 North American subpopulations range from the Beaufort Sea south to Hudson Bay and east to Baffin Bay in western Greenland and account for about 54% of the global population. [149] Only the liver was not used, as its high concentration of vitamin A is poisonous. [23], The evidence from DNA analysis is more complex. [67], The white coat usually yellows with age. Polar bears are only found in the Arctic. Polar bears are stealth hunters, and the victim is often unaware of the bear's presence until the attack is underway. [109] Here, their food ecology shows their dietary flexibility. The Arctic is home to roughly 25,000 polar bears. [224] The television series Lost features polar bears living on the tropical island setting. Norway passed a series of increasingly strict regulations from 1965 to 1973, and has completely banned hunting since then. The polar bear is an evolved type of bear and can only be found in the north because it adapted to fit that climate, food sources, ect. [49] Freshwater is limited in these environments because it is either locked up in snow or saline. [78] Polar bears sometimes swim underwater to catch fish like the Arctic charr or the fourhorn sculpin. Polar bears hunt seals from a platform of sea ice. Only with the passage of the treaty did they begin to recover. [41] Bears sometimes swim to Iceland from Greenland—about 600 sightings since the country's settlement in the 9th century AD, and five in the 21st century as of 2016[update]—and are always killed because of their danger, and the cost and difficulty of repatriation. [81] Polar bears are usually quiet but do communicate with various sounds and vocalizations. Due to the absence of human development in its remote habitat, it retains more of its original range than any other extant carnivore. Most maternity dens are in snowdrifts, but may also be made underground in permafrost if it is not sufficiently cold yet for snow. Females communicate with their young with moans and chuffs, and the distress calls of both cubs and subadults consists of bleats. ", "WWF — Polar bear status, distribution & population", "Bear hunting caught in global warming debate", "Ask the experts: Are polar bear populations increasing? [39], Polar bears were hunted heavily in Svalbard, Norway throughout the 19th century and to as recently as 1973, when the conservation treaty was signed. Eskimos are found in the North. [37][39] The subpopulations display seasonal fidelity to particular areas, but DNA studies show that they are not reproductively isolated. [5][6] A boar (adult male) weighs around 350–700 kg (770–1,540 lb),[7] while a sow (adult female) is about half that size. [223] The panserbjørne of Philip Pullman's fantasy trilogy His Dark Materials are sapient, dignified polar bears who exhibit anthropomorphic qualities, and feature prominently in the 2007 film adaptation of The Golden Compass. The length of these swims ranged from most of a day to ten days. The polar bear also hunts by stalking seals resting on the ice: upon spotting a seal, it walks to within 90 m (100 yd), and then crouches. Nevertheless, polar bears are listed as "Vulnerable" under criterion A3c, which indicates an expected population decrease of ≥30% over the next three generations (~34.5 years) due to "decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat". She then travelled another 1,800 km (1,100 mi). [148][149] Polar bear remains have been found at hunting sites dating to 2,500 to 3,000 years ago[151] and 1,500-year-old cave paintings of polar bears have been found in the Chukchi Peninsula. These legends reveal a deep respect for the polar bear, which is portrayed as both spiritually powerful and closely akin to humans. The total polar bear population is divided into 19 units or subpopulations. The Arctic Refuge is the only national conservation area where polar bears regularly den and the most consistently used polar bear land denning area in Alaska. [177] It banned all importing of polar bear trophies. As a carnivore, which feeds largely upon fish-eating carnivores, the polar bear ingests large amounts of vitamin A that is stored in their livers. Member countries agreed to place restrictions on recreational and commercial hunting, ban hunting from aircraft and icebreakers, and conduct further research. [134] The causes of death in wild adult polar bears are poorly understood, as carcasses are rarely found in the species's frigid habitat. [43][211], For the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, polar bears have long played an important cultural and material role. Penguins are only found in the Southern Hemisphere (so Antarctica included), Polar bears only in the Northern (so the Arctic included). [82] Cubs may hum while nursing. [168] Between 1987 and 2004, the Western Hudson Bay population declined by 22%,[189] although the population was listed as "stable" as of 2017. Unlike brown and black bears, polar bears are capable of fasting for up to several months during late summer and early fall, when they cannot hunt for seals because the sea is unfrozen. Thalarctos maritimus, The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. [202][203] Some estimates of the global population are around 5,000 to 10,000 in the early 1970s;[204] other estimates were 20,000 to 40,000 during the 1980s. [88] The Arctic is home to millions of seals, which become prey when they surface in holes in the ice in order to breathe, or when they haul out on the ice to rest. [29] However, because neither species can survive long in the other's ecological niche, and because they have different morphology, metabolism, social and feeding behaviours, and other phenotypic characteristics, the two bears are generally classified as separate species. [149], Their distinctive appearance and their association with the Arctic have made polar bears popular icons, especially in those areas where they are native. This report may well be dubious, however. Annual ice contains areas of water that appear and disappear throughout the year as the weather changes. In the wild, old polar bears eventually become too weak to catch food, and gradually starve to death. The bear was able to reach the truck and tore one of the doors off the truck before Hoshino was able to drive off. The human-like posture of bears when standing and sitting, and the resemblance of a skinned bear carcass to the human body, have probably contributed to the belief that the spirits of humans and bears were interchangeable. [32] This distinction has since been invalidated. The female polar bear, also known as a sow, weighs about … An adult male of a polar bear, also known as boar, weighs approximately 772 to 1,543 pounds. [214] The polar bear is the mascot of Bowdoin College, Maine; the University of Alaska Fairbanks; and the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Calgary. For example, The Polar Bear Son is adapted from a traditional Inuit tale. [220] The animated television series Noah's Island features a polar bear named Noah as the protagonist. Polar bears live in the Arctic, near the North Pole. [116] One scientist found that 71% of the Hudson Bay bears had fed on seaweed (marine algae) and that about half were feeding on birds[95] such as the dovekie and sea ducks, especially the long-tailed duck (53%) and common eider, by swimming underwater to catch them. [96] The bearded seal, on the other hand, can be nearly the same size as the bear itself, averaging 270 kg (600 lb). [128] The proportion of maternity dens on sea ice has changed from 62% between the years 1985 through 1994, to 37% over the years 1998 through 2004. [90], Problematic interactions between polar bears and humans, such as foraging by bears in garbage dumps, have historically been more prevalent in years when ice-floe breakup occurred early and local polar bears were relatively thin. [137] Wolves are rarely encountered by polar bears, though there are two records of Arctic wolf (Canis lupus arctos) packs killing polar bear cubs. [23] Polar bears are thought to have diverged from a population of brown bears that became isolated during a period of glaciation in the Pleistocene[4] from the eastern part of Siberia (from Kamchatka and the Kolym Peninsula). [159] In September 2015, the polar bear range states agreed upon a "circumpolar action plan" describing their conservation strategy for polar bears. [42], Modern methods of tracking polar bear populations have been implemented only since the mid-1980s, and are expensive to perform consistently over a large area. [90] However, in the short term, some polar bear populations in historically colder regions of the Arctic may temporarily benefit from a milder climate, as multiyear ice that is too thick for seals to create breathing holes is replaced by thinner annual ice. [57][58] While all bears are short-tailed, the polar bear's tail is relatively the shortest amongst living bears, ranging from 7 to 13 cm (2.8 to 5.1 in) in length.[59]. This works because they are threatened by very few (if any) land predators. [195], Many chemicals, such as PCBs and DDT, have been internationally banned due to the recognition of their harm on the environment. [37] Canada has allowed sport hunters accompanied by local guides and dog-sled teams since 1970,[164] but the practice was not common until the 1980s. Even though the north and south polar regions both have lots of snow and ice, polar bears stick to the north. Polar bears are only found near the Arctic circle and are not native to the South Pole. ", "Magic Number: a Sketchy "Fact" About Polar Bears Keeps Going...And Going... And Going", "Nunavut MLAs condemn U.S. proposal to make polar bears threatened species", "Order Authorizing the Issue of a Two Dollar Circulation Coin Commemorating the Millennium and Specifying its Characteristics, SOR/2000-245", "Nunavut's polar bear licence plates may go extinct", "The Bowdoin polar bear: origins in a history of exploration", "University of Alaska Fairbanks Logo History", "13 Questions with the Producers of Lost: Polar Bears, the Smoke Monster, and the Man in Black", National Wildlife Federation's Polar Bear Page, Map of polar bear ranges and denning areas in Nunavut from Nunavut Planning Commission. [128] In most areas, cubs are weaned at two and a half years of age, when the mother chases them away or abandons them. Most polar bears elsewhere will never have access to these alternatives, except for the marine mammal carcasses that are important wherever they occur. Narwhals only live up north. Males usually reach sexual maturity at six years; however, as competition for females is fierce, many do not breed until the age of eight or ten. [11] For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural life of circumpolar peoples, and polar bears remain important in their cultures. [199], Polar bears diverged from brown bears 400,000–600,000 years ago and have survived past periods of climate fluctuation. 2. [180], Polar bear population sizes and trends are difficult to estimate accurately because they occupy remote home ranges and exist at low population densities. Where do polar bears live? [85][86] The pair wrestled harmlessly together each afternoon for 10 days in a row for no apparent reason, although the bear may have been trying to demonstrate its friendliness in the hope of sharing the kennel's food. While the algae is harmless to the bears, it is often a worry to the zoos housing them, and affected animals are sometimes washed in a salt solution, or mild. The ice bear is completely coated with fur, with the exception of its nose and the pads of its feet. Polar bears roam into the territory of five countries. Polar bears feature prominently in East (North Child in the UK) by Edith Pattou,[221] The Bear by Raymond Briggs (adapted into an animated short in 1998),[222] and Chris d'Lacey's The Fire Within series. [163], More than 600 bears are killed per year by humans across Canada,[45] a rate calculated by scientists to be unsustainable for some areas, notably Baffin Bay. 7. The polar bear was previously considered to be in its own genus, Thalarctos. [60] Two genes that are known to influence melanin production, LYST and AIM1, are both mutated in polar bears, possibly leading to the absence on this pigment in their fur. [63] The guard hair is 5–15 cm (2–6 in) over most of the body. [78], Females begin to breed at the age of four years in most areas, and five years in the area of the Beaufort Sea. Polar bears depend on the frozen ocean to hunt for their main sources of food: seals and walrus. [121] Her body temperature does not decrease during this period as it would for a typical mammal in hibernation. Being at the top of the food chain in the Arctic, the only threat to polar bears are other polar bears. These are just two of many reasons the Refuge is such an incredible natural area. [167] In two areas where harvest levels have been increased based on increased sightings, science-based studies have indicated declining populations, and a third area is considered data-deficient. [69], The polar bear has an extremely well developed sense of smell, being able to detect seals nearly 1.6 km (1 mi) away and buried under 1 m (3 ft) of snow. [172] Other provisions included year-round protection of cubs and mothers, restrictions on weapons used and various administrative requirements to catalogue kills. This study, which looked at 13 of the world’s 19 polar bear populations, is the first to identify when they could disappear. [2] Because polar bears rely partly on their fur for insulation and soiling of the fur by oil reduces its insulative value, oil spills put bears at risk of dying from hypothermia. [119] Partners stay together and mate repeatedly for an entire week; the mating ritual induces ovulation in the female. Ten of the sows had a cub swim with them and after a year, six cubs survived. In unusually warm conditions, the hollow tubes provide an excellent home for algae. [43] The Polar Bear Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission takes the position that "estimates of subpopulation size or sustainable harvest levels should not be made solely on the basis of traditional ecological knowledge without supporting scientific studies. But the study also notes that it is still possible to slow Arctic … [158] The treaty was ratified in October 2007. [168] While most of that quota is hunted by the indigenous Inuit people, a growing share is sold to recreational hunters. Seals migrate in response to these changes, and polar bears must follow their prey. They can occasionally drift widely with the sea ice, and there have been anecdotal sightings as far south as Berlevåg on the Norwegian mainland and the Kuril Islands in the Sea of Okhotsk. Polar bear. Yet, they have often been seen playing together for hours at a time and even sleeping in an embrace,[78] and polar bear zoologist Nikita Ovsianikov has described adult males as having "well-developed friendships. [62] Polar bear fur consists of a layer of dense underfur and an outer layer of guard hairs, which appear white to tan but are actually transparent. Norway is the only country of the five in which all harvest of polar bears is banned. Third, the recent effects of climate change have affected sea ice abundance in different areas to varying degrees. [87] Studies have also photographed polar bears scaling near-vertical cliffs, to eat birds' chicks and eggs. [91], A widespread legend tells that polar bears cover their black noses with their paws when hunting. [90] Insufficient nourishment leads to lower reproductive rates in adult females and lower survival rates in cubs and juvenile bears, in addition to poorer body condition in bears of all ages. [138] Adult polar bears are occasionally vulnerable to predation by orcas (Orcinus orca) while swimming, but they are rarely reported as taken and bears are likely to avoid entering the water if possible if they detect an orca pod in the area. [170] The Government of the Northwest Territories maintain their own quota of 72 to 103 bears within the Inuvialuit communities of which some are set aside for sports hunters. In 1927, poisoning was outlawed while in 1939, certain denning sights were declared off limits. Polar bears have been observed to hunt the small Svalbard reindeer (R. t. platyrhynchus), which weigh only 40 to 60 kg (90 to 130 lb) as adults, as well as the barren-ground caribou (R. t. groenlandicus), which is about twice as heavy as the former. tyrannus was significantly larger than the living subspecies. The Arctic Refuge is the only national conservation area where polar bears regularly den and the most consistently used polar bear land denning area in Alaska. In the early 20th century, Norwegian hunters were harvesting 300 bears per year at the same location. The only other bear similar in size to the polar bear is the Kodiak bear, which is a subspecies of brown bear. [182], The International Union for Conservation of Nature, Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, United States Geological Survey and many leading polar bear biologists have expressed grave concerns about the impact of climate change, including the belief that the current warming trend imperils the survival of the polar bear. Read more. [31] As predicted by Allen's rule for a northerly animal, the legs are stocky and the ears and tail are small. [82] Chemical communication can also be important: bears leave behind their scent in their tracks which allow individuals to keep track of one another in the vast Arctic wilderness. [149] Traditional subsistence hunting was on a small enough scale to not significantly affect polar bear populations, mostly because of the sparseness of the human population in polar bear habitat. [79] However, due to the very small human population around the Arctic, such attacks are rare. ... serving as the apex predators of the Arctic. As the Arctic's sea ice goes, so go the polar bears Polar bears are the largest terrestrial carnivores on Earth, but their fate is intimately tied to … [9] Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their time on the sea ice. [53] The polar bear is among the most sexually dimorphic of mammals, surpassed only by the pinnipeds such as elephant seals. [84], In 1992, a photographer near Churchill took a now widely circulated set of photographs of a polar bear playing with a Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) a tenth of its size. [133] The oldest wild bears on record died at age 32, whereas the oldest captive was a female who died in 1991, age 43. [73], Researchers tracked 52 sows in the southern Beaufort Sea off Alaska with GPS system collars; no boars were involved in the study due to males' necks being too thick for the GPS-equipped collars. During these four months, the pregnant female eats prodigious amounts of food, gaining at least 200 kg (440 lb) and often more than doubling her body weight. [170], Because of the way polar bear hunting quotas are managed in Canada, attempts to discourage sport hunting would actually increase the number of bears killed in the short term.

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