Polar+bear

// Ursus maritimus //
 * Polar bear **



**General information** The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear and a marine mammal that lives in the Arctic Circle. It is the world’s largest land carnivore. An adult female weighs usually around 175-300kg and an adult male around 350-700kg. The largest individuals may weigh over 800 kilograms. Polar bear is adapted for cold conditions, for moving across snow, open water and ice. Although they are often considered as land animals, they spend most of their time in the water.

 Habitat and distribution



The polar bears live within the Arctic circle and nearby land masses. Their remote habitat has allowed them to roam free without disturbation. The polar bears range all over the arctic, even far south to Canada. Estimating a global polar bear population is very hard because the Arctic circle has not been studied well enough.

 Status:

**Why is it endangered?**  Polar bear is currently not listed as endangered – yet. With approximately 20-25,00 individuals living in the wild the polar bear is listed as a vulnerable species//(“// // likely to become endangered unl ess the circumstances threatening its survival and reproduction improve.” // –IUCN). Nevertheless, the polar bears’ future does not seem too bright. If global warming, the biggest threat to the species survival, is not stopped, polar bears will be extinct within the next hundred years. 

__Global warming:__ The rapid climate change has put many species at risk of becoming extinct as their natural habitats either change radically or even vanish completely. To survive, polar bear needs sea ice: only if the climate keeps warming up at the same rate, experts have predicted that all the ice in e.g. Hudson Bay will be gone by 2080.

Since polar bear is a marine mammal, it needs a platform on which to live and rest and from which to hunt. The retreating ice causes habitat loss: habitat loss then results in malnutrition or even starvation, because in order to hunt seals, polar bear needs a platform of ice.

====Higher temperatures drive polar bears to shore too early. They haven't yet built adequate fat reserves to survive the summer. Polar bears have to follow their prey, so this forces them to swim longer distances, which drains their energy stores and leads to drowning.====

__Hunting:__ The International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and their Habitat(1973) was signed by the United States, Canada, Denmark, Norway and the former U.S.S.R. Member countries placed restrictions on commercial and especially recreational hunting of polar bears and do their best to protect the habitats of the bears.

**Sources:**

http://www.nwf.org/Wildlife/Wildlife-Library/Mammals/Polar-Bear.aspx http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/polarbear.html

//Sibu //