The polar bear is found in only the northern hemisphere in the countries of Canada, Alaska, U.S.A., Russia, Denmark and Norway. They are thought by scientists to be a descendant of the brown bear.
They walk at 5-6 kilometers per hour at a leisurely, lumbering, brisk pace. They can run as fast as 40 kilometers, but only for short distances.
A male polar bear is 8-10 feet tall and weighs 550-1700 lbs. The female however is 6-8 feet tall and weighs 200-500 lbs. They both live to be 15-18 years old and are at the top of their food chain, as only humans eat or hunt them.
Polar bears are very clean, bathing 15-30 minutes after feeding. Their hearing and eyesight are heightened and keen and they can smell their prey miles away. They have two layers of fur and a layer of blubber measuring 4.5 inches thick. There are little bumps called papillae on the bottom of their feet to stop them from slipping on the ice. Their claws are strong and powerful to catch the seals that are their primary source of food.
Ringed and bearded seals are the type they hunt. They also eat walrus, beluga whales, and short-legged deer. They like to snack on birds and their eggs, kelp and beached whales. Polar bears typically eat only the fat and leave the rest for foxes, ravens and the smaller, baby bears.
On the average female bears give birth to two cubs for each litter, and their first pregnancy is between 4 and 8 years old. They only have an average of five litters in a lifetime.
The cubs are born November and December and do not come out of their den until March or April. During this time, the mother does not eat, drink or defecate. Cubs stay with their mother until they are 2.5 years old. A newborn cub is 12-14 inches long, weighs about 1 lb, are blind, toothless and covered in short soft fur.
Global warming is affecting the Polar Bear in some very alarming ways. There are only 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears left at the last count in 2005. Sixty percent of those live in Canada. The western bay population dropped by 22% since the 1980’s. There has also been a decline in the cub survival rate and in height and skull size of males. Present shrinking of the Arctic sea ice is rapid and unprecedented. The Artic has experienced warm periods before, but nothing of this magnitude. When the polar bear rests after swimming miles for food and their resting ground is on glaciers that are melting and becoming thin ice, they drown.
In the sixties and seventies, hunting was a threat. Now before they can get back up to a population that can mate and survive, between the global warming and the lift of endangered species laws, allowing sport hunting and killing of bears from the air, the great polar bear will be extinct by the end of this century if not sooner. They have also turned to cannibalism for survival as the seals do not come as far north in their migration due to the warmer temperatures.
Everything is connected, ultimately humans survive only because the world’s ecosystems survive. The polar bear is an early warning sign. If they are poisoned by pollutants in the air or water, over-hunted or pressured by interactions with humans, their environment altered by climate change, disturbed by drilling and mining, then humans are not safe either. High levels of PCB in the blubber of polar bears, hampers their immune system. PCB makes them susceptible to parasites and diseases. High PCB levels leads to reproduction failure, and malformed organs. Drilling and mining affect the denning sites for females to birth and raise their cubs. Legal hunting kills over 700 polar bears a year. Canada allows sport or trophy hunting by non-natives and non-citizens. They distribute quotas by region and are not responsible for the gathering of data therefore, reaching high levels of unacceptable deaths of the bear population.
In closing, I will add a personal note that the Grizzly Bear is my totem spirit and the second largest animal in the world, second only to the Polar Bear. Their pain is my pain. Their death is a part of me dying. As it should be for every human on earth when we kill, or allow these noble creatures to go into extinction and destroy ecosystems that we rely upon for our own survival as the human race. I have to ask a question without an easy answer; what are we going to do about it?
Author notes
http://www.defenders.org/wildlife_and_habitat/wildlife/polar_bear.php
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090810/ap_on_sc/cn_canada_ice_retreats
In a list
A contest entry
- Through the Eyes of an Animal by kareneisenlord.
1750 points, ended November 5, 2008, 30 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
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I thoroughly enjoyed reading this again, as I have before when you entered it in my last contest through the eyes of an animal. Your article is extremely informative and I was both fascinated and saddened by it. The facts about the polar bear are fascinating. 4.5 inches of blubber! That is alot. They need it to keep warm. To me it is astounding that they hybernate without ever having to urinate or defecate. What is their secret?
I am disheartened to hear that their skeletal remains are displaying signs of malnutrition and that the survival rate of cubs is going down. I can't believe that they are hunted; and from the air. That is very upsetting! Especially in view of their population being depleted by 22%. You are so right that their fate is our fate as well. Thank you for entering my contest and Blessed Be! Bless all the animals who dwell upon the earth... -
Very well done and succinctly explained...
I could not state it better myself! You have certainly touched on the critical issues that are endangering the Polar Bear - global warming, pollution, hunting and environmental destruction. We are all certainly suffering the consequences of not listening enough to environmentalists and animal rights advocates from the 60's. They were right on then, and thank God/the Goddess some things were put into place like pollution regulations on cars and endangered species, oil-drilling restrictions, etc. Apparently, we haven't learned our lesson yet even when the horrible signs are staring us directly in the face. It is unbelievable to me that any laws protecting endangered animals and the environment would be loosened. These regulations should be stricter; not lifted.
Your article stressed the ultimate consequence; that what happens to these endangered animals and their environment affects us and if they are destroyed, we will ultimately be destroyed as well. Their environment is our environment. Their well-being and survival means ours as well. As you so aptly point out; THE ECOSYSTEM THAT THESE ANIMALS RELY ON FOR THEIR SURVIVAL IS ALSO HUMANITY'S SURVIVAL, FOR WE ARE ALL CONNECTED. IT IS A DELICATE BALANCE; AND ANIMALS ARE SHOWING US THE SIGNS THAT WE NEED TO TAKE HEED AND CARE FOR THIS PRECIOUS PLANET AND THE CREATURES THAT OCCUPY IT - FOR HUMANS ARE AN INTRICATE PART OF THAT ECOSYSTEM AS WELL - AND OUR SURVIVAL DEPENDS UPON IT!
Thank you for writing this wonderful, informative yet sad article about the Polar Bear. I learned some interesting things about them as well. I wish that everyone cared as much as you do. Best wishes to you and keep up the wonderful advocacy for our animals and the planet! -
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Thank you my Sister
as the Polar Bear has always had a place in my heart and researching their plight, though it was impossible for me to tell the tale in poetry form or rhyming verse, creating this essay from the research and scientific facts was very enlightening and my educated guess at their very probable fate is unfortunately right on the button. I kept hoping all the way through this that I was wrong, had to be wrong that there was some article, some proof, somewhere that would dispute the truth logically and without a reasonable doubt. I was sadly disappointed.
Blessed Be the
Creatures of Earth~
)O(
DragonBlue
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I too am disturbed by the complaicent murderous attitude of those, who can for no other purpose than selfish gain end the existance of such beautiful creatures. The injustice fills me with pain and rage.
If i was an outsider looking in at the behaviour of our species i would believe we have lost all connection with soul. Because only the souless would permit... allow such attrocities to occur. We take all, sacrificing to gods of profit... posession.
We, with-out a second thought desacrate this, our great mother's creation. We are limmiting our-selves to being dependant on production lines... technology for sadvation. I despise the injustice. The humble nature of the mountain gorrila is said to be another dying species heading for extinction. how can people devour such innocence, for the sake of an ego accesorie or some other superficial need. I love all creatures but the tiger mountain gorrila and polar bear leave me in awe with such delicate and detailed nature. This is a well presented piece full of awareness. I thank-you for taking the time to share your insights thoughts emotions and beliefs with us.
Can i just say; i did well to refrain from fury and frustration in my comment
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I too had difficult time taming my fury. This started out a diatribe against those who destroy all in the name of Jesus, and the Almighty Dollar. Their time is coming soon enough, for that they call their redemption is their doom, as the wrath of a loving world destroys their kind once and for all. Just thought I would get a lot farther with my audience if I appealed to their logic and empthay.
Blessed Be~
)O(
DragonBlue
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We live in...
hell. Wonderous and beautiful, but hell none-the-less.
Keep up the great work my friend...
wolf
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Thank You
for reading and reviewing my work. My heart breaks for the Polar Bears.
BB
)O(
db
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