Polar bear
| Polar bear | |
|---|---|
| 200px | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom Information | |
| Kingdom | Animalia |
| Phylum Information | |
| Phylum | Chordata |
| Class Information | |
| Class | Mammalia |
| Order Information | |
| Order | Carnivora |
| Family Information | |
| Family | Ursidae |
| Genus Information | |
| Genus | Ursus |
| Species Information | |
| Species | U. maritimus |
| Binomial name | Ursus maritimus |
| Synonyms | U. eogroenlandicus U.groenlandicus U. jenaensis U. labradorensis U. marinus U. polaris U. spitzbergensis U. ungavensis Thalarctos maritimus |
| Population statistics | |
The polar bear (Ursus Maritimus) is a species of large carnivorous animals native to the Arctic which are noted for their white fur. They have thick blubber to keep warm and are capable of surviving extreme cold, as well as sea ice, snow and frozen land.
Polar bears hibernate through much of the winter, usually in an excavated snow den. Their normal diet consists mainly of seals, though in Canada they have been observed to take prey as small as lemmings. A large polar bear can stand 11 feet tall and weigh more than 700 pounds.
The current world population is estimated at around 22-27,000, around twice what it was in the 1960s.[1] Nonetheless, environmentalists got the polar bear placed on the Endangered Species List "to force the U.S. government to take action on global warming. [2]
Polar bears have been known to interbreed with grizzly bears in the wild, producing a polar-grizzly hybrid.[3]
In popular culture
Digitally animated polar bears starred in a series of Coca-Cola advertisements that ran during the 1990s.
Global warming
For a more detailed treatment, see Global warming controversy.
Activists from the Center for Biological Diversity claim that "... the primary threat to polar bears is global warming",[4] although scientists assert that the polar bear population is stable[5] or increasing.[6]
References
- ↑ http://www.naturecanada.ca/climate_change_polar.asp
- ↑ The aim of the environmentalists is to use the Endangered Species Act to force the U.S. government to take action on global warming, said Kassie Siegel, a lawyer for the Center for Biological Diversity. It would require federal agencies "to look at the cumulative effect of greenhouse gases on polar bears" and limit emissions by cars and power plants, Siegel said. [1]
- ↑ http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12738644/GT1/8199/
- ↑ Melting arctic ice pushes polar bear population closer to the edge: Activists see animal as a global symbol, International Herald-Tribune
- ↑ The IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group ... reported that of the 19 subpopulations of polar bears, five are declining, five are stable, two are increasing, and seven have insufficient data on which to base a decision. Bear Facts
- ↑ "There aren't just a few more bears. There are a hell of a lot more bears," said Mitch Taylor, a polar bear biologist who has spent 20 years studying the animals. Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up' (Polar Bears Caught in a Heated Debate - USA Today