Polar Bear: Threats that endanger the species are linked to our actions
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The Arctic is warming about three times faster than anywhere else on the planet and the glaciers are shrinking by 13% every ten years. A habitat that is disappearing and he will be the first to lose out: thepolar bear (Ursus maritimus), the largest terrestrial carnivore and also one of the animals most threatened by the impacts of climate change. Immediately afterwards, the future at risk is that of us human beings. To raise the alarm on the occasion of the World polar bear daywhich is celebrated every year on February 27, is the WWF recalling how this species has become a symbol of catastrophic climate change.
I study
Glaciers melt, hibernating viruses and bacteria reactivate and the risk of pandemics increases
by Giacomo Talignani
Polar bears need sea ice to reproduce and hunt, but if polar ice cap melting trends and the disappearance of suitable habitats will continue with the trend of recent decades, some studies hypothesize that in just 35 years we risk losing up to 30% of the population of this species. The latest estimates matter between 22,000 and 31,000 individuals in the wild. And some data are already dramatic: the polar bear population of Hudson Bay (Canada) has already suffered a 30% reduction between 1987 and 2017.
The coverage of the polar ice cap shrinks by an average of 13% every ten years. In the last 40 years we have lost about 2 million km2 of sea ice: an area larger than the areas of alaska and california combined. According to many scientists it is very likely that by 2050 there will be completely sea ice-free Arctic summers.
Drought
Bears are among the most resistant animals to the changing climate
by Valentina Guglielmo
The threats that put the polar bear at risk are all linked to human action. With the’expansion of the oil and gas industry the potential risks of habitat destruction resulting from extractions increase. Accidents and oil spillsmoreover, they can directly poison the habitat and the food chain at which the bear is located. Toxic substances, such as pesticides, can also negatively affect some aspects of the basic physiology of the species and even have negative effects on its reproduction.
There loss of ice it also impacts polar bears’ mating opportunities and their own ability to move and dispersion in other areas, a phenomenon that has caused an increase in matings between consanguineous and related individuals with serious consequences on genetic diversity and therefore on the probability of survival of the species. The fact that polar bears do not find food then makes individuals much more enterprising. In fact, many bears approach villages and look for food among the waste produced by people, entering into conflict with local communities, frightened by their presence near homes.
Climate
In the Arctic, huge cavities and hills of ice due to melting permafrost
by Fiammetta Cupellaro
Since 2015, the WWF has created patrols to monitor and protect the safety of the inhabitants of Ittoqqortoormiitthe northernmost country in the East Greenland, from the intrusion of the polar bear. In just 7 years, the patrol was able to intervene and drive away more than 75 bears. The salvation of this species and its fragile habitat is closely connected to that of the planet and humanity. And everything depends on our choices and actions.
Ensuring the survival of one “umbrella species” like the polar bear, it allows the protection of all the species that are at the lowest levels of the same food chain and that share the same fragile habitat with it. First of all, it is necessary to act daily by reducing gas consumption and to put pressure on governments and companies to focus more and more on energy from renewablesand reset the CO emissions2 caused by the use of fossil fuels.
Biodiversity
The only Antarctic insect is in danger of becoming extinct due to the heat
by Simone Valesini
The WWF is also active with concrete projects that have the objective of safeguarding the polar bear and the Arctic: the “Last Ice Area” project refers to one of the best preserved areas of the Arctic between Canada and Greenland, and has the objective of protecting the area for the well-being and survival of polar bears and other arctic species, constituting a safe haven. In Greenland, WWF is also working to make inhabited villages less attractive to bears, who come here especially attracted by food, working on research and development of prevention and deterrence techniques. To the experimentation of these techniques, then, is added the necessary communication to the local populations on the correct behaviors to adopt in areas frequented by bears, especially in the field of proper waste management.
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