Polar Bear

Latin Ursus maritimus

Facts

Polar bears are the poster child for the impacts of climate change on species, and justifiably so. To date, global warming has been most pronounced in the Arctic, and this trend is projected to continue. There are suggestions that we could have a nearly ice-free Arctic summer before mid-century.

Polar bears have relatively high genetic diversity within the species, can disperse over very long distances, and are opportunistic predators, suggesting that they may have some capacity to adapt to the ongoing changes in the Arctic.

However, their dependence on sea ice makes them highly vulnerable to a changing climate. Polar bears rely heavily on the sea ice environment for traveling, hunting, mating, resting, and in some areas, maternal dens. In particular, they depend heavily on sea ice-dependent prey, such as ringed and bearded seals. Additionally, their long generation time and low reproductive rate may limit their ability to adapt to changes in the environment.

Priorities for climate-informed polar bear conservation should include identifying and protecting the “last ice areas,” the parts of the Arctic that are projected to retain sea ice farthest into the future. It is also important to increase monitoring of polar bear populations, particularly their responses to declining sea ice. As polar bears spend more time on land, we need to be prepared to manage for increased human-polar bear conflict.

In mid-November, the International Union for Conservation of Nature said that climate change was the most serious threat to polar bear survival and predicted a 30% drop in polar bear numbers in the next 35 to 40 years. Recent studies showed that the Arctic sea ice that polar bears need to hunt their prey is appearing less each year, meaning that polar bear's survival is getting more difficult.

https://www.worldwildlife.org/pages/polar-bears-and-climate-change
http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/cop21-10-animals-seriously-affected-by-climate-change-1531326