Climate Change Effect on Polar Bears
Climate Change Effects on Artic Polar Bears
Kenneth Halvorsen
COM/156
09/30/2012
Jocelyn Henson
Climate Change Effects on Artic Polar Bears
Climate warming and ecological changes have caused a significant threat to the declining population of polar bears in the Arctic which is affecting human habitats
Polar bears, the largest of the terrestrial carnivores, live on the Arctic ice for the majority of the year. The icy habitat allows polar bears to hunt for their primary prey - seals. The powerful species’s survival completely depends on their ability to use ice for feeding and breeding. Some of the highest degrees of global warming effects have been on the polar regions of the world. Scientists around the globe are in agreement that such effects of greenhouse gases produced mainly through human induced emissions have resulted in an increase of the earth’s surface temperature. The continued denial concerning global warming could result in the complete polar bear extinction. Unquestionably, the beautiful species’s future depends on the protection of the arctic environment: its pollution levels, indigenous peoples hunt and total loss of ice. So, what should be done, if anything, to save the polar bear habitat? To begin analyzing the issue, let’s first discuss some of the delicate specifics of polar bear habitat and environment requirements which are critical for survival. Polar bears, as the largest of the bear family, must sustain enough food and accumulate enough body fat to keep those alive during the ice free period. They need to consume at least five pounds of seal blubber per day to stay healthy. Also, as they are the largest land predator in the world, bears live on the ice in locations where it is viable to hunt for seals which are their primary prey. Yet, they will also hunt Artic fox. They have been known to eat birds, reindeer, rodents, fish, or even the carcass of a dead whale. Strong swimmers, the bears roam over the vast expanses of sea
Kenneth Halvorsen
COM/156
09/30/2012
Jocelyn Henson
Climate Change Effects on Artic Polar Bears
Climate warming and ecological changes have caused a significant threat to the declining population of polar bears in the Arctic which is affecting human habitats
Polar bears, the largest of the terrestrial carnivores, live on the Arctic ice for the majority of the year. The icy habitat allows polar bears to hunt for their primary prey - seals. The powerful species’s survival completely depends on their ability to use ice for feeding and breeding. Some of the highest degrees of global warming effects have been on the polar regions of the world. Scientists around the globe are in agreement that such effects of greenhouse gases produced mainly through human induced emissions have resulted in an increase of the earth’s surface temperature. The continued denial concerning global warming could result in the complete polar bear extinction. Unquestionably, the beautiful species’s future depends on the protection of the arctic environment: its pollution levels, indigenous peoples hunt and total loss of ice. So, what should be done, if anything, to save the polar bear habitat? To begin analyzing the issue, let’s first discuss some of the delicate specifics of polar bear habitat and environment requirements which are critical for survival. Polar bears, as the largest of the bear family, must sustain enough food and accumulate enough body fat to keep those alive during the ice free period. They need to consume at least five pounds of seal blubber per day to stay healthy. Also, as they are the largest land predator in the world, bears live on the ice in locations where it is viable to hunt for seals which are their primary prey. Yet, they will also hunt Artic fox. They have been known to eat birds, reindeer, rodents, fish, or even the carcass of a dead whale. Strong swimmers, the bears roam over the vast expanses of sea
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