Stop Global Warming!
Two polar bears on a melting iceberg, wearing shades. See this environmental design on our T-shirts and gifts.
The extreme loss of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean is not only causing trouble for polar bears at sea, but on land as well.
Arctic sea ice melted at record levels last year and again in 2006, forcing the bears to spend more time on land, where they are unable to hunt their preferred food â€" seals.
As a result, the bears are thinner and hungrier, and foraging for alternative food sources â€" including garbage at human settlements. That, in turn, means polar bears are increasingly in contact with people.
It's a situation that's no good for either species.
Aircraft surveys of polar bears in the Hudson Bay area studied by Parkinson and Stirling show that bears numbered about 950 in 2004 â€" down from 1,200 in 1989. That’s a 22 percent drop, Parkinson pointed out.
What’s more, polar bears are losing weight.
