ENDANGER SPECIES AND SOLUTIONS TO SAVE THEM

Endanger Species and Solutions to Save Them

Endanger Species and Solutions to Save Them

Introduction

Polar bears are classified as marine mammals according to their characteristics. They are one of the greatest survivors of nature, but due to certain environment and human factors, polar bears are classified as endangered species according to the Endangered Species Act U.S. They live around the Arctic coasts and islands of North Pole. The islands include Alaska, United States; Canada, Greenland, Denmark; Norway and Russia. In 2006, it was classified as a threatened species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Now, about 20,000 to 25,000 polar bears comprising two-third of the total population can be extinguished by the end of this century. Scientists suggest coping with the main threats to give hope to the survival of polar bears. The threats include global warming, pollution, spread of oil and gas and mixture with grizzly bears (Larson, 1990).

Problem one: Global Warming

The home to polar bears is floating sea ice. It is the best way for polar bears to get food from the sea. Unfortunately, due to global warming, every year, the ice or glaciers (home of polar bear) are melting in the Arctic region. The melted ice is causing floating ice to become smaller in size and at taking it to more distance than before. The bears have to swim more to cover longer distances across the Arctic Ocean. On average, it is said that bears have to swim about 60 miles or more to reach another piece of ice. Although they don't spend all of the time in water, they are still considered marine mammals. Despite the fact that they are such good swimmers, they are reported to die from drowning recently. This is caused due to global warming. The floating ice are in such long distances from each other that it takes more than usual time for polar bears to reach their destinations. Eventually, they get exhausted and drown (Adcock, 2009).

It is recorded that the polar bears are moving to the north coast of Alaska. The migration is made because the ice is melting and the ice no longer connects the animals to the coast. Due to less ice available, they cannot hunt the usual amount. This makes them deprive of food. They have little chance of survival in Alaska. Hudson Bay, Canada has reported 22 percent decline in the population of polar bears. Polar bears were the first of the species to be listed as endangered due to global warming. A study conducted in Canada concluded that the ice is melting three times faster than it was melting in the era of 70s. This makes polar bear stay and live on dry land. The chief cause of their survival depends on their winter hunt. Scientists have recorded a 15% drop in the birth rate of polar bears. It has reduced the coverage of Arctic ice. It has eroded the ice in the central polar ...