Conservationists warn that the existence of polar bears is threatened due to the rapidly melting sea ice in the Arctic.
According to the Center for Biodiversity, the Council for the Protection of Natural Resources, and Greenpeace, polar bears rely on ice to hunt, mate, and migrate.
These groups are urging the U.S. Federal Government to classify polar bears as “threatened species” under the Endangered Species Act, due to the unprecedented rate of ice melting in the Arctic region.
Dr. David Shepherdson from the Polar Bears International, who has studied polar bears in Churchill, Manitoba, stated that polar bears only inhabit the Arctic region and depend on sea ice. Their primary food source consists of seals that also live in the area.
In September, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the University of Colorado reported that Arctic ice has decreased by 20% since 1979, losing approximately 166,560 square kilometers each year, which is equivalent to the size of Colorado, the eighth-largest state in the U.S.
(Science & Nature)
