Polar Bear Twinkle

Polar bear, polar bear, turn around,

Polar bear, polar bear, touch the ground,
Polar bear, polar bear, show your shoe,
Polar bear, polar bear, that will do.
Polar bear, polar bear, bend your knee,
Polar bear, polar bear, climb this tree,
Polar bear, polar bear, make a frown,
Polar bear, polar bear, sit right down.
Polar bear, polar bear, stand on your toes,
Polar bear, polar bear, touch your nose,
Polar bear, polar bear, wink your eye,
Polar bear, polar bear, say good-bye.
~ This Polar Bear Poem maby be adapted fro units on other bears
Change to Black Bear, Little Bear, Brown Bear or Grizzly bear
~ Sing this polar bear song to the tune of "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star
Bears, Bears Bears
Bears!
Bears. bears,
I like bears.
Polar bears,
Grizzly bears,
Black bears,
I like bears. Bear Cheer
The bears are in!
The bears are out!
Grab a bear and give a shout!
Give me a B!
Give me an E!
Give me an A!
Give me a R!
Give me and S!
What have you got?
BEARS!!!!!
Three Brown Bears

(this polar bear song can be sung to the tune of Three Blind Mice)
You can do it
Polar Bear
Coloring
Bear Polar

Polar Bear Poem
The polar bear lives in Alaska,
He never gets cold in a storm,
He swims in cold icy water,
His heavy coat keeps him warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm,
His heavy coat keeps him warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm,
His heavy coat keeps him warm
Little Polar Bear

Little Polar Bear
White as the snow
Sat on the ice
Near the cold water's flow.
I am hungry, he said
and made a wish
Then stuck in his paw
And pulled out a fish!
The Polar Bear Never Makes His Bed Poem

The Polar Bear never makes his bed;
He sleeps on a cake of ice instead.
He has no blanket, no quilt, no sheet
Except the rain and snow and sleet.
He drifts about on a white ice floe
While cold winds howl and blizzards blow
And the temperature drops to forty below.

The Polar Bear never makes his bed;
The blanket he pulls up over his head
Is lined with soft and feathery snow.
If ever he rose and turned on the light,
He would find a world of bathtub white,
And icebergs floating through the night.
Polar bear poem by William Jay Smith
The Polar Bear Poem
The polar bear by being white
gives up his camouflage at night,
And, yet without a thought or care,
he wanders here, meanders there,
and gaily treads the ice floes
completely unconcerned with foes.
For after dark nobody dares
to set out after polar bears.
Jack Prelutsky
Polar Bear Poem
The polar bear lives in Alaska,
He never gets cold in a storm,
He swims in cold icy water,
His heavy coat keeps him warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm,
His heavy coat keeps him warm.
Warm, warm, warm, warm,
His heavy coat keeps him warm.

(you can sing this polar bear poem to the tune of "My Bonnie Lies Over the
Ocean")

Polar Bear in there
There's a Polar Bear
In our Frigidaire--
He likes it 'cause it's cold in there.
With his seat in the meat
And his face in the fish
And his big hairy paws
In the buttery dish,
He's nibbling the noodles,
He's munching the rice,
He's slurping the soda,
He's licking the ice.
And he lets out a roar
If you open the door.
And it gives me a scare
To know he's in there--
That Polary Bear
In our Fridgitydaire.

polar bear poem by Shel Silverstein
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The Polar Bear
Ursus maritimus
The polar bear or the sea/ice bear are
the world's largest land predators. They
can be found in the Artic, the U.S.
(Alaska), Canada, Russia, Denmark
(Greenland), and Norway. Each of
these countries either banned hunting
or established rules for how many polar
bears could be hunted within its own
boundaries. These rules help keep
polar bear populations stable. Today,
25,000 to 40,000 polar bears roam the
Arctic.
Please note: The photos on this page have
come from clipart CD's which allow use on
educational internet sites and in school projects
or they have been contributed by viewers.
You are free to use all of it in book reports or for
your personal website.
See KidZone Bibliography for more
information.

Approximate worldwide winter distribution
of polar bears (light gray). Polar bears
are distributed throughout most ice-
covered seas of the Northern
Hemisphere.
Source:
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/amstr
up-1.php


Around the age of four or five the female
polar bear can start having babies. They
usually only have two cubs and they
have these babies in a cave they've dug
in a large snow drift. They stay there
over winter and come out in spring with
the babies.
The babies are much smaller than
human babies when they're born. They
are the size of a rat and weigh little more
than a pound. They can grow to full man
size in a year if they have lots of food.
Male polar bears may grow 10 feet tall
and weigh over 1400 pounds. Females
reach seven feet and weigh 650
pounds. In the wild polar bears live up
to age 25.

Pair of polar bear cubs.

Despite what we think, a polar bear's fur
is not white. Each hair is clear hollow
tube. Polar bears look white because
each hollow hair reflects the light. On
sunny days, it traps the sun's infrared
heat and keeps the bear warm at 98
degrees F (when they're resting).

Polar bear fur is oily and water repellent.
The hairs don't mat when wet, allowing
the polar bears to easily shake free of
water and any ice that may form after
swimming.
Polar bears have wide front paws with
slightly webbed toes that help them
swim. They paddle with their front feet
and steer with their hind feet. Paw
pads with rough surfaces help prevent
polar bears from slipping up on the ice.
Polar bears have been known to swim
100 miles (161 kilometers) at a stretch.

The smallest foot pad is the front track
and the
larger is the hind track.

Polar bears primarily eat seals. They
often rest silently at a seals breathing
hole in the ice, waiting for a seal in the
water to surface. Once the seal comes
up, the bear will spring and sink its
jagged teeth into the seals head.
Sometimes the polar bear stalks its prey.
It may see a seal lying near its breathing
hole and slowly move toward it, then
charge it, biting its head or grabbing it
with its massive claws. A polar bear may
also hunt by swimming beneath the ice.


Humans are the polar bears only predator. Baby polar bears often starve. In fact, 70
percent do not live to their third birthday. Sometimes seals are hard to find, especially
in the summer when the ice has melted. All across the Arctic, man is moving in to mine
oil and coal and there is less space for the polar bear to live. Oil spills can be very
dangerous. A bear with oil on its coat cannot regulate its body temperature properly. If
the bear eats the oil while grooming it could die.
Man made pollution is also a cause of death. At each stage of the food chain, pollutants
get more concentrated. By the end when the polar bear eats the seal and it could be
lethal.

Scientific genus and species: Ursus maritimus
Class: Mammalia (mammals)
Order: Carnivora (carnivores)
Family: Ursidae (bear family)
Genus: Ursus
Species: maritimus (meaning "sea bear")

Polar Bear On-Line Jigsaw Puzzles
(Puzzle 1: Polar Bear) (Puzzle 2: Polar Bear with cub) (Puzzle 3: Seal)

Polar Bear circle practice craft
Polar Bear Poster/coloring page
"Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Do You Hear?" book break

Giant Panda Sloth Bear



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Polar bear
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is about the animal. For other uses, see Polar bear (disambiguation).
Polar Bear

Conservation status

Vulnerable (IUCN 3.1)
[1]

Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus: Ursus
Species: U. maritimus
Binomial name
Ursus maritimus
Phipps, 1774
[2]


Polar bear range
Synonyms
Ursus eogroenlandicus
Ursus groenlandicus
Ursus jenaensis
Ursus labradorensis
Ursus marinus
Ursus polaris
Ursus spitzbergensis
Ursus ungavensis
Thalarctos maritimus
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing
the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land
carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is
approximately the same size.
[3]
An adult male weighs around 350680 kg (7701,500 lb),
[4]

while an adult female is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it
has evolved to occupy a narrower ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for
cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which
make up most of its diet.
[5]
Although most polar bears are born on land, they spend most of their
time at sea. Their scientific name means "maritime bear", and derives from this fact. Polar bears
can hunt their preferred food of seals from the edge of sea ice, often living off fat reserves when
no sea ice is present.
The polar bear is classified as a vulnerable species, with eight of the 19 polar bear
subpopulations in decline.
[6]
For decades, large scale hunting raised international concern for the
future of the species but populations rebounded after controls and quotas began to take effect.
For thousands of years, the polar bear has been a key figure in the material, spiritual, and cultural
life of Arctic indigenous peoples, and polar bears remain important in their cultures.
Contents
1 Naming and etymology
2 Taxonomy and evolution
3 Population and distribution
4 Habitat
5 Biology and behavior
o 5.1 Physical characteristics
o 5.2 Hunting and diet
o 5.3 Behavior
o 5.4 Reproduction and lifecycle
5.4.1 Maternity denning and early life
5.4.2 Later life
5.4.3 Life expectancy
o 5.5 Ecological role
6 Hunting
o 6.1 Indigenous people
o 6.2 History of commercial harvest
o 6.3 Contemporary regulations
6.3.1 Russia
6.3.2 Greenland
6.3.3 Canada and the United States
7 Conservation status, efforts and controversies
o 7.1 Climate change
o 7.2 Pollution
o 7.3 Oil and gas development
7.3.1 Predictions
o 7.4 Controversy over species protection
o 7.5 U.S. endangered species legislation
o 7.6 Canadian endangered species legislation
8 In culture
o 8.1 Indigenous folklore
o 8.2 Symbols and mascots
o 8.3 Literature
9 See also
10 Notes
11 References
12 External links
Naming and etymology
Constantine John Phipps was the first to describe the polar bear as a distinct species in 1774.
[7]

He chose the scientific name Ursus maritimus, the Latin for 'maritime bear',
[8]
due to the animal's
native habitat. The Inuit refer to the animal as nanook
[9]
(transliterated as nanuq in the Inupiat
language).
[10]
The Yupik also refer to the bear as nanuuk in Siberian Yupik.
[11]
The bear is umka
in the Chukchi language. In Russian, it is usually called e

nt mene

t (blyj medvdj, the

white bear), though an older word still in use is omxy

(Oshkj, which comes from the Komi

oski, "bear").
[12]
In French, the polar bear is referred to as ours blanc ("white bear") or ours
polaire ("polar bear").
[13]
In the Norwegian-administered Svalbard archipelago, the polar bear is
referred to as Isbjrn ("ice bear").
The polar bear was previously considered to be in its own genus, Thalarctos.
[14]
However,
evidence of hybrids between polar bears and brown bears, and of the recent evolutionary
divergence of the two species, does not support the establishment of this separate genus, and the
accepted scientific name is now therefore Ursus maritimus, as Phipps originally proposed.
[15]

Taxonomy and evolution


Polar bears have evolved unique features for Arctic life. Large furry feet and short, sharp, stocky claws
giving it good traction on ice are evolutionary adaptations to this environment.
The bear family, Ursidae, is believed to have split off from other carnivorans about 38 million
years ago. The Ursinae subfamily originated approximately 4.2 million years ago. According to
both fossil and DNA evidence, the polar bear diverged from the brown bear, Ursus arctos,
roughly 150,000 years ago.
[16]
The oldest known polar bear fossil is a 130,000 to 110,000-year-
old jaw bone, found on Prince Charles Foreland in 2004.
[16]
Fossils show that between ten to
twenty thousand years ago, the polar bear's molar teeth changed significantly from those of the
brown bear. Polar bears are thought to have diverged from a population of brown bears that
became isolated during a period of glaciation in the Pleistocene.
[17]

More recent genetic studies have shown that some clades of brown bear are more closely related
to polar bears than to other brown bears,
[18]
meaning that the polar bear is not a true species
according to some species concepts.
[19]
Irish brown bears are particularly close to polar bears.
[20]

In addition, polar bears can breed with brown bears to produce fertile grizzlypolar bear
hybrids,
[17][21]
indicating that they have only recently diverged and are genetically similar.
[22]

However, because neither species can survive long in the other's ecological niche, and because
they have different morphology, metabolism, social and feeding behaviors, and other phenotypic
characteristics, the two bears are generally classified as separate species.
[22]

The evolution of the polar bear from the brown bear is an example of peripatric speciation, the
process by which an ancestral species gives rise to a daughter species through the evolution of
populations located at the margin of the ancestral species' range. The origin of the polar bear
therefore rendered the ancestral brown bear a paraspecies, which is paraphyletic species that
gave rise to one or more daughter species without itself becoming extinct.
When the polar bear was originally documented, two subspecies were identified: Ursus
maritimus maritimus by Constantine J. Phipps in 1774, and Ursus maritimus marinus by Peter
Simon Pallas in 1776.
[23]
This distinction has since been invalidated.
One fossil subspecies has been identified. Ursus maritimus tyrannusdescended from Ursus
arctosbecame extinct during the Pleistocene. U.m. tyrannus was significantly larger than the
living subspecies.
[17]

Population and distribution


Polar bears investigate the submarine USS Honolulu 280 miles (450 km) from the North Pole.
The polar bear is found in the Arctic Circle and adjacent land masses as far south as
Newfoundland Island. Due to the absence of human development in its remote habitat, it retains
more of its original range than any other extant carnivore.
[24]
While they are rare north of 88,
there is evidence that they range all the way across the Arctic, and as far south as James Bay in
Canada. They can occasionally drift widely with the sea ice, and there have been anecdotal
sightings as far south as Berlevg on the Norwegian mainland and the Kuril Islands in the Sea of
Okhotsk. It is difficult to estimate a global population of polar bears as much of the range has
been poorly studied, however biologists use a working estimate of about 20,00025,000 polar
bears worldwide.
[1][25]

There are 19 generally recognized discrete subpopulations.
[25][26]
The subpopulations display
seasonal fidelity to particular areas, but DNA studies show that they are not reproductively
isolated.
[27]
The thirteen North American subpopulations range from the Beaufort Sea south to
Hudson Bay and east to Baffin Bay in western Greenland and account for about 70% of the
global population. The Eurasian population is broken up into the eastern Greenland, Barents Sea,
Kara Sea, Laptev Sea, and Chukchi Sea subpopulations, though there is considerable uncertainty
about the structure of these populations due to limited mark and recapture data.



Polar bears play-fighting
The range includes the territory of five nations: Denmark (Greenland), Norway (Svalbard),
Russia, the United States (Alaska) and Canada. These five nations are the signatories of the
International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears, which mandates cooperation on
research and conservations efforts throughout the polar bear's range.
Modern methods of tracking polar bear populations have been implemented only since the mid-
1980s, and are expensive to perform consistently over a large area.
[28]
The most accurate counts
require flying a helicopter in the Arctic climate to find polar bears, shooting a tranquilizer dart at
the bear to sedate it, and then tagging the bear.
[28]
In Nunavut, some Inuit have reported increases
in bear sightings around human settlements in recent years, leading to a belief that populations
are increasing. Scientists have responded by noting that hungry bears may be congregating
around human settlements, leading to the illusion that populations are higher than they actually
are.
[28]
The Polar Bear Specialist Group of the IUCN takes the position that "estimates of
subpopulation size or sustainable harvest levels should not be made solely on the basis of
traditional ecological knowledge without supporting scientific studies."
[29]

Of the 19 recognized polar bear subpopulations, eight are declining, three are stable, one is
increasing, and seven have insufficient data.
[6][25]

Habitat


A polar bear in a synthetic arctic zoo environment
The polar bear is often regarded as a marine mammal because it spends many months of the year
at sea.
[30]
Its preferred habitat is the annual sea ice covering the waters over the continental shelf
and the Arctic inter-island archipelagos. These areas, known as the "Arctic ring of life", have
high biological productivity in comparison to the deep waters of the high Arctic.
[24][31]
The polar
bear tends to frequent areas where sea ice meets water, such as polynyas and leads (temporary
stretches of open water in Arctic ice), to hunt the seals that make up most of its diet.
[32]
Polar
bears are therefore found primarily along the perimeter of the polar ice pack, rather than in the
Polar Basin close to the North Pole where the density of seals is low.
[33]

Annual ice contains areas of water that appear and disappear throughout the year as the weather
changes. Seals migrate in response to these changes, and polar bears must follow their prey.
[31]
In
Hudson Bay, James Bay, and some other areas, the ice melts completely each summer (an event
often referred to as "ice-floe breakup"), forcing polar bears to go onto land and wait through the
months until the next freeze-up.
[31]
In the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, polar bears retreat each
summer to the ice further north that remains frozen year-round.
Biology and behavior
Physical characteristics


Polar bear skeleton
The polar bear is the largest terrestrial carnivore, being more than twice as big as the Siberian
tiger.
[34]
It shares this title with the Kodiak Bear.
[35]
Adult males weigh 350680 kg (770
1500 lbs) and measure 2.43 m (7.99.8 ft) in length.
[36]
Adult females are roughly half the size
of males and normally weigh 150249 kg (330550 lb), measuring 1.82.4 metres (5.97.9 ft) in
length. When pregnant, however, they can weigh as much as 499 kg (1,100 lb).
[36]
The polar bear
is among the most sexually dimorphic of mammals, surpassed only by the pinnipeds.
[37]
The
largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing 1,002 kg (2,210 lb), was a male shot at
Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960.
[38]
The shoulder height of the polar bear is
130160 cm (5163 in).
[39]

Compared with its closest relative, the brown bear, the polar bear has a more elongated body
build and a longer skull and nose.
[22]
As predicted by Allen's rule for a northerly animal, the legs
are stocky and the ears and tail are small.
[22]
However, the feet are very large to distribute load
when walking on snow or thin ice and to provide propulsion when swimming; they may measure
30 cm (12 in) across in an adult.
[40]
The pads of the paws are covered with small, soft papillae
(dermal bumps) which provide traction on the ice.
[22]
The polar bear's claws are short and stocky
compared to those of the brown bear, perhaps to serve the former's need to grip heavy prey and
ice.
[22]
The claws are deeply scooped on the underside to assist in digging in the ice of the natural
habitat. Despite a recurring Internet meme that all polar bears are left-handed,
[41][42]
there is no
scientific evidence to support this claim.
[43]
Unlike the brown bear, polar bears in captivity are
rarely overweight or particularly large, possibly as a reaction to the warm conditions of most
zoos.
The 42 teeth of a polar bear reflect its highly carnivorous diet.
[22]
The cheek teeth are smaller and
more jagged than in the brown bear, and the canines are larger and sharper.
[22]
The dental
formula is
[22]




Polar bear swimming underwater.
Polar bears are superbly insulated by up to 10 cm (3.9 in) of blubber,
[40]
their hide and their fur;
they overheat at temperatures above 10 C (50 F), and are nearly invisible under infrared
photography.
[44]
Polar bear fur consists of a layer of dense underfur and an outer layer of guard
hairs, which appear white to tan but are actually transparent.
[40]
The guard hair is 515 cm (2.0
5.9 in) over most of the body.
[45]
Polar bears gradually moult from May to August,
[46]
but, unlike
other Arctic mammals, they do not shed their coat for a darker shade to camouflage themselves
in the summer conditions. The hollow guard hairs of a polar bear coat were once thought to act
as fiber-optic tubes to conduct light to its black skin, where it could be absorbed; however, this
theory was disproved by recent studies.
[47]

The white coat usually yellows with age. When kept in captivity in warm, humid conditions, the
fur may turn a pale shade of green due to algae growing inside the guard hairs.
[48]
Males have
significantly longer hairs on their forelegs, that increase in length until the bear reaches 14 years
of age. The male's ornamental foreleg hair is thought to attract females, serving a similar
function to the lion's mane.
[49]

The polar bear has an extremely well developed sense of smell, being able to detect seals nearly
1 mi (1.6 km) away and buried under 3 ft (0.91 m) of snow.
[50]
Its hearing is about as acute as
that of a human, and its vision is also good at long distances.
[50]

The polar bear is an excellent swimmer and individuals have been seen in open Arctic waters as
far as 200 mi (320 km) from land. With its body fat providing buoyancy, it swims in a dog
paddle fashion using its large forepaws for propulsion.
[51]
Polar bears can swim 6 mph
(9.7 km/h). When walking, the polar bear tends to have a lumbering gait and maintains an
average speed of around 3.5 mph (5.6 km/h).
[51]
When sprinting, they can reach up to 25 mph
(40 km/h).
[52]

Hunting and diet


The long muzzle and neck of the polar bear help it to search in deep holes for seals, while powerful
hindquarters enable it to drag massive prey.
[53]

The polar bear is the most carnivorous member of the bear family, and most of its diet consists of
ringed and bearded seals.
[54]
The Arctic is home to millions of seals, which become prey when
they surface in holes in the ice in order to breathe, or when they haul out on the ice to rest.
[53]

Polar bears hunt primarily at the interface between ice, water, and air; they only rarely catch
seals on land or in open water.
[55]

The polar bear's most common hunting method is called still-hunting:
[56]
The bear uses its
excellent sense of smell to locate a seal breathing hole, and crouches nearby in silence for a seal
to appear. When the seal exhales, the bear smells its breath, reaches into the hole with a forepaw,
and drags it out onto the ice. The polar bear kills the seal by biting its head to crush its skull. The
polar bear also hunts by stalking seals resting on the ice: Upon spotting a seal, it walks to within
100 yd (91 m), and then crouches. If the seal does not notice, the bear creeps to within 30 to 40
feet (9.1 to 12 m) of the seal and then suddenly rushes forth to attack.
[53]
A third hunting method
is to raid the birth lairs that female seals create in the snow.
[56]

A widespread legend tells that polar bears cover their black noses with their paws when hunting.
This behavior, if it happens, is rare although the story exists in native oral history and in
accounts by early Arctic explorers, there is no record of an eyewitness account of the behavior in
recent decades.
[51]



Polar bear at a whale carcass
Mature bears tend to eat only the calorie-rich skin and blubber of the seal, whereas younger bears
consume the protein-rich red meat.
[53]
Studies have also photographed polar bears scaling near-
vertical cliffs, to eat birds' chicks and eggs.
[57]
For subadult bears which are independent of their
mother but have not yet gained enough experience and body size to successfully hunt seals,
scavenging the carcasses from other bears' kills is an important source of nutrition. Subadults
may also be forced to accept a half-eaten carcass if they kill a seal but cannot defend it from
larger polar bears. After feeding, polar bears wash themselves with water or snow.
[51]

The polar bear is an enormously powerful predator. It can kill an adult walrus, although this is
rarely attempted. A walrus can be more than twice the bear's weight,
[58]
and has up to three feet
long ivory tusks that can be used as formidable weapons. Polar bears also have been seen to prey
on beluga whales, by swiping at them at breathing holes. The whales are of similar size to the
walrus and nearly as difficult for the bear to subdue. Polar bears very seldom attack full-grown
adult whales. Most terrestrial animals in the Arctic can outrun the polar bear on land as polar
bears overheat quickly, and most marine animals the bear encounters can outswim it. In some
areas, the polar bear's diet is supplemented by walrus calves and by the carcasses of dead adult
walruses or whales, whose blubber is readily devoured even when rotten.
[59]



Some characteristic postures:
1. - at rest;
2. - at an estimated reaction;
3. - when feeding
With the exception of pregnant females, polar bears are active year-round,
[60]
although they have
a vestigial hibernation induction trigger in their blood. Unlike brown and black bears, polar bears
are capable of fasting for up to several months during late summer and early fall, when they
cannot hunt for seals because the sea is unfrozen.
[60]
When sea ice is unavailable during summer
and early autumn, some populations live off fat reserves for months at a time.
[44]
Polar bears have
also been observed to eat a wide variety of other wild foods, including muskox, reindeer, birds,
eggs, rodents, shellfish, crabs, and other polar bears. They may also eat plants, including berries,
roots, and kelp, however none of these are a significant part of their diet.
[58]
The polar bear's
biology is specialized to require large amounts of fat from marine mammals, and it cannot derive
sufficient caloric intake from terrestrial food.
[61][62]

Being both curious animals and scavengers,
[58][63]
polar bears investigate and consume garbage
where they come into contact with humans.
[58]
Polar bears may attempt to consume almost
anything they can find, including hazardous substances such as styrofoam, plastic, car batteries,
ethylene glycol, hydraulic fluid, and motor oil.
[58][63]
The dump in Churchill, Manitoba was
closed in 2006 to protect bears, and waste is now recycled or transported to Thompson,
Manitoba.
[64][65]


Behavior


Polar bear males frequently play-fight. During the mating season, actual fighting is intense and often
leaves scars or broken teeth.
Unlike grizzly bears, polar bears are not territorial. Although stereotyped as being voraciously
aggressive, they are normally cautious in confrontations, and often choose to escape rather than
fight.
[66]
Satiated polar bears rarely attack humans unless severely provoked, whereas hungry
polar bears are extremely unpredictable and are known to kill and sometimes eat humans.
[59]

Polar bears are stealth hunters, and the victim is often unaware of the bear's presence until the
attack is underway.
[67]
Whereas brown bears often maul a person and then leave, polar bear
attacks are more likely to be predatory and are almost always fatal.
[67]
However, due to the very
small human population around the Arctic, such attacks are rare.
In general, adult polar bears live solitary lives. Yet, they have often been seen playing together
for hours at a time and even sleeping in an embrace,
[59]
and polar bear zoologist Nikita
Ovsianikov has described adult males as having "well-developed friendships."
[66]
Cubs are
especially playful as well. Among young males in particular, play-fighting may be a means of
practicing for serious competition during mating seasons later in life.
[68]
Polar bears have a wide
range of vocalisations, including bellows, roars, growls, chuffs and purrs.
[69]

In 1992, a photographer near Churchill took a now widely circulated set of photographs of a
polar bear playing with a Canadian Eskimo Dog a tenth of its size.
[70][71]
The pair wrestled
harmlessly together each afternoon for ten days in a row for no apparent reason, although the
bear may have been trying to demonstrate its friendliness in the hope of sharing the kennel's
food.
[70]
This kind of social interaction is uncommon; it is far more typical for polar bears to
behave aggressively towards dogs.
[70]

Reproduction and lifecycle


Cubs are born helpless, and typically nurse for two and a half years.
Courtship and mating take place on the sea ice in April and May, when polar bears congregate in
the best seal hunting areas.
[72]
A male may follow the tracks of a breeding female for 100 km
(62 mi) or more, and after finding her engage in intense fighting with other males over mating
rights, fights which often result in scars and broken teeth.
[72]
Polar bears have a generally
polygynous mating system; recent genetic testing of mothers and cubs, however, has uncovered
cases of litters in which cubs have different fathers.
[73]
Partners stay together and mate repeatedly
for an entire week; the mating ritual induces ovulation in the female.
[74]

After mating, the fertilized egg remains in a suspended state until August or September. During
these four months, the pregnant female eats prodigious amounts of food, gaining at least 200 kg
(440 lb) and often more than doubling her body weight.
[72]

Maternity denning and early life


A female emerging from her maternity den
When the ice floes break up in the fall, ending the possibility of hunting, each pregnant female
digs a maternity den consisting of a narrow entrance tunnel leading to one to three chambers.
[72]

Most maternity dens are in snowdrifts, but may also be made underground in permafrost if it is
not sufficiently cold yet for snow.
[72]
In most subpopulations, maternity dens are situated on land
a few kilometers from the coast, and the individuals in a subpopulation tend to reuse the same
denning areas each year.
[24]
The polar bears that do not den on land make their dens on the sea
ice. In the den, she enters a dormant state similar to hibernation. This hibernation-like state does
not consist of continuous sleeping; however, the bear's heart rate slows from 46 to 27 beats per
minute.
[75]
Her body temperature does not decrease during this period as it would for a typical
mammal in hibernation.
[44][76]

Between November and February, cubs are born blind, covered with a light down fur, and
weighing less than 0.9 kg (2.0 lb),
[74]
but in captivity they delivered might be in earlier month.
The earliest recorded birth of polar bears in captivity was on October 11, 2011 in Toronto
Zoo.
[77]
On average, each litter has two cubs.
[72]
The family remains in the den until mid-
February to mid-April, with the mother maintaining her fast while nursing her cubs on a fat-rich
milk.
[72]
By the time the mother breaks open the entrance to the den, her cubs weigh about 10 to
15 kilograms (22 to 33 lb).
[72]
For about 12 to 15 days, the family spends time outside the den
while remaining in its vicinity, the mother grazing on vegetation while the cubs become used to
walking and playing.
[72]
Then they begin the long walk from the denning area to the sea ice,
where the mother can once again catch seals.
[72]
Depending on the timing of ice-floe breakup in
the fall, she may have fasted for up to eight months.
[72]




A cub nursing
Cubs may fall prey to wolves or to starvation. Female polar bears are noted for both their
affection towards their offspring
[citation needed]
, and their valiance in protecting them
[citation needed]
.
One case of adoption of a wild cub has been confirmed by genetic testing.
[73]
Adult male bears
occasionally kill and eat polar bear cubs,
[78]
for reasons that are unclear.
[79]
In Alaska, 42% of
cubs now reach 12 months of age, down from 65% 15 years ago.
[80]
In most areas, cubs are
weaned at two and a half years of age,
[72]
when the mother chases them away or abandons them.
The western coast of Hudson Bay is unusual in that its female polar bears sometimes wean their
cubs at only one and a half years.
[72]
This was the case for 40% of cubs there in the early 1980s;
however by the 1990s, fewer than 20% of cubs were weaned this young.
[81]
After the mother
leaves, sibling cubs sometimes travel and share food together for weeks or months.
[59]

Later life
Females begin to breed at the age of four years in most areas, and five years in the Beaufort Sea
area.
[72]
Males usually reach sexual maturity at six years, however as competition for females is
fierce, many do not breed until the age of eight or ten.
[72]
A study in Hudson Bay indicated that
both the reproductive success and the maternal weight of females peaked in their mid-teens.
[82]

Polar bears appear to be less affected by infectious diseases and parasites than most terrestrial
mammals.
[79]
Polar bears are especially susceptible to Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm they
contract through cannibalism,
[83]
although infections are usually not fatal.
[79]
Only one case of a
polar bear with rabies has been documented, even though polar bears frequently interact with
Arctic foxes, which often carry rabies.
[79]
Bacterial Leptospirosis and Morbillivirus have been
recorded. Polar bears sometimes have problems with various skin diseases which may be caused
by mites or other parasites.
Life expectancy
Polar bears rarely live beyond 25 years.
[84]
The oldest wild bears on record died at the age of 32,
whereas the oldest captive was a female who died in 1991 at the age of 43.
[85]
The oldest living
polar bear was Debby of the Assiniboine Park Zoo, who was probably born in December 1966
[85]

and died on November 17, 2008. The causes of death in wild adult polar bears are poorly
understood, as carcasses are rarely found in the species's frigid habitat.
[79]
In the wild, old polar
bears eventually become too weak to catch food, and gradually starve to death. Polar bears
injured in fights or accidents may either die from their injuries or become unable to hunt
effectively, leading to starvation.
[79]

Ecological role
The polar bear is the apex predator within its range. Several animal species, particularly Arctic
Foxes and Glaucous Gulls, routinely scavenge polar bear kills.
[51]

The relationship between ringed seals and polar bears is so close that the abundance of ringed
seals in some areas appears to regulate the density of polar bears, while polar bear predation in
turn, regulates density and reproductive success of ringed seals.
[55]
The evolutionary pressure of
polar bear predation on seals probably accounts for some significant differences between Arctic
and Antarctic seals. Compared to the Antarctic, where there is no major surface predator, Arctic
seals use more breathing holes per individual, appear more restless when hauled out on the ice,
and rarely defecate on the ice.
[51]
The baby fur of most Arctic seal species is white, presumably
to provide camouflage from predators, whereas Antarctic seals all have dark fur at birth.
[51]

Polar bears rarely enter conflict with other predators, though recent brown bear encroachments
into polar bear territories have led to antagonistic encounters. Brown bears tend to dominate
polar bears in disputes over carcasses,
[86]
and dead polar bear cubs have been found in brown
bear dens.
[87]
Wolves are rarely encountered by polar bears, though there are two records of wolf
packs killing polar bear cubs.
[88]
Polar bears are sometimes the host of arctic mites such as
Alaskozetes antarcticus.
[51]

Hunting
Indigenous people


Skins of hunted polar bears in Ittoqqortoormiit, Greenland
Polar bears have long provided important raw materials for Arctic peoples, including the Inuit,
Yupik, Chukchi, Nenets, Russian Pomors and others. Hunters commonly used teams of dogs to
distract the bear, allowing the hunter to spear the bear or shoot it with arrows at closer range.
[89]

Almost all parts of captured animals had a use.
[90]
The fur was used in particular to sew trousers
and, by the Nenets, to make galoshes-like outer footwear called tobok; the meat is edible, despite
some risk of trichinosis; the fat was used in food and as a fuel for lighting homes, alongside seal
and whale blubber; sinews were used as thread for sewing clothes; the gallbladder and
sometimes heart were dried and powdered for medicinal purposes; the large canine teeth were
highly valued as talismans.
[91]
Only the liver was not used, as its high concentration of vitamin A
is poisonous.
[92]
Hunters make sure to either toss the liver into the sea or bury it in order to spare
their dogs from potential poisoning.
[91]
Traditional subsistence hunting was on a small enough
scale to not significantly affect polar bear populations, mostly because of the sparseness of the
human population in polar bear habitat.
[93]

History of commercial harvest
In Russia, polar bear furs were already being commercially traded in the 14th century, though it
was of low value compared to Arctic Fox or even reindeer fur.
[91]
The growth of the human
population in the Eurasian Arctic in the 16th and 17th century, together with the advent of
firearms and increasing trade, dramatically increased the harvest of polar bears.
[44][94]
However,
since polar bear fur has always played a marginal commercial role, data on the historical harvest
is fragmentary. It is known, for example, that already in the winter of 1784/1785 Russian Pomors
on Spitsbergen harvested 150 polar bears in Magdalenefjorden.
[91]
In the early 20th century,
Norwegian hunters were harvesting 300 bears a year at the same location. Estimates of total
historical harvest suggest that from the beginning of the 18th century, roughly 400500 animals
were being harvested annually in northern Eurasia, reaching a peak of 1,300 to 1,500 animals in
the early 20th century, and falling off as the numbers began dwindling.
[91]

In the first half of the 20th century, mechanized and overpoweringly efficient methods of hunting
and trapping came into use in North America as well.
[95]
Polar bears were chased from
snowmobiles, icebreakers, and airplanes, the latter practice described in a 1965 New York Times
editorial as being "about as sporting as machine gunning a cow."
[95]
The numbers taken grew
rapidly in the 1960s, peaking around 1968 with a global total of 1,250 bears that year.
[96]

Contemporary regulations


A road sign on Svalbard, warning about the presence of polar bears.
Concerns over the future survival of the species led to the development of national regulations on
polar bear hunting, beginning in the mid-1950s. The Soviet Union banned all hunting in 1956.
Canada began imposing hunting quotas in 1968. Norway passed a series of increasingly strict
regulations from 1965 to 1973, and has completely banned hunting since then. The United States
began regulating hunting in 1971 and adopted the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972. In
1973, the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was signed by all five
nations whose territory is inhabited by polar bears Canada, Denmark, Norway, the Soviet Union,
and the United States. Member countries agreed to place restrictions on recreational and
commercial hunting, ban hunting from aircraft and icebreakers, and conduct further research.
[97]

The treaty allows hunting "by local people using traditional methods". Norway is the only
country of the five in which all harvest of polar bears is banned. The agreement was a rare case
of international cooperation during the Cold War. Biologist Ian Stirling commented, "For many
years, the conservation of polar bears was the only subject in the entire Arctic that nations from
both sides of the Iron Curtain could agree upon sufficiently to sign an agreement. Such was the
intensity of human fascination with this magnificent predator, the only marine bear."
[98]

Agreements have been made between countries to co-manage their shared polar bear
subpopulations. After several years of negotiations, Russia and the United States signed an
agreement in October 2000 to jointly set quotas for indigenous subsistence hunting in Alaska and
Chukotka.
[99]
The treaty was ratified in October 2007.
[100]

Russia
The Soviet Union banned the harvest of polar bears in 1956, however poaching continued and is
believed to pose a serious threat to the polar bear population.
[26]
In recent years, polar bears have
approached coastal villages in Chukotka more frequently due to the shrinking of the sea ice,
endangering humans and raising concerns that illegal hunting would become even more
prevalent.
[101]
In 2007, the Russian government made subsistence hunting legal for Chukotka
natives only, a move supported by Russias most prominent bear researchers and the World
Wide Fund for Nature as a means to curb poaching.
[101]

Greenland
In Greenland, hunting restrictions were first introduced in 1994 and expanded by executive order
in 2005.
[26]
Until 2005 Greenland placed no limit on hunting by indigenous people. However, in
2006 it imposed a limit of 150, while also allowed recreational hunting for the first time.
[102]

Other provisions included year-round protection of cubs and mothers, restrictions on weapons
used, and various administrative requirements to catalogue kills.
[26]

Canada and the United States


Dogsleds are used for recreational hunting of polar bears in Canada. Use of motorized vehicles is
forbidden.
About 500 bears are killed per year by humans across Canada,
[103]
a rate believed by scientists to
be unsustainable for some areas, notably Baffin Bay.
[25]
Canada has allowed sport hunters
accompanied by local guides and dog-sled teams since 1970,
[104]
but the practice was not
common until the 1980s.
[105]
The guiding of sport hunters provides meaningful employment and
an important source of income for native communities in which economic opportunities are
few.
[28]
Sport hunting can bring CDN$20,000 to $35,000 per bear into northern communities,
which until recently has been mostly from American hunters.
[106]

On 15 May 2008, the United States listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the
Endangered Species Act and banned all importing of polar bear trophies. Importing products
made from polar bears had been prohibited from 1972 to 1994 under the Marine Mammal
Protection Act, and restricted between 1994 and 2008. Under those restrictions, permits from the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service were required to import sport-hunted polar bear trophies
taken in hunting expeditions in Canada. The permit process required that the bear be taken from
an area with quotas based on sound management principles.
[107]
Since 1994, more than 800 sport-
hunted polar bear trophies have been imported into the U.S.
[108]

The territory of Nunavut accounts for the location 80% of annual kills in Canada.
[103]
In 2005,
the government of Nunavut increased the quota from 400 to 518 bears,
[106]
despite protests from
some scientific groups.
[109]
In two areas where harvest levels have been increased based on
increased sightings, science-based studies have indicated declining populations, and a third area
is considered data-deficient.
[110]
While most of that quota is hunted by the indigenous Inuit
people, a growing share is sold to recreational hunters. (0.8% in the 1970s, 7.1% in the 1980s,
and 14.6% in the 1990s)
[105]
Nunavut polar bear biologist, Mitchell Taylor, who was formerly
responsible for polar bear conservation in the territory, insists that bear numbers are being
sustained under current hunting limits.
[111]
In 2010, the 2005 increase was partially reversed.
Government of Nunavut officials announced that the polar bear quota for the Baffin Bay region
would be gradually reduced from 105 per year to 65 by the year 2013.
[112]
The Government of
the Northwest Territories maintain their own quota of 72103 bears within the Inuvialuit
communities of which some are set aside for sports hunters.
[citation needed]
Environment Canada
also banned the export from Canada of fur, claws, skulls and other products from polar bears
harvested in Baffin Bay as of January 1, 2010.
[112]

Because of the way polar bear hunting quotas are managed in Canada, attempts to discourage
sport hunting would actually increase the number of bears killed in the short term.
[28]
Canada
allocates a certain number of permits each year to sport and subsistence hunting, and those that
are not used for sport hunting are re-allocated to Native subsistence hunting. Whereas Native
communities kill all the polar bears they are permitted to take each year, only half of sport
hunters with permits actually manage to kill a polar bear. If a sport hunter does not kill a polar
bear before his or her permit expires, the permit cannot be transferred to another hunter.
[28]

Conservation status, efforts and controversies


This map from the U.S. Geological Survey shows projected changes in polar bear habitat from 2001
2010 to 20412050. Red areas indicate loss of optimal polar bear habitat; blue areas indicate gain.
As of 2008, the World Conservation Union (IUCN) reports that the global population of polar
bears is 20,000 to 25,000, and is declining.
[1]
In 2006, the IUCN upgraded the polar bear from a
species of least concern to a vulnerable species.
[113]
It cited a "suspected population reduction of
>30% within three generations (45 years)", due primarily to climate change.
[7]
Other risks to the
polar bear include pollution in the form of toxic contaminants, conflicts with shipping, stresses
from recreational polar-bear watching, and oil and gas exploration and development.
[7]
The
IUCN also cited a "potential risk of over-harvest" through legal and illegal hunting.
[7]

According to the World Wildlife Fund, the polar bear is important as an indicator of arctic
ecosystem health. Polar bears are studied to gain understanding of what is happening throughout
the Arctic, because at-risk polar bears are often a sign of something wrong with the arctic marine
ecosystem.
[114]

Climate change
The IUCN, Arctic Climate Impact Assessment, United States Geological Survey and many
leading polar bear biologists have expressed grave concerns about the impact of climate change,
including the belief that the current warming trend imperils the survival of the
species.
[24][115][116][117][118][119]

The key danger posed by climate change is malnutrition or starvation due to habitat loss. Polar
bears hunt seals from a platform of sea ice. Rising temperatures cause the sea ice to melt earlier
in the year, driving the bears to shore before they have built sufficient fat reserves to survive the
period of scarce food in the late summer and early fall.
[81]
Reduction in sea-ice cover also forces
bears to swim longer distances, which further depletes their energy stores and occasionally leads
to drowning.
[120]
Thinner sea ice tends to deform more easily, which appears to make it more
difficult for polar bears to access seals.
[55]
Insufficient nourishment leads to lower reproductive
rates in adult females and lower survival rates in cubs and juvenile bears, in addition to poorer
body condition in bears of all ages.
[24]



Mothers and cubs have high nutritional requirements, which are not met if the seal-hunting season is
too short.
In addition to creating nutritional stress, a warming climate is expected to affect various other
aspects of polar bear life: Changes in sea ice affect the ability of pregnant females to build
suitable maternity dens.
[21]
As the distance increases between the pack ice and the coast, females
must swim longer distances to reach favored denning areas on land.
[24]
Thawing of permafrost
would affect the bears who traditionally den underground, and warm winters could result in den
roofs collapsing or having reduced insulative value.
[24]
For the polar bears that currently den on
multi-year ice, increased ice mobility may result in longer distances for mothers and young cubs
to walk when they return to seal-hunting areas in the spring.
[24]
Disease-causing bacteria and
parasites would flourish more readily in a warmer climate.
[55]

Problematic interactions between polar bears and humans, such as foraging by bears in garbage
dumps, have historically been more prevalent in years when ice-floe breakup occurred early and
local polar bears were relatively thin.
[115]
Increased human-bear interactions, including fatal
attacks on humans, are likely to increase as the sea ice shrinks and hungry bears try to find food
on land.
[115][121]



A polar bear swimming
The effects of climate change are most profound in the southern part of the polar bear's range,
and this is indeed where significant degradation of local populations has been observed.
[119]
The
Western Hudson Bay subpopulation, in a southern part of the range, also happens to be one of
the best-studied polar bear subpopulations. This subpopulation feeds heavily on ringed seals in
late spring, when newly weaned and easily hunted seal pups are abundant.
[110]
The late spring
hunting season ends for polar bears when the ice begins to melt and break up, and they fast or eat
little during the summer until the sea freezes again.
[110]

Due to warming air temperatures, ice-floe breakup in western Hudson Bay is currently occurring
three weeks earlier than it did 30 years ago, reducing the duration of the polar bear feeding
season.
[110]
The body condition of polar bears has declined during this period; the average weight
of lone (and likely pregnant) female polar bears was approximately 290 kg (640 lb) in 1980 and
230 kg (510 lb) in 2004.
[110]
Between 1987 and 2004, the Western Hudson Bay population
declined by 22%.
[122]

In Alaska, the effects of sea ice shrinkage have contributed to higher mortality rates in polar bear
cubs, and have led to changes in the denning locations of pregnant females.
[80][123]
In recent
years, polar bears in the Arctic have undertaken longer than usual swims to find prey, resulting in
four recorded drownings in the unusually large ice pack regression of 2005.
[120]

Pollution
Polar bears accumulate high levels of persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated
biphenyl (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides. Due to their position at the top of the food pyramid,
with a diet heavy in blubber in which halocarbons concentrate, their bodies are among the most
contaminated of Arctic mammals.
[124]
Halocarbons are known to be toxic to other animals
because they mimic hormone chemistry, and biomarkers such as immunoglobulin G and retinol
suggest similar effects on polar bears. PCBs have received the most study, and they have been
associated with birth defects and immune system deficiency.
[125]

The most notorious of these chemicals, such as PCBs and DDT, have been internationally
banned. Their concentrations in polar bear tissues continued to rise for decades after the ban as
these chemicals spread through the food chain. But the trend seems to have abated, with tissue
concentrations of PCBs declining between studies performed in 19891993 and studies
performed in 19962002.
[126]

Oil and gas development


German stamp depicting Knut and the slogan "Preserve nature worldwide"
Oil and gas development in polar bear habitat can affect the bears in a variety of ways. An oil
spill in the Arctic would most likely concentrate in the areas where polar bears and their prey are
also concentrated, such as sea ice leads.
[7]
Because polar bears rely partly on their fur for
insulation and soiling of the fur by oil reduces its insulative value, oil spills put bears at risk of
dying from hypothermia.
[60]
Polar bears exposed to oil spill conditions have been observed to
lick the oil from their fur, leading to fatal kidney failure.
[60]
Maternity dens, used by pregnant
females and by females with infants, can also be disturbed by nearby oil exploration and
development. Disturbance of these sensitive sites may trigger the mother to abandon her den
prematurely, or abandon her litter altogether.
[7]

Predictions
The U.S. Geological Survey predicts two-thirds of the world's polar bears will disappear by
2050, based on moderate projections for the shrinking of summer sea ice caused by climate
change.
[55]
The bears would disappear from Europe, Asia, and Alaska, and be depleted from the
Arctic archipelago of Canada and areas off the northern Greenland coast. By 2080, they would
disappear from Greenland entirely and from the northern Canadian coast, leaving only dwindling
numbers in the interior Arctic archipelago.
[55]

Predictions vary on the extent to which polar bears could adapt to climate change by switching to
terrestrial food sources. Mitchell Taylor, who was director of Wildlife Research for the
Government of Nunavut, wrote to the US Fish and Wildlife Service arguing that local studies are
insufficient evidence for global protection at this time. The letter stated, "At present, the polar
bear is one of the best managed of the large Arctic mammals. If all Arctic nations continue to
abide by the terms and intent of the Polar Bear Agreement, the future of polar bears is secure....
Clearly polar bears can adapt to climate change. They have evolved and perisisted for thousands
of years in a period characterized by fluctuating climate."
[111]
Ken Taylor, deputy commissioner
for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, has said, "I wouldn't be surprised if polar bears
learned to feed on spawning salmon like grizzly bears."
[28]

However, many scientists consider these theories to be naive;
[28]
it is noted that black and brown
bears at high latitudes are smaller than elsewhere, because of the scarcity of terrestrial food
resources.
[110]
An additional risk to the species is that if individuals spend more time on land,
they will hybridize with brown or grizzly bears.
[119]
The IUCN wrote:

Polar bears exhibit low reproductive rates with long generational
spans. These factors make facultative adaptation by polar bears to
significantly reduced ice coverage scenarios unlikely. Polar bears did
adapt to warmer climate periods of the past. Due to their long
generation time and the current greater speed of climate change, it
seems unlikely that polar bear will be able to adapt to the current
warming trend in the Arctic. If climatic trends continue polar bears
may become extirpated from most of their range within 100 years.
[7]


Controversy over species protection


Polar bear at Central Park Zoo, New York City, USA
Warnings about the future of the polar bear are often contrasted with the fact that worldwide
population estimates have increased over the past 50 years and are relatively stable today.
[127][128]

Some estimates of the global population are around 5,00010,000 in the early 1970s;
[129]
other
estimates were 20,00040,000 during the 1980s.
[31][44]
Current estimates put the global
population at between 20,000 and 25,000.
[26]

There are several reasons for the apparent discordance between past and projected population
trends: Estimates from the 1950s and 1960s were based on stories from explorers and hunters
rather than on scientific surveys.
[130][131]
Second, controls of harvesting were introduced that
allowed this previously overhunted species to recover.
[130]
Third, the recent effects of climate
change have affected sea ice abundance in different areas to varying degrees.
[130]

Debate over the listing of the polar bear under endangered species legislation has put
conservation groups and Canada's Inuit at opposing positions;
[28]
the Nunavut government and
many northern residents have condemned the U.S. initiative to list the polar bear under the
Endangered Species Act.
[132][133]
Many Inuit believe the polar bear population is increasing, and
restrictions on sport-hunting are likely to lead to a loss of income to their communities.
[28][134]

U.S. endangered species legislation
On 14 May 2008 the U.S. Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as a threatened species
under the Endangered Species Act, citing the melting of Arctic sea ice as the primary threat to
the polar bear.
[135]
While listing the polar bear as a threatened species, the Interior Department
added a seldom-used stipulation to allow oil and gas exploration and development to proceed in
areas inhabited by polar bears, provided companies continue to comply with the existing
restrictions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act. The main new protection for polar bears
under the terms of the listing is that hunters will no longer be able to import trophies from the
hunting of polar bears in Canada.
[136]

The ruling followed several years of controversy. On 17 February 2005 the Center for Biological
Diversity filed a petition asking that the polar bear be listed under the Endangered Species Act.
An agreement was reached and filed in Federal district court on 5 June 2006. On 9 January 2007,
the US Fish and Wildlife Service proposed to list the polar bear as a threatened species. A final
decision was required by law by 9 January 2008, at which time the agency said it needed another
month. On 7 March 2008, the inspector general of the U.S. Interior Department began a
preliminary investigation into why the decision had been delayed for nearly two months. The
investigation is in response to a letter signed by six environmental groups that U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Director Dale Hall violated the agency's scientific code of conduct by delaying the
decision unnecessarily, allowing the government to proceed with an auction for oil and gas
leases in the Alaska's Chukchi Sea, an area of key habitat for polar bears. The auction took place
in early February 2008.
[137]
An editorial in The New York Times said that "these two moves are
almost certainly, and cynically, related."
[28][138]
Hall denied any political interference in the
decision and said that the delay was needed to make sure the decision was in a form easily
understood.
[137]
On 28 April 2008, a Federal court ruled that a decision on the listing must be
made by 15 May 2008;
[139]
the decision came on 14 May to make the polar bear a protected
species.
[136]

On 18 July 2011, Charles Monnett, whose work was cited by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
in its decision to list the polar bear as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, was
suspended from his work at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and
Enforcement.
[140]
Investigators are reviewing Monnett's research methods as well as the
significance he attached to his discovery in 2004 of polar bear carcasses in the Arctic, but
supporters argue that the investigation is essentially "a smear campaign" against Monnett.
[141]

Upon listing the polar bear under the Endangered species act, the Department of the Interior
immediately issued a statement that the listing could not be used to regulate greenhouse gas
emissions,
[135]
although some policy analysts believe that the Endangered Species Act can be
used to restrict the issuing of federal permits for projects that would threaten the polar bear by
increasing greenhouse gas emissions.
[135]
Environmental groups have pledged to go to court to
have the Endangered Species Act interpreted in such a way.
[135]
On 8 May 2009, the new
administration of Barack Obama announced that it would continue the policy.
[142]
The polar bear
is only the third species, after the elkhorn coral and the staghorn coral protected under the
Endangered Species Act due to climate change.
[citation needed]
On 4 August 2008, the state of
Alaska sued U.S. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne, seeking to reverse the listing of the polar
bear as a threatened species out of concern that the listing would adversely affect oil and gas
development in the state. Alaska Governor Sarah Palin said that the listing was not based on the
best scientific and commercial data available, a view rejected by polar bear experts.
[143]

Canadian endangered species legislation
In Canada, the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada recommended in
April 2008 that the polar bear be assessed as a species of special concern under the federal
Species at Risk Act (SARA). A listing would mandate that a management plan be written within
five years, a timeline criticized by the World Wide Fund for Nature as being too long to prevent
significant habitat loss from climate change.
[144]

In culture


This engraving, made by Chukchi carvers in the 1940s on a walrus tusk, depicts polar bears hunting
walrus.
Indigenous folklore
For the indigenous peoples of the Arctic, polar bears have long played an important cultural and
material role.
[90][91]
Polar bear remains have been found at hunting sites dating to 2,500 to 3,000
years ago
[93]
and 1,500 year old cave paintings of polar bears have been found in the Chukchi
Peninsula.
[91]
Indeed, it has been suggested that Arctic peoples' skills in seal hunting and igloo
construction has been in part acquired from the polar bears themselves.
[91]

The Inuit and Eskimos have many folk tales featuring the bears including legends in which bears
are humans when inside their own houses and put on bear hides when going outside, and stories
of how the constellation which is said to resemble a great bear surrounded by dogs came into
being.
[89]
These legends reveal a deep respect for the polar bear, which is portrayed as both
spiritually powerful and closely akin to humans.
[89]
The human-like posture of bears when
standing and sitting, and the resemblance of a skinned bear carcass to the human body, have
probably contributed to the belief that the spirits of humans and bears were interchangeable.
[89]

Eskimo legends tell of humans learning to hunt from the polar bear. For the Inuit of Labrador,
the polar bear is a form of the Great Spirit, Tuurngasuk.
[145]

Among the Chukchi and Yupik of eastern Siberia, there was a longstanding shamanistic ritual of
"thanksgiving" to the hunted polar bear. After killing the animal, its head and skin were removed
and cleaned and brought into the home, a feast was held in the hunting camp in its honor. In
order to appease the spirit of the bear, there were traditional song and drum music and the skull
would be ceremonially fed and offered a pipe.
[146]
Only once the spirit was appeased would the
skull be separated from the skin, taken beyond the bounds of the homestead, and placed in the
ground, facing north.
[91]
Many of these traditions have faded somewhat in time, especially in
light of the total hunting ban in the Soviet Union (and now Russia) since 1955.
The Nenets of north-central Siberia placed particular value on the talismanic power of the
prominent canine teeth. They were traded in the villages of the lower Yenisei and Khatanga
rivers to the forest-dwelling peoples further south, who would sew them into their hats as
protection against brown bears. It was believed that the "little nephew" (the brown bear) would
not dare to attack a man wearing the tooth of its powerful "big uncle" (the polar bear).
[91]
The
skulls of killed polar bears were buried at specific sacred sites and altars, called sedyangi, were
constructed out of the skulls. Several such sites have been preserved on the Yamal Peninsula.
[91]

Symbols and mascots


Coat of arms of the Chukotka Autonomous Okrug in the Russian Federation.


Coat of arms of the Greenlandic Self-Rule government (Kalaallit Nunaat).
Their distinctive appearance and their association with the Arctic have made polar bears popular
icons, especially in those areas where they are native. The Canadian Toonie (two-dollar coin)
features the image of a polar bear and both the Northwest Territories and Nunavut license plates
in Canada are in the shape of a polar bear. The polar bear is the mascot of Bowdoin College in
Maine and the University of Alaska Fairbanks (see also Alaska Nanooks) and was chosen as
mascot for the 1988 Winter Olympics held in Calgary.
Companies such Coca-Cola, Polar Beverages, Nelvana, Bundaberg Rum and Good Humor-
Breyers have used images of the polar bear in advertising,
[147]
while Fox's Glacier Mints have
featured a polar bear named Peppy as the brand mascot since 1922.
Literature
Polar bears are also popular in fiction, particularly in books aimed at children or young adults.
For example, The Polar Bear Son is adapted from a traditional Inuit tale.
[148]
Polar bears feature
prominently in East (also released as North Child) by Edith Pattou, The Bear by Raymond
Briggs, and Chris d'Lacey's The Fire Within series. The panserbjrne of Philip Pullman's fantasy
trilogy His Dark Materials are sapient, dignified polar bears who exhibit anthropomorphic
qualities, and feature prominently in the 2007 film adaptation of The Golden Compass.
See also

Animals portal

Arctic portal
Arctic National Wildlife Refuge
List of solitary animals


Notes
1. ^
a

b

c
Schliebe et al. (2008). Ursus maritimus. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Retrieved on 5 January
2010.
2. ^ Phipps, John (1774). A voyage towards the North Pole undertaken by His Majesty's command, 1773 /by
Constantine John Phipps.. London :Printed by W. Bowyer and J. Nicols, for J. Nourse. p. 185.
http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/628763. Retrieved 8 September 2008.
3. ^ "Polar bear, (Ursus maritimus)" (PDF). U.S. Fish and Wildlife service.
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/esa-library/pdf/polar_bear.pdf. Retrieved 9 September 2009.
"Appearance. The polar bear is the largest member of the bear family, with the exception of Alaskas
Kodiak brown bears, which equal polar bears in size." (Overview page)
4. ^ Kindersley, Dorling (2001, 2005). Animal. New York City: DK Publishing. ISBN 0-7894-7764-5.
5. ^ Gunderson, Aren (2007). "Ursus Maritimus". Animal Diversity Web. University of Michigan Museum of
Zoology. http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/site/accounts/information/Ursus_maritimus.html.
Retrieved 27 October 2007.
6. ^
a

b
IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group, 2009.15th meeting of PBSG in Copenhagen, Denmark 2009: Press
Release Retrieved on 10 January 2010.
7. ^
a

b

c

d

e

f

g
IUCN SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group (2008). "Ursus maritimus". IUCN Red List of Threatened
Species. Version 2010.3. International Union for Conservation of Nature.
http://www.iucnredlist.org/apps/redlist/details/22823/0. Retrieved 25 Aug 2010. Database entry includes
a lengthy justification of why this species is listed as vulnerable.
8. ^ Kidd, D.A. (1973). Collins Latin Gem Dictionary. London: Collins. ISBN 0-00-458641-7.
9. ^ The Marine Mammal Center
10. ^ The Arctic Sounder
[dead link]

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14. ^ This combines the Ancient Greek words thalassa/ 'sea', and arctos/ 'bear' and also, with
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Greek-English Lexicon (Abridged Edition). United Kingdom: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-910207-4.
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b
Aaars, pp. 101116
104. ^ Freeman, M.M.R.; Wenzel, G.W. (March 2006). "The nature and significance of polar bear conservation
hunting in the Canadian Arctic". Arctic 59 (1): 2130.
105. ^
a

b
Wenzel, George W. (September 2004). "Polar Bear as a Resource: An Overview" (PDF). Yellowknife:
3rd NRF Open Meeting. http://www.nrf.is/Open%20Meetings/Yellowknife_2004/Wenzel.pdf. Retrieved 3
December 2007.
106. ^
a

b
"Nunavut hunters can kill more polar bears this year". CBC News. 10 January 2005.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2005/01/10/polar-bear-hunt050110.html. Retrieved 15 September
2007.
107. ^ "Bear Facts: Harvesting/Hunting". Polar Bears International.
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/bear-facts/hunting/. Retrieved 14 March 2008.
108. ^ The Humane Society of the United States "Support the Polar Bear Protection Act"
109. ^ "Rethink polar bear hunt quotas, scientists tell Nunavut hunters". CBC News. 2005-07-04.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2005/07/04/polar-bears050704.html. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
110. ^
a

b

c

d

e

f
Stirling, Ian; Derocher, Andrew E. (2007). "Melting Under Pressure: The Real Scoop on Climate
Warming and Polar Bears" (PDF). The Wildlife Professional 1 (3): 2427, 43. Fall 2007.
http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/sites/default/files/scientists/stirling_derocher_climate_wildlife_
professional_2007.pdf. Retrieved 17 November 2007.
111. ^
a

b
Taylor, Mitchell K. (6 April 2006) (PDF). Review of CBD Petition. Letter to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service. http://www.ff.org/centers/csspp/pdf/200701_taylor.pdf. Retrieved 8 September 2007.
112. ^
a

b
George, Jane (April 2010). "Nunavut hunters still enraged over bear quotas". Iqaluit.
http://www.nunatsiaqonline.ca/stories/article/8976_nunavut_hunters_still_enraged_over_bear_quotas/.
Retrieved 4 April 2010.
113. ^ "Release of the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species reveals ongoing decline of the status of plants
and animals". World Conservation Union. Archived from the original on 12 May 2006.
http://web.archive.org/web/20060512071333/http://www.iucn.org/en/news/archive/2006/05/02_pr_re
d_list_en.htm. Retrieved 1 February 2006.
114. ^ WWF: A Leader in Polar Bear Conservation . Retrieved 29 June 2009, from WFF Polar Bear Web site:
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/polarbear.html#
115. ^
a

b

c
Stirling, Ian; and Claire L. Parkinson (September 2006). "Possible Effects of Climate Warming on
Selected Populations of Polar Bears (Ursus maritimus) in the Canadian Arctic" (PDF). Arctic 59 (3): 261
275. ISSN 0004-0843. http://www.nasa.gov/pdf/157360main_StirlingParkinson2006_Arctic59-3-261.pdf.
Retrieved 15 September 2007.
116. ^ Stirling, Ian; N.J. Lunn, John Iacozza, Campbell Elliott and Martyn Obbard (March 2004). "Polar Bear
Distribution and Abundance on the Southwestern Hudson Bay Coast During Open Water Season, in
Relation to Population Trends and Annual Ice Patterns" (PDF). Arctic 57 (1): 1526. ISSN 0004-0843.
http://umanitoba.ca/ceos/files/publications_pdf/058.pdf. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
117. ^ Barber, D.G.; J. Iacozza (March 2004). "Historical analysis of sea ice conditions in M'Clintock Channel and
the Gulf of Boothia, Nunavut: implications for ringed seal and polar bear habitat" (PDF). Arctic 57 (1): 1
14. ISSN 0004-0843. http://goliath.ecnext.com/coms2/gi_0199-263435/Historical-analysis-of-sea-
ice.html.
118. ^ T. Appenzeller and D. R. Dimick, "The Heat is On," National Geographic 206 (2004): 275. cited in
Flannery, Tim (2005). The Weather Makers. Toronto, Ontario: HarperCollins. pp. 101103. ISBN 0-00-
200751-7.
119. ^
a

b

c
Arctic Climate Impact Assessment (2004). Impact of a Warming Arctic: Arctic Impact Climate
Assessment. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0521617782. OCLC 56942125.
http://amap.no/workdocs/index.cfm?dirsub=%2FACIA%2Foverview.. The relevant paper is Key Finding 4
120. ^
a

b
Monnett, Charles; Gleason, Jeffrey S. (July 2006). "Observations of mortality associated with
extended open-water swimming by polar bears in the Alaskan Beaufort Sea". Polar Biology 29 (8): 681
687. doi:10.1007/s00300-005-0105-2.
121. ^ Mitchell Taylor, a former polar bear researcher for the Nunavut government, believes that arctic
warming has been caused by natural phenomena and is not a long-term threat to the polar bear. After his
retirement, he was not re-appointed to the international Polar Bear Specialist Group (PBSG), giving rise to
speculation that he was excluded from the group because of his views on climate change. According to
the PBSG chair, appointments to the PBSG are given to scientists who are currently active in polar bear
research, and that as a retired researcher Taylor did not qualify. (References: Booker, Christopher (27
June 2009). "Polar bear expert barred by global warmists". The Daily Telegraph (London).
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/columnists/christopherbooker/5664069/Polar-bear-expert-
barred-by-global-warmists.html. Retrieved 12 August 2009.)
122. ^ Regehr, E. V.; Lunn, N. J.; Amstrup, N. C.; Stirling, I. (2007). "Effects of earlier sea ice breakup on survival
and population size of polar bears in western Hudson Bay". Journal of Wildlife Management 71 (8): 2673
2683. doi:10.2193/2006-180.
123. ^ The proportion of maternity dens on sea ice has changed from 62% between the years 19851994, to
37% over the years 19982004. Thus now the Alaskan population more resembles the world population in
that it is more likely to den on land. Fischbach, A. S.; Amstrup, S. C.; Douglas, D. C. (2007). "Landward and
eastward shift of Alaskan polar bear denning associated with recent sea ice changes". Polar Biology 30
(11): 13951405. doi:10.1007/s00300-007-0300-4.
124. ^ "Polar Bears at the Top of POPs". The Science and the Environment Bulletin. Environment Canada.
May/June 2000. http://www.arctic.uoguelph.ca/cpl/arcticnews/articles/PolarBears/PolarBear.htm.
Retrieved 20 October 2008.
125. ^ Skaare, Janneche Utne et al. (2002). "Ecological risk assessment of persistent organic pollutants in the
arctic" (PDF). Toxicology 181182: 193197. doi:10.1016/S0300-483X(02)00280-9. PMID 12505309.
Archived from the original on 2010-03-03. http://www.webcitation.org/5nwzfou68. Retrieved 17
November 2007.
126. ^ Verreault, Jonathan et al. (2005). "Chlorinated hydrocarbon contaminants and metabolites in polar
bears (Ursus maritimus) from Alaska, Canada, East Greenland, and Svalbard: 19962002" (PDF). Science of
the Total Environment 351352: 369390. doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2004.10.031. PMID 16115663. Archived
from the original on 2010-03-03. http://www.webcitation.org/5nwzfqHtP. Retrieved 17 November 2007.
127. ^ "Marine Mammals Management: Polar Bear". U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Alaska.
http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/polarbear/pbmain.htm. Retrieved 9 June 2008.
128. ^ "WWF Polar bear status, distribution & population". World Wildlife Foundation.
http://www.panda.org/what_we_do/where_we_work/arctic/area/species/polarbear/population/.
Retrieved 22 March 2010.
129. ^ Krauss, Clifford (27 May 2006). "Bear Hunting Caught in Global Warming Debate". New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/27/world/americas/27bears.html. Retrieved 11 March 2008.
130. ^
a

b

c
Derocher, Andrew. "Ask the Experts: Are Polar Bear Populations Increasing?". Polar Bears
International. http://www.polarbearsinternational.org/ask-the-experts/population/. Retrieved 9 March
2008.
131. ^ Bruemmer, p. 101. In an meeting of the five circumpolar nations on 6 September 1965, estimates of the
worldwide population ranged from 5,000 to 19,000. "The truth was, no one knew... Scientific research
had been sketchy and knowledge of the polar bear was based largely on stories brought back by explorers
and hunters."
132. ^ "Nunavut MLAs condemn U.S. proposal to make polar bears threatened species". CBC News. 4 June
2007. http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/06/04/nu-pbear.html. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
133. ^ "Inuit reject U.S. Polar Bear Proposal". CBC News. 21 June 2007.
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/north/story/2007/06/21/polar-bears.html. Retrieved 15 September 2007.
134. ^ Northern Research Forum. Polar Bear as a Resource. A position paper presented for the 3rd NRF Open
Meeting in Yellowknife and Rae Edzo, Canada. September 1518, 2004
135. ^
a

b

c

d
Hassett, Kevin A (23 May 2008). "Bush's polar bear legal disaster". National Post. Archived from
the original on 29 May 2008.
http://web.archive.org/web/20080529045348/http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/story.html?id=533
276. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
136. ^
a

b
Barringer, Felicity (15 May 2008). "Polar Bear Is Made a Protected Species". New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/15/us/15polar.html?fta=y. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
137. ^
a

b
Hebert, H. Josef (8 March 2008). "Delay in polar bear policy stirs probe". San Francisco Chronicle.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/03/08/MNL8VG2VC.DTL. Retrieved 9 March 2008.
138. ^ Editorial (15 January 2008). "Regulatory Games and the Polar Bear". New York Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/opinion/15tue2.html. Retrieved 20 October 2008.
139. ^ Biello, David (30 April 2008). "Court Orders U.S. to Stop Keeping Polar Bear Status on Ice". Scientific
American News. http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=court-orders-polar-bear-announcement.
Retrieved 8 June 2008.
140. ^ Efstathiou, Jim (28 July 2011). "Scientist Who Reported Polar Bears Drowning Is Suspended by U.S.
Agency". Bloomberg News. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-07-28/scientist-who-reported-polar-
bears-drowning-is-suspended-by-u-s-agency.html. Retrieved 14 August 2011.
141. ^ Goldenberg, Suzanne (29 July 2011). "Arctic scientist suspended over 'integrity issues'". The Guardian.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2011/jul/29/arctic-scientist-charles-monnett-suspension.
Retrieved 14 August 2011.
142. ^ U.S. to keep Bush administration rule on polar bears, McClatchy Newspapers, 8 May 2009
143. ^ Joling, Dan (5 August 2008). "Alaska sues over listing polar bear as threatened". Globe and Mail.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20080805.wpolarbears0805/BNStory/Internatio
nal/. Retrieved 29 August 2008.
144. ^ Brach, Bal (25 April 2008). "Experts seek more protection for polar bears". Canwest News Service.
http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=eaeb2409-16eb-4227-9fca-
0e6e955917c8&k=98911. Retrieved 9 May 2008.
145. ^ balisunset, (2008, 8 22). The Bear in Myth, Mythology and Folklore. Retrieved 29 June 2009
146. ^ Kochnev AA, Etylin VM, Kavry VI, Siv-Siv EB, Tanko IV (December 1719, 2002). Ritual Rites and Customs
of the Natives of Chukotka connected with the Polar Bear. Preliminary report submitted for the meeting of
the Alaska Nanuuq Commission (Nome, Alaska, USA). pp. 13.
147. ^ "Bundaberg Rum website history section". Bundaberg Rum website.
http://www.bundabergrum.com.au/flash/home.htm. Retrieved 26 March 2008.
148. ^ Dabcovich, Lydia (1997). The Polar Bear Son: An Inuit Tale. New York: Clarion Books. ISBN 0-395-72766-
9.
References
Aars, Jon, ed (June 2005). "Press Release" (PDF). Proceedings of the 14th Working Meeting of the
IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group. 32. Polar Bears, Nicholas J. Lunn and Andrew E. Derocher.
Gland, Switzerland: IUCN. ISBN 2-8317-0959-8.
http://web.archive.org/web/20080409082137/http://pbsg.npolar.no/docs/PBSG14proc.pdf.
Retrieved 19 April 2008.
Bruemmer, Fred (1989). World of the Polar Bear. Toronto, ON: Key Porter Books. ISBN 1-55013-107-
9.
Hemstock, Annie (1999). The Polar Bear. Manakato, MN: Capstone Press. ISBN 0-7368-0031-X.
Lockwood, Sophie (2006). Polar Bears. Chanhassen, MN: The Child's World. ISBN 1-59296-501-6.
Matthews, Downs (1993). Polar Bear. San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books. ISBN 9780811802048.
Rosing, Norbert (1996). The World of the Polar Bear. Willowdale, ON: Firefly Books Ltd.. ISBN 1-
55209-068-X.
External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Ursus maritimus

Wikispecies has information related to: Ursus maritimus
Biodiversity Heritage Library bibliography for Ursus maritimus
National Wildlife Federation's Polar Bear Page
ARKive images and movies of the polar bear (Ursus maritimus)
Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History species account-Polar Bear
USGS Polar Bear Studies
Map of polar bear ranges and denning areas in Nunavut from Nunavut Planning Commission
BBC Nature: Polar bear news, and video clips from BBC programmes past and present.
Photos, facts, videos from Polar Bears International which funds population, preservation and DNA
studies of the polar bear
[show]v d eExtant Carnivora species





[show] Suborder Feliformia


Nandiniidae Nandinia
African palm civet (N.
binotata)



Herpestidae
(Mongooses)
Atilax Marsh Mongoose (A. paludinosus)


Bdeogale
Bushy-tailed Mongoose (B.
crassicauda) Jackson's Mongoose
(B. jacksoni) Black-footed
Mongoose (B. nigripes)


Crossarchus
Alexander's Kusimanse (C.
alexandri) Angolan Kusimanse (C.
ansorgei) Common Kusimanse (C.
obscurus) Flat-headed Kusimanse
(C. platycephalus)


Cynictis Yellow Mongoose (C. penicillata)


Dologale
Pousargues's Mongoose (D.
dybowskii)


Galerella
Angolan Slender Mongoose (G.
flavescens) Somalian Slender
Mongoose (G. ochracea) Cape Gray
Mongoose (G. pulverulenta) Slender
Mongoose (G. sanguinea)


Helogale
Ethiopian Dwarf Mongoose (H.
hirtula) Common Dwarf Mongoose
(H. parvula)


Herpestes
Short-tailed Mongoose (H.
brachyurus) Indian Gray Mongoose
(H. edwardsii) Indian Brown
Mongoose (H. fuscus) Egyptian
Mongoose (H. ichneumon) Small
Asian Mongoose (H. javanicus)
Long-nosed Mongoose (H. naso)
Collared Mongoose (H.
semitorquatus) Ruddy Mongoose
(H. smithii) Crab-eating Mongoose
(H. urva) Stripe-necked Mongoose
(H. vitticollis)


Ichneumia White-tailed Mongoose (I. albicauda)


Liberiictus Liberian Mongoose (L. kuhni)


Mungos
Gambian Mongoose (M.
gambianus) Banded Mongoose (M.
mungo)


Paracynictis Selous' Mongoose (P. selousi)


Rhynchogale Meller's Mongoose (R. melleri)


Suricata Meerkat (S. suricatta)



Hyaenidae
(Hyenas)
Crocuta Spotted Hyena (C. crocuta)


Hyaena
Brown Hyena (H. brunnea)
Striped Hyena (H. hyaena)


Proteles Aardwolf (P. cristatus)



Felidae Large family listed below


Viverridae Large family listed below


Eupleridae Small family listed below



[show] Family Felidae


Felinae
Acinonyx Cheetah (A. jubatus)


Caracal Caracal (C. caracal)


Pardofelis
Marbled Cat (P. marmorata) Bay
Cat (P. badia) Asian Golden Cat
(P. temminckii)


Felis
Chinese Mountain Cat (F. bieti)
Cat (F. catus) Jungle Cat (F.
chaus) Pallas' Cat (F. manul)
Sand Cat (F. margarita) Black-
footed Cat (F. nigripes) Wildcat
(F. silvestris)


Leopardus
Pantanal Cat (L. braccatus)
Colocolo (L. colocolo) Geoffroy's
Cat (L. geoffroyi) Kodkod (L.
guigna) Andean Mountain Cat (L.
jacobitus) Pampas Cat (L.
pajeros) Ocelot (L. pardalis)
Oncilla (L. tigrinus) Margay (L.
wiedii)


Leptailurus Serval (L. serval)


Lynx
Canadian Lynx (L. canadensis)
Eurasian Lynx (L. lynx) Iberian
Lynx (L. pardinus) Bobcat (L.
rufus)


Prionailurus
Leopard Cat (P. bengalensis)
Iriomote Cat (P. iriomotensis)
Flat-headed Cat (P. planiceps)
Rusty-spotted Cat (P. rubiginosus)
Fishing Cat (P. viverrinus)


Profelis African Golden Cat (P. aurata)


Puma
Cougar (P. concolor) Jaguarundi
(P. yagouaroundi)



Pantherinae
Panthera
Lion (P. leo) Jaguar (P.
onca) Leopard (P. pardus)
Tiger (P. tigris)


Uncia Snow leopard (U. uncia)


Neofelis
Clouded leopard (N.
nebulosa) Sunda Clouded
Leopard (N. diardi)



[show] Family Viverridae (includes Civets)


Paradoxurinae
Arctictis Binturong (A. binturong)


Arctogalidia
Small-toothed Palm Civet (A.
trivirgata)


Macrogalidia
Sulawesi Palm Civet (M.
musschenbroekii)


Paguma Masked Palm Civet (P. larvata)


Paradoxurus
Asian Palm Civet (P.
hermaphroditus) Jerdon's Palm
Civet (P. jerdoni) Golden Palm
Civet (P. zeylonensis)



Hemigalinae Chrotogale
Owston's Palm Civet (C.
owstoni)


Cynogale Otter Civet (C. bennettii)


Diplogale
Hose's Palm Civet (D.
hosei)


Hemigalus
Banded Palm Civet (H.
derbyanus)



Prionodontinae
(Asiatic linsangs)
Prionodon
Banded Linsang (P.
linsang) Spotted Linsang
(P. pardicolor)



Viverrinae
Civettictis African Civet (C. civetta)


Genetta
(Genets)
Abyssinian Genet (G.
abyssinica) Angolan Genet
(G. angolensis) Bourlon's
Genet (G. bourloni) Crested
Servaline Genet (G. cristata)
Common Genet (G. genetta)
Johnston's Genet (G.
johnstoni) Rusty-spotted
Genet (G. maculata) Pardine
Genet (G. pardina) Aquatic
Genet (G. piscivora) King
Genet (G. poensis) Servaline
Genet (G. servalina) Haussa
Genet (G. thierryi) Cape
Genet (G. tigrina) Giant
Forest Genet (G. victoriae)


Poiana
Leighton's Linsang (P.
leightoni) African Linsang (P.
richardsonii)


Viverra
Malabar Large-spotted Civet
(V. civettina) Large-spotted
Civet (V. megaspila) Malayan
Civet (V. tangalunga) Large
Indian Civet (V. zibetha)


Viverricula Small Indian Civet (V. indica)



[show] Family Eupleridae


Euplerinae
Cryptoprocta Fossa (C. ferox)


Eupleres Falanouc (E. goudotii)


Fossa Malagasy Civet (F. fossana)



Galidiinae
Galidia Ring-tailed Mongoose (G. elegans)


Galidictis
Broad-striped Malagasy Mongoose
(G. fasciata) Grandidier's
Mongoose (G. grandidieri)


Mungotictis
Narrow-striped Mongoose (M.
decemlineata)


Salanoia
Brown-tailed mongoose (S.
concolor) Durrell's vontsira (S.
durrelli)



[hide] Suborder Caniformia (cont. below)


Ursidae
(Bears)
Ailuropoda Giant panda (A. melanoleuca)


Helarctos Sun bear (H. malayanus)


Melursus Sloth bear (M. ursinus)


Tremarctos Spectacled bear (T. ornatus)


Ursus
American black bear (U.
americanus) Brown bear (U.
arctos) Grizzly Bear (U. arctos
horribilis) Polar bear (U.
maritimus) Kodiak Bear (U.
arctos middendorffi) Asian
black bear (U. thibetanus)



Mephitidae
(Skunks)
Conepatus
(Hog-nosed
skunks)
Molina's hog-nosed skunk (C.
chinga) Humboldt's hog-nosed
skunk (C. humboldtii)
American hog-nosed skunk (C.
leuconotus) Striped hog-nosed
skunk (C. semistriatus)


Mephitis
Hooded skunk (M. macroura)
Striped skunk (M. mephitis)


Mydaus
Sunda Stink Badger (M.
javanensis) Palawan Stink
Badger (M. marchei)


Spilogale
(Spotted skunks)
Southern Spotted Skunk (S.
angustifrons) Western Spotted
Skunk (S. gracilis) Eastern
Spotted Skunk (S. putorius)
Pygmy Spotted Skunk (S.
pygmaea)



Procyonidae
Bassaricyon
(Olingos)
Allen's Olingo (B. alleni)
Beddard's Olingo (B.
beddardi) Bushy-tailed olingo
(B. gabbii) Harris's Olingo (B.
lasius) Chiriqui Olingo (B.
pauli)


Bassariscus
Ring-tailed Cat (B. astutus)
Cacomistle (B. sumichrasti)


Nasua
(Coatis inclusive)
White-nosed Coati (N. narica)
South American Coati (N.
nasua)


Nasuella
(Coatis inclusive)
Western Mountain Coati (N.
olivacea) Eastern Mountain
Coati (N. meridensis)


Potos Kinkajou (P. flavus)


Procyon
Crab-eating Raccoon (P.
cancrivorus) Raccoon (P.
lotor) Cozumel Raccoon (P.
pygmaeus)



Ailuridae Ailurus
Red panda (A.
fulgens)



[show] Suborder Caniformia (cont. above)


Otariidae
(Eared seals)
(includes fur seals
and sea lions)
(Pinniped inclusive)
Arctocephalus
South American Fur Seal (A.
australis) Australasian Fur Seal
(A. forsteri) Galpagos Fur Seal
(A. galapagoensis) Antarctic
Fur Seal (A. gazella) Juan
Fernndez Fur Seal (A.
philippii) Brown Fur Seal (A.
pusillus) Guadalupe Fur Seal (A.
townsendi) Subantarctic Fur
Seal (A. tropicalis)


Callorhinus Northern Fur Seal (C. ursinus)


Eumetopias Steller Sea Lion (E. jubatus)


Neophoca Australian Sea Lion (N. cinerea)


Otaria
South American Sea Lion (O.
flavescens)


Phocarctos
New Zealand Sea Lion (P.
hookeri)


Zalophus
California Sea Lion (Z.
californianus) Galpagos Sea
Lion (Z. wollebaeki)



Odobenidae
(Pinniped inclusive)
Odobenus Walrus (O. rosmarus)



Phocidae
(Earless seals)
(Pinniped inclusive)
Cystophora Hooded Seal (C. cristata)


Erignathus Bearded Seal (E. barbatus)


Halichoerus Gray Seal (H. grypus)


Histriophoca Ribbon Seal (H. fasciata)


Hydrurga Leopard seal (H. leptonyx)


Leptonychotes Weddell Seal (L. weddellii)


Lobodon
Crabeater Seal (L.
carcinophagus)


Mirounga
(Elephant seals)
Northern Elephant Seal (M.
angustirostris) Southern
Elephant Seal (M. leonina)


Monachus
Mediterranean Monk Seal (M.
monachus) Hawaiian Monk
Seal (M. schauinslandi)


Ommatophoca Ross Seal (O. rossi)


Pagophilus Harp Seal (P. groenlandicus)


Phoca
Spotted Seal (P. largha)
Harbor Seal (P. vitulina)


Pusa
Caspian Seal (P. caspica)
Ringed Seal (P. hispida) Baikal
Seal (P. sibirica)



Canidae Large family listed below


Mustelidae Large family listed below



[show] Family Canidae


Atelocynus Short-eared dog (A. microtis)


Canis
Side-striped jackal (C. adustus) Golden jackal (C. aureus) Coyote (C. latrans) Gray
wolf (C. lupus) Dog (C. lupus familiaris) Black-backed jackal (C. mesomelas) Red
wolf (C. rufus) Ethiopian wolf (C. simensis)


Cerdocyon Crab-eating fox (C. thous)


Chrysocyon Maned wolf (C. brachyurus)


Cuon Dhole (C. alpinus)


Lycalopex
Culpeo (L. culpaeus) Darwin's fox (L. fulvipes) South American gray fox (L. griseus)
Pampas fox (L. gymnocercus) Sechuran fox (L. sechurae) Hoary fox (L. vetulus)


Lycaon African wild dog (L. pictus)


Nyctereutes Raccoon dog (N. procyonoides)


Otocyon Bat-eared fox (O. megalotis)


Speothos Bush dog (S. venaticus)


Urocyon Gray fox (U. cinereoargenteus) Island fox (U. littoralis)


Vulpes
Bengal fox (V. bengalensis) Blanford's fox (V. cana) Cape fox (V. chama) Corsac fox
(V. corsac) Tibetan sand fox (V. ferrilata) Arctic fox (V. lagopus) Kit fox (V.
macrotis) Pale fox (V. pallida) Rppell's fox (V. rueppelli) Swift fox (V. velox) Red
fox (V. vulpes) Fennec fox (V. zerda)



[show] Family Mustelidae


Lutrinae
(Otters)
Aonyx
African clawless otter (A.
capensis) Oriental small-
clawed otter (A. cinerea)


Enhydra Sea otter (E. lutris)


Hydrictis
Spotted-necked otter (H.
maculicollis)


Lontra
North American river otter (L.
canadensis) Marine otter (L.
felina) Neotropical otter (L.
longicaudis) Southern river
otter (L. provocax)


Lutra
European otter (L. lutra)
Hairy-nosed otter (L.
sumatrana)


Lutrogale
Smooth-coated otter (L.
perspicillata)


Pteronura Giant otter (P. brasiliensis)



Mustelinae
(including badgers)
Arctonyx Hog badger (A. collaris)


Eira Tayra (E. barbara)


Galictis
Lesser grison (G. cuja) Greater
grison (G. vittata)


Gulo Wolverine (G. gulo)


Ictonyx
Saharan striped polecat (I.
libyca) Striped polecat (I.
striatus)


Lyncodon
Patagonian weasel (L.
patagonicus)


Martes
(Martens)
American marten (M.
americana) Yellow-throated
marten (M. flavigula) Beech
marten (M. foina) Nilgiri
marten (M. gwatkinsii)
European pine marten (M.
martes) Japanese marten (M.
melampus) Fisher (M.
pennanti) Sable (M. zibellina)


Meles
Japanese badger (M.
anakuma) Asian badger (M.
leucurus) European badger (M.
meles)


Mellivora Honey badger (M. capensis)


Melogale
(Ferret-badgers)
Bornean ferret-badger (M.
everetti) Chinese ferret-badger
(M. moschata) Javan ferret-
badger (M. orientalis) Burmese
ferret-badger (M. personata)


Mustela
(Weasels)
Amazon weasel (M. africana)
Mountain weasel (M. altaica)
Stoat (M. erminea) Steppe
polecat (M. eversmannii)
Colombian weasel (M. felipei)
Long-tailed weasel (M.
frenata) Japanese weasel (M.
itatsi) Yellow-bellied weasel
(M. kathiah) European mink
(M. lutreola) Indonesian
mountain weasel (M.
lutreolina) Black-footed ferret
(M. nigripes) Least weasel (M.
nivalis) Malayan weasel (M.
nudipes) European polecat (M.
putorius) Siberian weasel (M.
sibirica) Back-striped weasel
(M. strigidorsa) Egyptian
weasel (M. subpalmata)


Neovison
(Minks)
American mink (N. vison)


Poecilogale
African striped weasel (P.
albinucha)


Taxidea American badger (T. taxus)


Vormela Marbled polecat (V. peregusna)

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Categories:
IUCN Red List vulnerable species
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