POLAR BEAR Mark Vittorio Blaskovic Polar Bear DESCRIPTION

POLAR BEAR Mark Vittorio Blaskovic

Polar Bear: DESCRIPTION • Polar bears are one of the largest bear species. They are classified as marine mammals because they spend most of their lives on the sea ice of the Arctic Ocean • Polar bears are the largest carnivorous land mammals on Earth • Polar bears are white, very big: they are about seven to eight feet long, measured from the nose to the tip of their very short tail. • The preferred prey for polar bears are seals Mark Blaskovic

Polar Bear: HABITAT • Home for polar bears is on the sea ice • They live with other animals such as seals, arctic foxes, arctic wolves, snowshoe hare, killer whales, Walruses. • Polar bears are found in five nations across the Arctic: the U. S. (Alaska), Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway. • Sea ice is critical for polar bears to use as a platform to hunt the seals. Mark Blaskovic

Polar Bear: IDENTIFYING THE PROBLEM • Because of ongoing loss of their sea ice habitat resulting from climate change, polar bears were listed as a threatened species in the US • In the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List of Threatened Species the polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is categorized as Vulnerable = indicates a species that faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. • World Wide Fund for Nature (or WWF) estimates that there are only 22, 000 to 31, 000 polar bears left in the world • If polar bears were to go extinct: • the population of walruses and seals would increase and get out of control (food chain disruption); • seals create breathing holes, in about 100 to 200 years this will break up the ice and split the arctic circle. Mark Blaskovic

Polar Bear: POSITIVE HUMAN IMPACT 1. WWF support research to identify habitat areas - areas where the bears feed, den and give birth 2. Different organizations work together to conserve these places - conservation projects 3. Support research on climate change effects 4. Advocate for governments to recognize and mitigate the effects of climate change Mark Blaskovic

Polar Bear: IMPORTANCE OF SPECIES Polar bears are known as a keystone species: they are at the top of the ecosystem This means that the polar bear has no predators, but only has prey. They keep ecosystem in balance which is very important to a functioning ecosystem Mark Blaskovic

Polar Bear: FOOD CHAIN TERTIARY CONSUMER TOP PREDATOR SECONDARY CONSUMERS PRIMARY CONSUMERS Mark Blaskovic

Polar Bear: ADVOCATE FOR CHANGE! • We can ALL contribute to reducing climate change, and therefore help polar bears • We can increase awareness of the problem • Here are just a few important things we can do to help reduce global warming: • Use our cars less or use electric cars, walk or take public transport • Use energy efficient light bulbs • Recycle more and avoid products that have lots of packaging. • Turn off electric devices when you're not using them. Mark Blaskovic