Polar Bears Global Warming; Present and Future
Polar bears are some of the few animals that are greatly affected by global warming. According to scientific research and studies, with the rising temperature in the Arctic Circle, polar bears are expected to reduce up to 2/3 of the current polar bear population over the next 50 years.
Polar bears global warming; Scarcity Of Food
Polar bears are important in the Arctic ecosystem and food chain. As more and more glaciers and polar ice caps melt, polar bears will lose their hunting grounds and habitat. If you do not know, polar bears rely greatly on the ice as its habitat and food source. They feed on fish and primarily on seals which they capture from the holes on the ice when the seals breaths for air. With the decrease of ice platforms for fish to breed and feed on plankton, seals have to migrate or travel further into the sea for food and breed. Therefore, polar bears will have scarcity of seals to feed on, which will result in cannibalism behavior whereby dominant polar bears will kill young cubs for territory and food.
Polar bears global warming; What lies ahead?
It is predicted that by 2012, enormous chucks of ice will break into smaller pieces and the smaller pieces will cease to exist as a result from the heat from global warming. When this happens, scientists fear that more and more polar bears are going to die from drowning due harsh seas and retreating pack of ice. More than 70% of polar bears are not going to live more than 3 years old and this could result in a faster pace of extinction.
Polar bears global warming; What has been done and How you can help
Presently, polar bears have categorized into the list of endangered animals, and poachers who are found hunting for polar bears will be punished severely. Apart from that, many researchers and environmentalist are building polar bear habitats or sanctuary to preserve, protect and breed them. You can play your part in helping polar bears by reducing the use of fossil fuels or find other alternative sources of energy.