Latest Polar bear Stories
A recent study published on Wednesday shows that giant cave bears froze to death during the last Ice Age in Europe about 28,000 years ago and were not hunted into extinction by man thousands of years later "” as scientists previously thought.The largely vegetarian bears apparently died off as sharp cooling of the climate led to a freeze that killed off the fruits, nuts and plants they ate. Despite surviving on a mostly plant-based diet, the large bears weighed up to a ton and were bigger...
Zookeepers in Kushiro, Japan, said they have discovered the problem preventing their pair of polar bears from mating -- the animals are both female. The zookeepers said the Kushiro municipal zoo obtained a polar bear named Tsuyoshi three years ago as a cub and officials said they were baffled when the bear refused to mate with the zoo's 11-year-old female, Kurumi, after the animals were introduced in June, CNN reported Wednesday. Zoo officials said Tsuyoshi was put under anesthesia earlier...
In a zoo in northern Japan, handlers of a popular polar bear were in for a surprise when they brought him in to mate with a female and found that he, was in fact, a she.Masako Inoue, a zookeeper at the Kushiro Municipal Zoo, said that four year old Tsuyoshi, a 441 lb. polar bear, had been living in harmony with a female polar bear since June."We thought he was a male, so we never had any doubts as we took care of him," she said."But one day we realized that the two bears...
the endangered animals Among the mammals particularly in danger are primates, used for bush meat in parts of Africa and facing major loss of habitat in Southeast Asia. The report also notes unusually high threats to tapirs, hippos, bears, pigs and hogs, while among the less threatened are moles, opossums and free-tailed bats. the causes In general, larger mammals were found to be more threatened than smaller ones. Larger species tend to have lower population densities, grow more slowly,...
Vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin is an extremist with an appalling environmental record. In the Arctic, glaciers are receding at an alarming rate, huge sections of the ice shelf are falling into the ocean and it continues to experience the lowest levels of returning sea ice ever recorded. Despite this, Gov. Palin's administration has joined forces with big oil companies operating in Alaska to sue the Bush administration for declaring the polar bear, which depends on this freeze for...
By Associated Press ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The federal government will designate "critical habitat" for polar bears in the ocean off Alaska's coast, a decision that could add restrictions to future offshore petroleum exploration or drilling. Federal law prohibits agencies from taking actions that may adversely modify critical habitat and interfere with polar bear recovery. That likely will affect oil and gas activity, said Kassie Siegel of the Center for Biological Diversity, one of three...
Three conservation groups have reached a settlement with federal officials on polar bear habitat. The agreement could add restrictions to future petroleum exploration or drilling off Alaska's coast; it sets deadlines for the Interior Department secretary to designate "critical habitat" for polar bears.The designation stops federal agencies from doing anything that may "adversely modify" critical habitat that could interfere with polar bear recovery.Those actions could...
Attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation, the nation's leading legal watchdog for property rights and a balanced approach to environmental protection, today filed a lawsuit challenging the federal government's listing of the polar bear under the Endangered Species Act, because the government's own scientific studies say the polar bear is not threatened. Today's lawsuit is filed on behalf of a coalition of food producers, landowners, employers and consumers who, along with businesses and...
The head of a conservation group in Alaska is dissatisfied with Gov. Sarah Palin's record when it comes to the environment and global warming. Kate Troll of Alaska Conservation Voters says "when you look at her record in the context of what other states have done, including states with Republican governors, her record is weak," the Los Angeles Times reported Monday. U.S. Geological Survey biologists have warned that if current climate-change trends continue, every polar bear in...
U.S. scientists say global warming caused arctic sea ice to melt to its second-lowest level this year, rising slightly from 2007's record but still showing a downward trend. The National Snow and Ice Data Center said in March, that the thick, older sea ice was continuing to decline. According to NASA-processed satellite microwave data, this perennial ice used to cover 50-60 percent of the Arctic. Researchers found this winter it covered less than 30 percent. Temperatures have been lower in...
Latest Polar bear Reference Libraries
The cave bear (Ursus spelaeus) is an extinct species that was found in Europe during the Pleistocene. Its range was large and included areas from Great Britain to Spain, Italy, Poland, the Balkans, areas of Germany, Russia, the Caucuses, Romania, and northern areas of Iran. Large numbers of skeletons have been found in Switzerland, southern Germany, Austria, northern Spain, Hungary, Croatia, and Romania. Because so many fossils have been found throughout Europe, some experts assert that there...
The brown bear (Ursus arctos) can be found in North America and northern areas of Eurasia. There are sixteen recognized subspecies of the brown bear. This is the most widely distributed species of bear in the world, although its range is shrinking. Its range includes the Alaska and a few other areas of the United States, areas of Russia, and Romania and other areas of the Carpathian region, as well as Canada, Sweden, Finland, and the Balkans. The brown bear derives its common name from the...
The Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) is a native species to Eurasia. It is a slightly small species of brown bear. Its range includes Northern Armenia, Kopet Dag, Abkhazia, Azerbaijan Talysh, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq. Its range also includes the former Soviet Union. This bear is extinct in Israel, Lebanon, Egypt, and in more recent years it has become extinct in Syria. Due to habitat loss and poaching, the Syrian brown bear population is declining. The bear is also hunted for its bile,...
Brown bears as a group are one of the largest type of bears, second only to polar bears with the Syrian brown bear (Ursus arctos syriacus) being one of the smallest subspecies of brown bears. Found generally in the mountainous areas in the countries of Iran, Iraq and Turkey and in parts of the former Soviet Union to include Abkhazia, Karabakh, Transcaucasia, Talysh and northern Armenia. These bears find hollow birch trees that flourish in the higher elevations, moreso than pine and other...
The American Black Bear (Ursus americanus), also known as the black bear or cinnamon bear, is the most common bear in North America. The black bear can be found throughout much of North America, from northern Canada and Alaska south into Mexico and from the Atlantic to the Pacific. This includes 39 of the 50 U.S. states and all Canadian provinces. Populations in east-central and the southern United States remain in the protected mountains and woodlands of parks and preserves. While there...
