What if polar bears go extinct

Photo: Daniel J. Anuri will walk you through the threats polar bears face—including the biggest one of all: climate warming. Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt, breed, roam, and sometimes to den. But the Arctic is warming and ice is melting due to human-caused climate change. Already, in parts of the Arctic, longer ice-free seasons and longer fasting periods have led to a decline in some polar bear populations.

Research shows that without action to greatly reduce carbon emissions and stabilize our climate, we could lose all but a few polar bear populations by the end of the century.

The key to getting the climate back to functioning the way it should is to transition away from fossil fuels for energy altogether. Commercial activity in the Arctic has increased as the region becomes more accessible. These activities include oil and gas exploration and development, shipping, mining, and tourism—each with their own challenges.

Oil and gas activity, for example, not only brings the risk of spills, but could disturb polar bear moms and cubs hidden in dens under the snow—the most vulnerable time in their life cycle. And in a warming Arctic, where polar bears face enormous challenges, the survival of every single cub is critically important. As the sea ice melts and more polar bears spend more time on shore, and for longer periods, conflicts between polar bears and people are expected to increase.

Indeed, many coastal villages are already experiencing an uptick in encounters with polar bears, sometimes with tragic results. Working proactively with communities to support their efforts to live safely with polar bears is an important—and growing—part of our work.

But in reality, polar bears in some parts of the Arctic can carry surprisingly high loads of toxic chemicals. Because wind and ocean currents transport these pollutants to parts of the Arctic, where they concentrate as they make their way up the food chain. Polar bears absorb these higher levels when they eat seals.

Some viruses have also been detected in polar bears in Alaska and Russia. And according to recent research , certain animals dependent on ice, like the polar bear , are even more vulnerable than previously realized. But when it melts in the summer, Arctic oceans absorb the sunlight instead, causing oceans to warm and temperatures to rise. The sea ice is at its thinnest in September , but the ice begins thickening again as we enter into the winter months.

However, summertime ice is in decline. A report published by NASA in September found the summertime ice is the 12th-lowest in the satellite record. Another report suggests that in order to significantly reduce the likelihood of the Arctic Ocean being ice-free — to less than five percent — we need to keep total future carbon dioxide emissions below gigatons.

Humans emitted 9. But in the lower-warming scenario, ice sheds stabilize in the latter part of the 21st century, with ice shed levels in the s resembling levels in the s. Image source, Katharina M Miller. Sea ice is declining in the Arctic in both thickness and extent. Image source, Polar Bear International. Female polar bears need to store sufficient fat to feed their cubs. Polar bears 'running out of food' DNA reveals polar bear's ancient origins Polar bears fail to adapt to lack of food in warmer Arctic.

Image source, BJ Kirschhoffer. Polar bears rely on sea ice to catch their prey. Image source, Polar Bears International. Related Topics. Conservation Arctic Polar bears Climate change Environment. Published 12 March