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The key danger for polar bears posed by the effects of 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.
Bear habitats are generally forests, though some species can be found in grassland and savana regions, and the polar bear lives in arctic and aquatic habitats. Most bears are 1.2–2 m (4–7 ft) long, plus a 3–20 cm (1–8 in) tail, though the polar bear is 2.2–2.44 m (7–8 ft) long, and some subspecies of brown bear can be up to 2.8 m (9 ...
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed.The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb).
Arctic Tale is a 2007 American documentary film from the National Geographic Society about the life cycle of a walrus and her calf, and a polar bear and her cubs, in a similar vein to the 2005 hit production March of the Penguins, which was adapted for an English-language release by National Geographic.
The 1958 Statehood Act set up a program for polar bear management, and further conservation efforts, including the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, have limited polar bear hunts. [10] Polar bear populations may be threatened by oil development and global warming. [10] [11] Only about 4700 polar bears are known to inhabit Alaska. [12]
Other mammals include lemmings, polar bear, walrus, beluga whale, snowshoe hare and Arctic hare, red fox, grey wolf, Arctic ground squirrel and seals. The coast is also home to many breeding waterbirds including snow goose , spectacled eider , Steller's eider , king eider , red-throated loon , [ 3 ] pacific loon , [ 4 ] and yellow-billed loon .
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Many zoos use the day to educate about polar bear conservation and to encourage visits to polar bear exhibits. [ 6 ] [ 7 ] It has also had some political impact. Jack Shapiro, the deputy climate campaign manager under American president Barack Obama , used the day to argue for the need for Congressional action on the issue of climate change . [ 8 ]