Polar Bears' Population Decline Continues - Down About 25% In 19 Remaining Groups - Scotsman

[hatrack]

THE world's polar bear population is continuing to decline, with only 19 population groups left in the world, wildlife campaigners said today. This fall represents more than a quarter of the species' populations, according to new findings by the charity WWF.

The main cause is global warming and its negative impact on the animals' sea ice habitat. Contaminants, oil exploration and failure to curb hunting are also adding to the problem.

There are now up to 25,000 polar bears in the world living in 19 groups, of which five - located in Canada, Greenland and the US - are in decline.

EDIT

The two best-studied polar bear sub-populations in the world - the western Hudson Bay population in Canada and the southern Beaufort Sea population (US/Canada) - have declined by 22 per cent and 17 per cent respectively over two decades. The other three populations in decline are those in Baffin Bay and Kane Basin - shared between Greenland and Canada - and Canada's Norwegian Bay. Professor Andrew Derocher, who chairs the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group, said: "The effects of climate change are becoming clearer. Climate stabilisation is the key conservation action now for polar bears."

EDIT

http://news.scotsman.com/international.cfm?id=1868022006

[phantom power]

1. "climate stabilisation is the key conservation action"

that's very bad news, because climate "stabilisation" is pretty much off the table, for at least the next several decades.