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 Ice Bear. Giant of the Arctic. To the Inuit, Nanuk. By whatever name, the polar bear is a symbol of the Arctic world. Perfectly suited by nature to the harsh cold, the polar bear commands respect for its strength, size and cunning.
The polar bear is a marine mammal. It depends on the sea for its very existence, hunting seals from pack ice and coming ashore only as the ice disappears every summer. The ebb and flow of the polar ice determines the bears' fate, and as climate warming reduces the extent of the pack ice, the polar bear loses out — loses hunting time, loses weight — and the number of polar bears declines.
This top predator is significant in the make up of the Arctic ecosystem, and what affects the polar bear affects all Arctic species. WWF is working to address the issues, from climate change to pollution, to find ways to reverse negative impacts on the bears and their Arctic home. WWF is working to save the largest inhabited wilderness left on earth.
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The polar bear's latin name is Ursus maritimus. |
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There are estimated to be about 21,500 to 25,000 polar bears in the world. |
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