Polar Bears aren't Getting a "Cold" Shoulder Anywhere.

It started to snow today so I figured I'd write about the best kind of snowy animal (completely unrelated to my predator bias), the Polar Bears!

Despite the unique look to this completely white bear, they're not excluded from the dangers many animals face. Polar bears have been hunted to the point where their populations could not recover; however, thanks to a treaty formed between the five "polar bear range countries", Canada, Norway, Denmark and Greenland, Russia, and the United States, polar bear populations were able to replenish to an extent. The treaty was called the "Agreement on the Conservation of the Polar Bear". Last Wednesday, December 4th, the International Polar Bear Forum got together for the 40th anniversary of this treaty.

Polar bears face multiple threats these days; hunting and climate change. According to The World Wildlife Fund, there are between 20,000-25,000 polar bears remaining on the planet. These polar bears are divided into 19 subpopulations, and of these 19 subpopulations, 8 of them are in decline.

Polar bears are another tragic victim of overhunting. Although many places that are home to polar bears have good management plans for polar bear overhunting, there are still some places that don't. The International Fund for Animal Welfare found that in the span of one month, there were 75 advertisements for buying/selling polar bear parts and derivatives.

With climate change, the icy home of the polar bears is starting to melt. With no land, hunting becomes increasingly harder resulting in polar bears suffering from malnutrition and starvation. Furthermore, with the ice melting, that leaves the arctic waters, and land, open to industrial expansion. That's not too great for polar bears either.

At the forum in Moscow, it was decided that efforts to preserve the polar bear are going to be stepped up. Hopefully through these efforts polar bears will be saved before it's too late. Let's be honest, would the Coca-Cola logo be nearly as cool with a Penguin?

For more information on how to help save the Polar Bear check out this link
Polar Bear Information

For more information on the Trade of Polar Bear Parts view the link below
International Polar Bear Forum: Range countries must commit to a conservation strategy with teeth

For more information on the International Polar Bear Forum, check out this article from The Voice of Russia 
Moscow to Host International Polar Bear Conservation Forum