Karyn Rode, a seasoned research wildlife biologist at the U.S. Geological Survey’s Alaska Science Center, emphasizes the polar bear‘s role as a bellwether for broader ecological shifts. “Pathogens’ transmission pathways are changing, including in the Arctic,” Rode notes, highlighting the rapid environmental transformations underway. The region is warming at a pace four times the global […]
Tag: Polar Bear
Polar bears are back in Britain. But should they really be living here?
A small boy calls out the sights as the train speeds through the Suffolk countryside from London Liverpool Street. “Tractor. Church. Pigs. Polar bear! Dad! A polar bear!” The dad doesn’t glance up. “We don’t have polar bears in this country.” But the boy isn’t dreaming. There they are: four polar bears lumbering across a […]
Polar bears are suffering paw injuries likely driven by the warming Arctic: Study
At least two populations of polar bears in the high Arctic are developing paw injuries, possibly because of shifting sea ice conditions in a warming environment, according to a new study. Such injuries have not been reported in these areas previously, the study’s authors write. What the study says Between 2012 and 2022, researchers studied […]
“It is no exaggeration to say that what happens in the next five years will determine the future of life on Earth,” new WWF report warns
Wildlife in crisis is a wake-up call for humanity. The World Wide Fund for Nature’s biennial Living Planet Report, released today, paints a dire picture of the planet’s health. The latest WWF report, A System in Peril, reveals a shocking 73% decline in monitored wildlife populations between 1970 and 2020. This catastrophic loss over a […]
Inspired by nature – 6 times biomimicry has transformed outdoor gear
Recently, I traveled to the Swiss Alps with the outdoor brand Columbia to test out their newest technology. Omni-Heat Arctic is an insulating technology that is inspired by how a polar bear‘s fur works to keep it warm in frigid arctic conditions. Though polar bears appear white, they actually have heat-absorbing black skin and two […]
Petition: Demand an Investigation into the Avoidable Killing of a Polar Bear in Canada
In a tragic incident at a remote radar site in Canada’s Arctic region, a worker was fatally attacked by two polar bears, leading to the killing of one of the bears. This event, while devastating, raises significant concerns about the measures in place to protect both employees and the endangered polar bears that inhabit these […]
Climate Change Is Pushing Polar Bear Populations Into Conflict With Humans, Scientists Say
Deep in Canada’s remote Brevoort Island, in the Nunavut territory, a radar technician was killed last week in a rare polar bear attack. Days earlier, a polar bear was spotted in Rankin Inlet, a remote, but fairly populated, Inuit settlement in the same territory. Experts warn that similar encounters with polar bears will likely become […]
Why do sloth bears attack humans? New study links behaviour to tiger defence mechanisms
Ponder the most dangerous bear in the world, and you might naturally think of the mighty polar bear – king of the Arctic and most carnivorous of ursids – or the big and ornery North American grizzly. But the species that actually mauls the most people on average each year? The smaller, galumphing, and far […]