Saturday, May 31, 2008

Polar Bears Listed as Threatened Species
On May 15, 2008, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service organization pronounced the polar bear a "Threatened Species" under the Endangered Species Act. The loss of icy polar habitat that the polar bears face as a result of melting sea ice poses a severe problem for them. With less ice, polar bears face a much tougher time finding food and some polar bears even end up drowning because the distance between ice floes is too far for to swim. The categorization of "threatened" means that polar bears are at risk of becoming endangered in the foreseeable future. While it's very sad that things have reached the point of a "Threatened" classification, hopefully, this classification will also help focus needed resources on preserving the polar bears' pristine environment before it's truly too late for them. Here's a link to the U.S. Department of the Interior's press release on the topic and a link to polar bear information and videos from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.