Global warming is affecting our planet as we speak although many people are still ignorant about this climate crisis and try to deny its effects. Throughout the world there are many signs that the planet is heating up: glaciers are melting in Asia and South America, severe droughts are affecting large regions, the desertification process has gained speed, etc. But most of all, the arctic ice is depleting year by year and together with it so is the polar bear population which depends on ice shelves in order to survive.
The most obvious effects of global warming on polar bear population are in the south part of the animal’s habitat. That’s where the permanent ice has decreased the most and together with it the numbers of polar bears. The melted ice shelves were prime territory for seals to rest and give birth during arctic spring. Seals are the main part of a polar bears diet and due to the fact that the seals don’t find any ice to lie on, they move further north for more suitable conditions. As a result the local polar bear population decreases in size due to insufficient food resources.
The average bodyweight of polar bears has declined in the most affected areas form 290 kg in 1980 to 230 kg in 2004 and the drop in the general population numbers amounted to 22%. It is expected that the polar bear to go extinct in the wild in the next 50 to 100 year if the situation does not improve. Due to the global warming effects, the polar bear has been recently listed as a threatened species.