The American government has a last put the Polar Bear on the Endangered Species List, after 3 years of warnings from the charity WWF.
After a 4 month delay, the Bush/Cheney administration’s Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne finally succumbed to intense pressure to add the Arctic animals to the list. He also made it clear that this should not be used to address global warming or habitat loss, the two main factors contributing to the decline of polar bears in the U.S.
The government’s decision making process was concluded over three findings. Firstly, sea ice is vital to the survival of the polar bear, but their sea-ice habitat has dramatically melted in recent years, with computer research suggesting sea ice is likely to further recede. Polar bears are now in serious danger of losing their habitat, making them likely to become extinct in the next 45 years.
Last year alone saw the arctic sea ice fall to the lowest level ever recorded, 39% less than the long-term average from 1979 to 2000. Although the Arctic bear population has risen from about 12,000 in 1960 to almost 25,000 today, scientific projections suggest a major decline by the year 2050.
After many years of pressure, the U.S. government has finally acted on the World Wildlife Funds pressure, and you too can help save these animals from extinction.
