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Polar bears and artificial islands
Why is WWF not taking action to rescue individual polar bears that have been spotted swimming far from land or ice.
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While we feel deeply for these animals, unfortunately, there is no practical way to rescue them.
Simply finding them again following the original sighting would be nearly impossible as the arctic waters are very wide, the currents are strong, and adult bears can move quite quickly through the water.
We must also take into account that polar bears have been documented swimming up to 320kms (about 200 miles). A polar bear in the water, even one far from land or ice, is not always a polar bear that needs saving.
Some people have suggested that artificial platforms placed in the water could act as a home for the bears.
In reality, however, one must recognise the vast scale of the Arctic and the area normally covered by ice. It would not be practical to replace that with artificial platforms.
Such platforms are also no substitute for the role of sea ice in food production. Sea ice is part of a vital arctic food web, sustaining plants and animals from single-celled creatures all the way up to seals. Without this food web, polar bears cannot survive.
What we can do, right now, is to take actions that will help polar bear populations. The most important threat is climate change. The Arctic is feeling the effects of that change first and worst.
The science is clear but some governments are not moving quickly enough to address it. They fail to see that the polar bears are the early victims of a global crisis that warrants immediate attention and bold action. Polar bears and people share the same planet—and the same fate.
We can also take action to deal with some immediate threats to the bears, such as increasing industrialisation of the Arctic, and unsustainable levels of hunting. By making the right choices, we can save polar bears as a wild species, and save ourselves in the process.
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Inappropriate?While we feel deeply for these animals, unfortunately, there is no practical way to rescue them.
Simply finding them again following the original sighting would be nearly impossible as the arctic waters are very wide, the currents are strong, and adult bears can move quite quickly through the water.
We must also take into account that polar bears have been documented swimming up to 320kms (about 200 miles). A polar bear in the water, even one far from land or ice, is not always a polar bear that needs saving.
Some people have suggested that artificial platforms placed in the water could act as a home for the bears.
In reality, however, one must recognise the vast scale of the Arctic and the area normally covered by ice. It would not be practical to replace that with artificial platforms.
Such platforms are also no substitute for the role of sea ice in food production. Sea ice is part of a vital arctic food web, sustaining plants and animals from single-celled creatures all the way up to seals. Without this food web, polar bears cannot survive.
What we can do, right now, is to take actions that will help polar bear populations. The most important threat is climate change. The Arctic is feeling the effects of that change first and worst.
The science is clear but some governments are not moving quickly enough to address it. They fail to see that the polar bears are the early victims of a global crisis that warrants immediate attention and bold action. Polar bears and people share the same planet—and the same fate.
We can also take action to deal with some immediate threats to the bears, such as increasing industrialisation of the Arctic, and unsustainable levels of hunting. By making the right choices, we can save polar bears as a wild species, and save ourselves in the process.
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Inappropriate?Hi Coach T - I am the web manager for the WWF International Arctic Programme, and our Polar Bear Conservation Coordinator, Geoff York, gave this response to your question:
“While the majority of polar bears prefer to stay on the sea ice year round, small numbers are able to wait out the ice free period on land. While no expert believes this strategy can support a large number of bears, this dispersal will likely be part of their long term survival. However, coming ashore in many areas places polar bears at risk of death or disturbance from human and industrial interaction. It is also possible that these pockets of ice refugees will be more susceptible to new disease vectors from land sources in a warming climate as they search for new food sources.”
Thanks for your interest!
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Inappropriate?Thats disgusting its obviously humanities fault that these bears face extinction, the worst culprit obviously being the United States, why is a bear sanctuary not being created? Is there no possible solution for this problem? and what has happened to their prey. Is their prey also suffering at the hands of this fowl nation of over consumption without consequence? What solutions have been discussed thus far?
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Inappropriate?Hi Concerned4Earth
Nations, relevant organistions and concerned individuals all working together will provide the best chance of success to the issues faced by polar bears and the ecosystems that they represent.
WWF is working on a number of solutions which you can read about if you visit the following website and the associated links.
http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/where_...
Hope this helps -
Inappropriate?Seems to me that the idea of artificial platforms as substitute for small islands of sea ice is too readily discarded by conservation groups involved with the polar bear. Such devices could be easily and probably inexpensively built and placed in areas where ice breakup is worst. Such platforms could and should be part of the strategy for protecting the bears by helping them to rest while hunting. No real reason was given by Jackie, (official rep) sic why such devices are considered unworthy of any consideration.
More data on this, please! What are the real reasons behind the rejection? Why not let such platforms be a part of the constellation of protective strategies?
Joyce -
Inappropriate?Hi Joyce
Wild polar bears have evolved over 200,000 years to survive in one of the worlds harshest environments. To survive and breed they must catch lots of seals at holes in the ice - seals can easily outswim polarBears in open water. Therefore, sea ice is absolutely essential to polarBears throughout much of the year. It is this loss of sea ice for progressively longer periods in the arctic summer that is driving polar Bears towards extinction - a few handy artificial icebergs would give them a place to rest, true, but without adequate food supply, such summer platforms would really be little help other than as ambulance-like stretchers for ever-skinnier bears.
Further more, the ice is much more than a simple platform for polar bears, seals and walruses – it supports the very food web that sustains polar bears. In fact, sea ice acts like an 'upside-down garden' for the Arctic ice-based ecosystem. The algae and other life forms that live on the ice would not shift to an artificial substrate or island, and polar bears would not survive without this food web to support them.
Another issue to consider is that polar bears roam over vast territories, particularly during the breeding season, so it would be difficult to ascertain the best place to put artificial islands, even if they were deemed an appropriate solution
It is also important to realise that the arctic ocean is a huge space, roughly the size of Russia, with an average depth of 1038 metres (3407 ft), making anchoring, and placement, of such 'islands' very difficult.
Clearly, the real solution is for societies and governments to dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and shift to renewable energy supplies and a truly sustaianble life on this planet. If we don't, there will be no more polar bears in the wild.
You may wish to read more about WWF’s Climate Change programme at the following url: http://www.panda.org/about_wwf/what_w...
Thank you for sharing your concerns and caring enough to think about possible solutions.
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