|
Post by brobear on Mar 26, 2017 11:50:09 GMT -5
BEARS of the last frontier... The connection between polar bears and their icy habitat is so strong that if ice conditions decline, so does the health of the bears. Bears need ice because their prey need ice. Their almost exclusive dependence on seals means that conditions have to be just right for hunting. For example, bears need more than 50 percent ice cover to hunt and travel efficiently. Research has shown that a reduction in ice cover leads to thinner bears, fewer young, and lower survival rates. Climate change means that the spring thaw comes earlier and the fall freeze-up later, giving the bears less time to hunt.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Mar 26, 2017 11:53:46 GMT -5
BEARS of the last frontier... Never before have I seen an animal so at home in such a painfully cold environment. The polar bears don't just put up with the cold, they relish, crave, and seek it out. Even the adults become playful with the onset of the fall ice as they anticipate the return of the world that they know, the world they love.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Jan 1, 2018 6:57:00 GMT -5
Good News ( I believe ) for the polar bear. The Ice Age comith.
|
|
|
Post by Polar on Jan 3, 2018 11:20:06 GMT -5
This year is apparently supposed to be the coldest year in the last 10-30 years.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 16, 2018 3:13:54 GMT -5
Polar bears enjoy the cold just as many of us men enjoy the sun. Food for thought: A polar bear could be moved to the antartic but all on land would be in danger except a bull elephant seal.
|
|
|
Post by tom on Apr 12, 2019 16:29:35 GMT -5
You see articles here and there that a mini ice age may be on the horizon. But is it? Some think there is, others equivocally say no scientific basis whatsoever to support such a thing. There are Climatologists who will equate so-called "ice age" or 'cooling periods' with less solar flare activity. The last true ice age was roughly 12- 15,000 years ago. Some say they cycle at 18 - 20k years. So are we a couple thousands years from the beginning of the next one?
I believe the earth does have warming and cooling periods, the climate is cyclical. The one thing that is certain currently and can be measured is the reduction of the current Arctic ice pack along with the massive Greenland ice sheet. Both very large tracks of ice which are receding and have been for some time. So.. with that said, you really have to ask yourself this. If in fact we are heading for another 'ice age' wouldn't the ice be increasing and not decreasing?
You could also ask yourself is man and his CO2 emissions creating a man made warming period which is totally unnatural. These CO2 emissions and their greenhouse gas effect were not around thousands of years ago. Let me point out, I'm not a global warming fanatic by any stretch of the imagination, but physical proof of something (ice pack reduction) is hard to deny.
Finally, I don't think anyone truly knows for certain what will happen and how long it will take, certainly not in my life time anyway. Food for thought.
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Apr 12, 2019 21:51:47 GMT -5
After reading info posted on Wildfact, the polar bear is capable of surpassing 1000 pounds in a relatively cool zoo but thats the largest it ever got. Once again, it proves that captive polar bears do not grow as heavy or as large as wild ones and I beleive even the large polar bears in circuses are not as healthy as the captive ones.
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on Apr 13, 2019 5:21:17 GMT -5
After reading info posted on Wildfact, the polar bear is capable of surpassing 1000 pounds in a relatively cool zoo but thats the largest it ever got. Once again, it proves that captive polar bears do not grow as heavy or as large as wild ones and I beleive even the large polar bears in circuses are not as healthy as the captive ones. Polar bears in captivity can never be healthy.
|
|
|
Post by OldGreenGrolar on Oct 5, 2019 4:15:28 GMT -5
Captive polar bears.In an ideal world there would be no polar bears in zoos, for if ever there is an animal that doesn’t belong in a zoo it’s the polar bear. These Arctic giants have huge ranges in the wild, traveling many of hundreds of miles in their search for food. They have evolved over millennia to exist and thrive in the harsh environment of the Arctic. It is our belief, based on considered scientific evidence, that polar bears are a species that should never be bred in captivity, nor should they be actively sourced for captivity from the wild. However, even if this ideal state were to be achieved, there would still be problems and issues around what to do with cubs found orphaned in the wild and “problem bears” captured in populated areas. Sadly, most captive polar bears are kept in facilities, and often in climates, which are totally unsuitable. Only a very few facilities provide sufficient space for the bears to live anything approaching a contended and fulfilling life. So it is not surprising that many captive polar bears manifest symptoms of extreme stress, such as continually shaking their heads, pacing up and down their enclosures or swimming in a stereotypical fashion. Captive polar bears, along with orcas and other cetaceans, suffer from more sickness and psychologically related illness than any other animals kept in captivity. We are compiling a comprehensive directory of all the polar bears currently kept in captivity and of the facilities where they are kept. If you would like to help with this work then please get in touch. We have three main goals: An end to all captive polar bear breeding programmes. Many of the cubs born in captivity die within a few years, or even months, of birth. Breeding polar bears in captivity can never “save the bears” from extinction, nor repopulate the wild. No captive-born polar bear has ever been successfully released into the wild; indeed to do so would be contrary to IUCN regulations. The upgrading and improvement of substandard facilities holding captive polar bears to provide modern, state of the art “off exhibit” and “on exhibit” areas that meet the highest possible standards for housing, enrichment, general welfare and veterinary services. Air conditioning, water features and a total area of at least 8,000 square metres (2 acres) per animal are, we believe, the minimum essential for high welfare standards to be maintained. Where the above cannot be achieved facilities must be closed, with the polar bears transferred to modern, high standard facilities in sanctuaries or zoos. www.bearconservation.org.uk/polar-bears-in-zoos/
|
|
|
Post by BruteStrength on Oct 16, 2019 0:20:02 GMT -5
I agree that polar bears should never be bred in captivity. It's pointless because of how sick that they can get.
|
|
|
Post by BruteStrength on Oct 16, 2019 0:21:04 GMT -5
Yeah, polar bears losing in captivity is no big deal. But why do you think there are only like 2 accounts of brown bears losing to tigers in captivity? Because brown bears dont overheat or get sick in captivity, so they always win. Agree this is why brownies are the best animal. They represent bravery and courage.
|
|
|
Post by OldGreenGrolar on Oct 26, 2019 15:36:50 GMT -5
I agree that polar bears should never be bred in captivity. It's pointless because of how sick that they can get. That's why I object to polar bears being in zoos and circuses or even outside their environment. As powerful as polar bears are, they are one of the lead adaptable animals when it comes to temperature and environment change.
|
|
|
Post by brobear on Oct 27, 2019 4:25:47 GMT -5
According to the polar bear's DNA, he is still a grizzly. No chart of brown bear species or evolution is complete if the polar bear is missing. A polar bear is nothing more than the result of a group of brown bears that found themselves stranded in a new environment where they *specialized in hunting seals. They look so different because they are specialists.
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on Dec 28, 2019 19:55:07 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on Dec 29, 2019 8:34:21 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jan 2, 2020 16:44:45 GMT -5
Persistent organic pollutants, skull size and bone density of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) from East Greenland 1892–2015 and Svalbard 1964–2004.
New publication by: Daugaard-Petersen T, Langebæk R, Rigét FF, Letcher RJ, Hyldstrup L, Jensen J-EB, Bechshoft T, Wiig Ø, Jenssen BM, Pertoldi C, Lorenzen ED, Dietz R, Christian Sonne C.
2018.01.11 | Peter Schmidt Mikkelsen
Abstract:
We investigated skull size (condylobasal length; CBL) and bone mineral density (BMD) in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from East Greenland (n = 307) and Svalbard (n = 173) sampled during the period 1892–2015 in East Greenland and 1964–2004 at Svalbard. Adult males from East Greenland showed a continuous decrease in BMD from 1892 to 2015 (linear regression: p < 0.01) indicating that adult male skulls collected in the early pre-pollution period had the highest BMD. A similar decrease in BMD over time was not found for the East Greenland adult females. However, there was a non-significant trend that the skull size of adult East Greenland females was negatively correlated with collection year 1892–2015 (linear regression: p = 0.06). No temporal change was found for BMD or skull size in Svalbard polar bears (ANOVA: all p > 0.05) nor was there any significant difference in BMD between Svalbard and East Greenland subpopulations. Skull size was larger in polar bears from Svalbard than from East Greenland (two-way ANOVA: p = 0.003). T-scores reflecting risk of osteoporosis showed that adult males from both East Greenland and Svalbard are at risk of developing osteopenia. Finally, when correcting for age and sex, BMD in East Greenland polar bears increased with increasing concentrations of persistent organic pollutants (POPs) i.e. ΣPCB (polychlorinated biphenyls), ΣHCH (hexachlorohexane), HCB (hexachlorobenzene) and ΣPBDE (polybrominated diphenyl ethers) while skull size increased with ΣHCH concentrations all in the period 1999–2014 (multiple linear regression: all p < 0.05, n = 175). The results suggest that environmental changes over time, including exposure to POPs, may affect bone density and size of polar bears.
Environmental Research 162 (2018) 74–80. doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.12.009
arctic.au.dk/en/news-and-events/news/show/artikel/persistent-organic-pollutants-skull-size-and-bone-density-of-polar-bear-ursus-maritimus-from-east/
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on Jan 4, 2020 21:01:57 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by King Kodiak on Jan 6, 2020 20:28:39 GMT -5
|
|
|
Post by OldGreenGrolar on Jan 30, 2020 19:39:18 GMT -5
|
|
Deleted
Deleted Member
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Feb 1, 2020 16:08:06 GMT -5
Do you guys think polar bears can be kept in zoos where the place is cold like Norway or Sweden Just give your thoughts
|
|