Polar Bears in Peril

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9/11/13 Polar Bears in Peril | TIME For Kids

ENVIRONMENT

WORLD
ENVIRONMENT

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JOHN BROWN—GETTY IMAGES
Polar bears' features help them survive in the Arctic. A thick layer of fat helps keep the bears warm.

The top of the world is a wintry wonderland. Icebergs float in the cold Arctic Ocean. In
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winter, the temperature often falls to -30°F and the sun never rises. The ocean is
surrounded by frozen ground. There are few people or trees, but to polar bears, the Arctic
Election 2012 is home.

Polar bears have thick fur, huge paws and other features that make them well prepared
for life in their harsh environment. In fact, they need the Arctic sea ice for survival. But
climate change is causing larger and larger areas of summer sea ice to melt. Experts say
that if warming patterns continue, the Arctic could be free of summer sea ice by 2050.
Holidays That may cause two-thirds of the world's 20,000 polar bears to be gone by then too.

"Global climate change may not be affecting you, but it is really affecting polar bears in the
Arctic," Jeffrey Bonner, president of the St. Louis Zoo, in Missouri, told TFK. Bonner is
working with zoo and aquarium officials across the country to prevent the bears from
dying out.
2013 Summer The Importance of the Ice
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Polar bears can't survive for long on land.
Seals are their main source of food. The
bears hunt for seals in openings in the
sea ice. Polar bears need the ice to get to
See More Mini-Sites their prey. In summer, the polar bears that
live on land eat very little and wait for the
sea ice to return.

With the sea ice forming later in the year


and melting earlier, polar bears do not
have enough opportunity to hunt and eat.
RALPH LEE HOPKINS—GETTY IMAGES
Less sea ice makes it harder for the Polar bears rely on sea ice as their base for
bears to catch the seals. The bears must hunting, eating and breeding.
swim longer distances between ice
packs, and they can't always make it. The ice is also getting thinner. These conditions can
cause polar-bear cubs to become separated from their mothers, who provide them with
food.

What Zoos—and You—Can Do

Less ice and snow in the far north is also making the entire planet warmer. Steven
Amstrup is the chief scientist of Polar Bears International. The group is dedicated to
saving the bears and their habitat. "The more people who see polar bears and
understand their plight, the better the chance we'll alter our warming path in time to save
them," he says.

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9/11/13 Polar Bears in Peril | TIME For Kids
Few people have the chance to see polar bears in the wil. That's where zoos come in.
The St. Louis Zoo, in Missouri, is planning a $20 million polar-bear exhibit, scheduled to
open in 2017. The North Carolina Zoo, in Asheboro, plans to open its new polar-bear
exhibit late next year. "If you save the polar bears, you are doing something dramatic to
help the environment," says Bonner.

While there are obstacles to bringing polar bears into the country, Bonner and others are
working to show how rescuing orphaned cubs could help the species survive. Zoos
would provide the cubs with a safe home. Experts would work to breed the bears and
keep polar-bear populations healthy.

You can do your part, too, by protecting the environment and helping save the bears'
habitat. Turn off lights and appliances, and save energy in other ways. "If everybody does
small things, that adds up," says Bonner.

Click here (http://www.timeforkids.com/minisite/environment) to return to the Earth Day mini-site.

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