We need to do more to protect our favorite arctic species. Polar bears as cuddly and cute they are to look at, serve a greater purpose of maintaining the arctic populations. They do this by preying on animals like seals which indirectly keeps the marine environment healthy by keeping the seal population in check. The decline of these bears can cause significant issues within the ecosystem so we finally need to take a stand for these creatures and work to avoid their demise. Polar bears are an important indicator species, which means that their current state of health can reflect the health of the sea ice due to climate change. As the arctic is warming and causing a loss of sea ice, the bear’s survival rate is greatly threatened. The Institution Union for Conservation of Nature (UNCN) claims that though now there are about 26,000 polar bears worldwide, without starting action on climate change, most of the polar bear populations can be lost by the end of the century. The changing environment is leading to a spread of bacteria, parasites, and viruses that infects the Arctic life. Pathogens are being transmitted and threatening this top predator.
The rising temperatures that come along with global warming is a common cause of disease spread because of changing rainfall patterns. Illnesses can be spread by increased mosquitoes and ticks- disease spreading vectors. Changes like these don’t only affect our wildlife, but us too. The extreme heat has increased illness in humans including heatstroke, heart and lung diseases. Not only are we at greater risk of infection, but our food, water, and air is tainted. Researchers have found a bacteria called Neospora has spread double the amount since the 1900s, this found bacteria is exposed to a portion of polar bears. Neospora causes brucellosis and tularemia, zoonotic diseases that spread from animals to humans, being rapidly more common in polar bears. Brucellosis, which is caused by the bacteria Brucella abortus and Brucella suis, is associated with reproductive pathology. Tularemia is also known as “rabbit fever”, causing food-borne illness. Polar bears are exposed to these parasites by their diet, and just exposure, and with the warming environment the bears are more susceptible to these parasites. Polar bears that swim in the Chukchi sea are becoming increasingly exposed to disease over the years, due to the marine food web. Pathogen exposure is being significantly affected by environment changes, being a sign of future threats for the Arctic population. Polar bears specifically are being harmed in the Southern Beaufort Sea and Hudson Bay populations. In the Southern Beaufort Sea, the polar bear population dropped by 40% between 2001 and 2010 due to sea ice melting. This has led polar bears to now shift to more land during the summer to access the remains of bowhead whales on land. This habitat shift is leading to polar bears coming into contact with humans and entering their camps. Results of climate change are also making it more difficult for bears to hunt seals, their main food source and even altering their hunting grounds.
The IUCN Redlist states that polar bears are classified as a “vulnerable” species, threatening their lifeline and making them highly susceptible to extinction if moves aren’t made to help them. Circling back to the impact of the shrinking sea ice, since polar bears are dependent on ice for survival, the lack of is leading to deceased body conditions, reproductive issues, increased stress in the animals, and limited access to food, shelters, and breeding areas. All of these things are essential for a population to grow let alone survive, we couldn’t keep living without these necessities and neither can they. The lack of care and noise from humans is one of the reasons these beloved animals are in risk of extinction, and if we don’t take action soon there will be severe consequences leading to only the memory of when polar bears were roaming the icy lands.
Making a change can be easier than you think, and doing little things in your daily life can have a bigger impact than you’d expect. Cutting energy use is always something you can incorporate into your everyday life, try using energy efficient appliances and LED bulbs or insulate your home to save energy from heating and cooling systems. Sustainable transportation such as walking, biking, setting up carpool schedules and using public transportation is a big help. Even something as simple as reducing waste by recycling helps our buying produce locally to lower transportation emissions. Now if you wanna go further into helping spread awareness for others and donating to organizations like Polar Bears International, WWF, or Arctic focused nonprofits can support this cause. We need to advocate for policy changes to protect our wildlife and encourage companies to do the same.
Without intervention, most polar bear populations could vanish by the end of the century. Hopefully in the future we can see our furry friends still thriving on the ice, but this could only be achieved with our help. Our planet is going through drastic changes and we need to focus on making improvements. Taking steps towards better living conditions for us and our wildlife is essential for the survival of polar bears and the overall health of the Arctic ecosystem.
