Racing to Save Polar Bears in a Changing Arctic

Five years. That's the amount of time that remains to reverse the build-up of CO₂ and save polar bears and the Arctic. The crisis is now well-known: The sea ice is retreating. Polar bears are thinner. Polar bears are drowning. Fewer cubs survive. Time is short, but our scientists emphasize that it is not too late to meet the challenge and save these remarkable animals for future generations.

Polar Bears International's Advisory Council scientists are among the top experts in the polar bear world. We rely on them for guidance and support—and we help underwrite their research so they can document what is happening with the bears and share this information with policy-makers and the public.

At the same time, our strategy to save polar bears includes assembling a front-line "sustainability" team. These individuals are developing plans to help polar bears that are struggling to survive in a changing Arctic, from orphaned cubs to injured or starving adults. Our goal is to ensure that enough bears remain to repopulate the Arctic.

Finally, we invest heavily in education to spread the word that each of us can and must make a difference. Ultimately, to save polar bears we must save their habitat. That means changing human behavior and investing in and using green technology.

Our scientists emphasize that the situation is critical—but it is not irreversible if we act soon.

Please join us in reducing your personal carbon footprint and supporting our efforts by making a donation or adopting a bear at http://www.polarbearsinternational.org. We are counting on you—and so are the bears.

A Warming Arctic

Here are some thoughts from some of Polar Bears International's Advisory Council scientists on how the Arctic has changed:

•  Dr. Steven C. Amstrup: "The Arctic is a different world than it was in 1980 when I first went up there. The sea ice now retreats way off shore in the summer time. It used to be right along the shore. We could see seals and polar bears on the ice from land, while standing on the shore. These changes are having a profound effect on polar bears—on their condition and the survival of their young."

•  Dr. Andrew Derocher: "The sea ice is now breaking up about three weeks earlier in summer than it did just 20 years ago. For polar bears, that means a shorter hunting time on the ice—their survival is based on how much fat they can store on their bodies."

•  Dr. Thomas S. Smith: "I've worked with polar bear maternity dens for the past 10 years. What we're finding is that female bears that once denned on the sea ice are increasingly turning to land. I suspect they can tell by the sounds of the ice that it's not as thick and stable as it used to be."

•  Dr. Ian Stirling: "There's been a steady decline in the health of the bears over the last 30 years. There's a direct relationship between the date of the sea ice break-up and the survival rate of cubs."