Give Some Thought To The Polar Bear

Today, the 27th of February, is International Polar Bear Day, observed annually to raise awareness of the protection of the threatened species. As of 2008, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reported that the global population of polar bears was between 20,000 and 25,000 – but is declining due to a number of factors. One of these being reducing sea ice which the bears need to hunt from to catch seals.

I was lucky to see polar bears in their natural environment in 2010 in the pristine wilderness of the Arctic about 50 miles from the geographic North Pole. I was on the Russian nuclear icebreaker, NS 50 Let Pobedy (50 Years of Victory). We saw a few bears but spent 3 hours watching a polar bear mother teacher her 6 month old cub to jump across the leads in the ice, to swim and to negotiate the icy slopes of an iceberg. It was a truly wondrous experience, shared by all passengers and crew on the ship.

So take some time today to think of these magnificent polar bears and the other unique species across our polar regions now struggling mainly as a result of reducing sea ice, pollution and rising air temperatures. We should do everything in our powers to protect these animals in the world’s last wildernesses.