Where have all the Polar bears gone? – long time passing.
They haven’t gone away. Large and healthy populations of Polar bears are thriving today.
Polar bears are the largest bear species and the biggest land carnivores in the world. The enormous bears live in the Artic, where they pursue their favorite meal, seals.
Scientists believe that Polar bears evolved over the last 500 thousand years. It is postulated that a population of brown bears traveled north during a warm period and became isolated. When temperatures dropped again, the bears were forced to adapt to the colder environment, according to Aarhus University’s Arctic Research Center in Denmark.
According to Polar Bears International, Polar bears have many adaptations to survive in the frigid Arctic. They have dense fur and a thick layer of fat to keep them warm. They have small bumps under their paws to stop them from slipping on the ice. They are excellent swimmers.
Polar Guidebook states that Polar bears can swim as fast as 6mph. They can swim long distances typically around 150km (93 miles) – although they have been recorded traveling up to 687km (428 miles) in a single swim.
Polar bears are usually 3.5 to 5 feet tall at the shoulder on all fours, but an adult male may reach more than 10 feet when standing on its hind legs. Male Polar bears weigh between 770 pounds and more than 1,300 pounds. Females usually weigh half as much as their male counterparts.
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In the Artic, sea ice extent is limited by the surrounding land masses. Climate Change advocates have been proclaiming that melting sea ice was a threat to extinction of the polar bears.
In his 2006 popular documentary film, “An Innocent Truth”, Al Gore cited studies which said “in the next 50 to 70 years” the ice caps would be completely melted.
Later, in 2009, Gore cited research from Dr. Wieslaw Muslowski, a professor of oceanography at Naval Postgraduate School in California during a speech he made in Copenhagen. He stated that Muslowski’s research indicated that “there was a 75% chance that the entire Polar Cap could be ice-free, during the summer months, in the next five to seven years.”
National Public Radio (NPR) noted “Mr. Gore was misrepresenting the data of Muslowski.”
Fortunately, both Gore and Muslowski were wrong. In 2021, the Artic Sea ice extent was 4.72 million square kilometers, about 11 percent more than the 4.6 million kilometers in 2007, according to NASA’s estimates.
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Why not Polar bears in Antarctica? There have never been Polar bears in Antarctica. Antarctica and the Artic are almost the same size. The landmass of Antarctica is approximately 5.4 million square miles. The Arctic is approximately 5 million square miles. Antarctica has more snow than the Artic due to more precipitation. The Antarctica ice sheet covers 98% of the continent. Where the Artic is surrounded by landmass, Antarctica is a continent surrounded by ocean. Sea ice can expand freely into the ocean.
People who travel to Antarctica fall into two main groups – those who live and work on scientific research stations, and tourists – no one lives in Antarctica indefinitely – there are no permanent residents.
JoAnna Wendel reported, in Live Science, that Antarctica would be an excellent location to introduce Polar bears. Polar bears feed on seals and the occasional bird or egg. Antarctica is abundant in all three, with six seal species and five penguin species. Antarctica would become a free-for-all buffet for a Polar bear.
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For those Polar bear fans who are worried about the future of the Polar bear — there is good news. Populations have been increasing in the Artic and sea extent has not been receding like Climate Change advocates would like you believe. In addition, this is the time to campaign for Polar bears to be introduced in Antarctica!
James Peifer
