The US Fish and Wildlife Service announced recently that they will consider whether to place the Polar Bear (Ursus maritimus) on the list of species protected under the US Endangered Species Act. The news was welcomed by the conservation groups Greenpeace and the Natural Resources Defense Council, who in December 2005 joined forces to bring a lawsuit against the US Government for its negligence to acknowledge global warming and the threats it poses to the species.

Although the announcement reflects a growing concern for the polar bear, it does not guarantee that the species will be added to the endangered species list. The next step is the initiation of a year-long process, referred to as the Endangered Species Petition Process. During this process, the Fish and Wildlife Service will closely examine the bear's population, distribution, and threats to its survival. Their aim will be to determine just how vulnerable the bears are to climate change and weigh up the susceptibility of the species to extinction at this time.

Polar bears inhabit only our planet's most northerly realms—no polar bears are found in equivalent habitats in the southern hemisphere. The ivory-furred carnivores roam the remote, icy wilds of Alaska, Canada, Russia, Greenland, and Norway.

So why are polar bears in peril? They live in a region far from the sprawl of our human population, so it could be assumed they inhabit safe ground. Yet, sadly, this is not true.

If scientists are correct, polar bear habitat is retreating at an alarming pace as yearly increases in global temperatures reduce the extent of sea ice that forms in the Arctic. Polar bears depend on that sea ice. They use it as foraging grounds where they roam in search of their main food source: seals.

Polar bears are uniquely adapted to swim in cold Arctic waters to get from one patch of sea ice to the next in pursuit of their quarry. But while sea ice declines at the rate of 23,000 miles per year, those patches are retreating farther apart. As a result, the bears are unable to swim the increasing gap between land and the sea ice on which they forage. As the sea ice disappears, so do polar bears.

If the polar bear is added to the list of endangered species, it would mark the first time a species has been listed due to the effects of climate change. Many feel it would also mark the first sign that the US Government truly acknowledges the threat of global warming.

Find out more:

• Interior Secretary Kempthorne Announces Proposal to List Polar Bears as Threatened Under Endangered Species Act (US DOI)
• Polar Bear FAQ (Polar Bears International)
• Polar Bears and Global Warming (National Wildlife Federation)
• Polar Bears Being Considered for US Endangered List (National Geographic)
• Polar Bears May Get Endangered Status (CNN)
• Climate Change May Put Polar Bear on Threatened List (NPR)
• Don't Wait to Save the Polar Bear (Los Angeles Times)

Photo © Inga Brennan / iStockphoto.