27
Dec 2006 - The US fish and wildlife service has
decided to list the polar bear as threatened,
according to leaked media reports, a decision
that would be welcomed by WWF.
WWF had supported the petition
to classify the species as threatened, based on
a large volume of compelling information about
significant changes in the polar bear’s habitat:
the Arctic sea ice.
Polar bears hunt, feed, mate
and frequently den on the sea ice. Yet , this
ocean habitat is vanishing as a result of warming
air and sea temperatures over the last decades.
"The Polar Bear has become
an icon of threatened species because of humanity's
disregard for the environment.
Although, we welcome the decision,
it is tragic that we are pushing more and more
species to extinction. In that sense, it is a
hollow victory," said Dr. Susan Lieberman,
Director WWF's Global Species Programme.
WWF is a leading organization
in polar bear conservation, working with communities,
scientists, and government agencies around the
Arctic to protect polar bears.
WWF is particularly concerned
about this species as a symbol of Arctic wildlife
in one of WWF’s priority areas for conservation,
the Bering Sea ecoregion.
Joanna Benn Communications Manager, WWF Global
Species Programme
