It is sometimes referred to as the "nanook", based on the Inuit term nanuq. ==Naming and etymology== Constantine John Phipps was the first to describe the polar bear as a distinct species in 1774 in his report about his 1773 expedition towards the North Pole.
It is sometimes referred to as the "nanook", based on the Inuit term nanuq. ==Naming and etymology== Constantine John Phipps was the first to describe the polar bear as a distinct species in 1774 in his report about his 1773 expedition towards the North Pole.
Phipps in 1774, and the Siberian polar bear (Ursus maritimus marinus) by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776.
Phipps in 1774, and the Siberian polar bear (Ursus maritimus marinus) by Peter Simon Pallas in 1776.
It is known, for example, that already in the winter of 1784/1785 Russian Pomors on Spitsbergen harvested 150 polar bears in Magdalenefjorden.
900 bears a year were harvested in the 1920s and after World War II, there were as many as 400–500 harvested annually.
In 1927, poisoning was outlawed while in 1939, certain denning sights were declared off limits.
In 1927, poisoning was outlawed while in 1939, certain denning sights were declared off limits.
The Soviet Union banned all hunting in 1956.
Only with the passage of the treaty did they begin to recover. ====Russia==== The Soviet Union banned the harvest of polar bears in 1956; however, poaching continued, and is estimated to pose a serious threat to the polar bear population.
The largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing , was a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960.
The numbers taken grew rapidly in the 1960s, peaking around 1968 with a global total of 1,250 bears that year. ===Contemporary regulations=== Concerns over the future survival of the species led to the development of national regulations on polar bear hunting, beginning in the mid-1950s.
Polar bears were chased from snowmobiles, icebreakers, and airplanes, the latter practice described in a 1965 New York Times editorial as being "about as sporting as machine gunning a cow." Norwegians used "self-killing guns", comprising a loaded rifle in a baited box that was placed at the level of a bear's head, and which fired when the string attached to the bait was pulled.
Norway passed a series of increasingly strict regulations from 1965 to 1973, and has completely banned hunting since then.
The killing of females and cubs was made illegal in 1965.
The numbers taken grew rapidly in the 1960s, peaking around 1968 with a global total of 1,250 bears that year. ===Contemporary regulations=== Concerns over the future survival of the species led to the development of national regulations on polar bear hunting, beginning in the mid-1950s.
Canada began imposing hunting quotas in 1968.
Canada has allowed sport hunters accompanied by local guides and dog-sled teams since 1970, but the practice was not common until the 1980s.
(0.8% in the 1970s, 7.1% in the 1980s, and 14.6% in the 1990s) Nunavut polar bear biologist, Mitchell Taylor, who was formerly responsible for polar bear conservation in the territory, has insisted that bear numbers are being sustained under current hunting limits.
The United States began regulating hunting in 1971 and adopted the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972.
The United States began regulating hunting in 1971 and adopted the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972.
In 2010, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment published a strategy for polar bear conservation in Russia. ====United States==== The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 afforded polar bears some protection in the United States.
Importing products made from polar bears had been prohibited from 1972 to 1994 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and restricted between 1994 and 2008.
Norway passed a series of increasingly strict regulations from 1965 to 1973, and has completely banned hunting since then.
In 1973, the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was signed by all five nations whose territory is inhabited by polar bears: Canada, Denmark, Norway, the Soviet Union, and the United States.
Other provisions included year-round protection of cubs and mothers, restrictions on weapons used and various administrative requirements to catalogue kills. ====Norway==== Polar bears were hunted heavily in Svalbard, Norway throughout the 19th century and to as recently as 1973, when the conservation treaty was signed.
Despite this, the polar bear population continued to decline and by 1973, only around 1000 bears were left in Svalbard.
This was the case for 40% of cubs there in the early 1980s; however by the 1990s, fewer than 20% of cubs were weaned this young.
Canada has allowed sport hunters accompanied by local guides and dog-sled teams since 1970, but the practice was not common until the 1980s.
(0.8% in the 1970s, 7.1% in the 1980s, and 14.6% in the 1990s) Nunavut polar bear biologist, Mitchell Taylor, who was formerly responsible for polar bear conservation in the territory, has insisted that bear numbers are being sustained under current hunting limits.
The body condition of polar bears has declined during this period; the average weight of lone (and likely pregnant) female polar bears was approximately in 1980 and in 2004.
The proportion of maternity dens on sea ice has changed from 62% between the years 1985 through 1994, to 37% over the years 1998 through 2004.
This decision was approved of by members of the IUCN and TRAFFIC, who determined that such an uplisting was unlikely to confer a conservation benefit. ====Canada==== Polar bears were designated "Not at Risk" in April 1986 and uplisted to "Special Concern" in April 1991.
Between 1987 and 2004, the Western Hudson Bay population declined by 22%, although the population was listed as "stable" as of 2017.
This was the case for 40% of cubs there in the early 1980s; however by the 1990s, fewer than 20% of cubs were weaned this young.
(0.8% in the 1970s, 7.1% in the 1980s, and 14.6% in the 1990s) Nunavut polar bear biologist, Mitchell Taylor, who was formerly responsible for polar bear conservation in the territory, has insisted that bear numbers are being sustained under current hunting limits.
As of 2006, in Alaska, 42% of cubs were reaching 12 months of age, down from 65% in 1991.
The oldest wild bears on record died at age 32, whereas the oldest captive was a female who died in 1991, age 43.
This decision was approved of by members of the IUCN and TRAFFIC, who determined that such an uplisting was unlikely to confer a conservation benefit. ====Canada==== Polar bears were designated "Not at Risk" in April 1986 and uplisted to "Special Concern" in April 1991.
Chemical communication can also be important: bears leave behind their scent in their tracks which allow individuals to keep track of one another in the vast Arctic wilderness. In 1992, a photographer near Churchill took a now widely circulated set of photographs of a polar bear playing with a Canadian Eskimo Dog (Canis lupus familiaris) a tenth of its size.
If a sport hunter does not kill a polar bear before his or her permit expires, the permit cannot be transferred to another hunter. In August 2011, Environment Canada published a national polar bear conservation strategy. ====Greenland==== In Greenland, hunting restrictions were first introduced in 1994 and expanded by executive order in 2005.
Importing products made from polar bears had been prohibited from 1972 to 1994 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and restricted between 1994 and 2008.
Since 1994, hundreds of sport-hunted polar bear trophies have been imported into the U.S.
The proportion of maternity dens on sea ice has changed from 62% between the years 1985 through 1994, to 37% over the years 1998 through 2004.
The hollow guard hairs of a polar bear coat were once thought to act as fiber-optic tubes to conduct light to its black skin, where it could be absorbed; however, this hypothesis was disproved by a study in 1998. The white coat usually yellows with age.
The proportion of maternity dens on sea ice has changed from 62% between the years 1985 through 1994, to 37% over the years 1998 through 2004.
This status was re-evaluated and confirmed in April 1999, November 2002, and April 2008.
After several years of negotiations, Russia and the United States signed an agreement in October 2000 to jointly set quotas for indigenous subsistence hunting in Alaska and Chukotka.
This status was re-evaluated and confirmed in April 1999, November 2002, and April 2008.
The oldest known polar bear fossil is a 130,000 to 110,000-year-old jaw bone, found on Prince Charles Foreland in 2004.
The body condition of polar bears has declined during this period; the average weight of lone (and likely pregnant) female polar bears was approximately in 1980 and in 2004.
Between 1987 and 2004, the Western Hudson Bay population declined by 22%, although the population was listed as "stable" as of 2017.
The proportion of maternity dens on sea ice has changed from 62% between the years 1985 through 1994, to 37% over the years 1998 through 2004.
In 2005, the government of Nunavut increased the quota from 400 to 518 bears, despite protests from the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group.
In 2010, the 2005 increase was partially reversed.
If a sport hunter does not kill a polar bear before his or her permit expires, the permit cannot be transferred to another hunter. In August 2011, Environment Canada published a national polar bear conservation strategy. ====Greenland==== In Greenland, hunting restrictions were first introduced in 1994 and expanded by executive order in 2005.
Until 2005 Greenland placed no limit on hunting by indigenous people.
In recent years, polar bears in the Arctic have undertaken longer than usual swims to find prey, possibly resulting in four recorded drownings in the unusually large ice pack regression of 2005. A new development is that polar bears have begun ranging to new territory.
The dump in Churchill, Manitoba was closed in 2006 to protect bears, and waste is now recycled or transported to Thompson, Manitoba. ====Dietary flexibility==== Although seal predation is the primary and an indispensable way of life for most polar bears, when alternatives are present they are quite flexible.
As of 2006, in Alaska, 42% of cubs were reaching 12 months of age, down from 65% in 1991.
However, in 2006 it imposed a limit of 150, while also allowed recreational hunting for the first time.
The treaty was ratified in October 2007.
In 2007, the Russian government made subsistence hunting legal for indigenous Chukotkan peoples only, a move supported by Russia's most prominent bear researchers and the World Wide Fund for Nature as a means to curb poaching. Polar bears are currently listed as "Rare", of "Uncertain Status", or "Rehabilitated and rehabilitating" in the Red Data Book of Russia, depending on population.
This status was re-evaluated and confirmed in April 1999, November 2002, and April 2008.
On 15 May 2008, the United States Department of the Interior listed the polar bear as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, citing the melting of Arctic sea ice as the primary threat to the polar bear.
Importing products made from polar bears had been prohibited from 1972 to 1994 under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and restricted between 1994 and 2008.
In 2010, the 2005 increase was partially reversed.
Environment Canada also banned the export from Canada of fur, claws, skulls and other products from polar bears harvested in Baffin Bay as of 1 January 2010. Because of the way polar bear hunting quotas are managed in Canada, attempts to discourage sport hunting would actually increase the number of bears killed in the short term.
In 2010, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment published a strategy for polar bear conservation in Russia. ====United States==== The Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 afforded polar bears some protection in the United States.
The earliest recorded birth of polar bears in captivity was on 11 October 2011 in the Toronto Zoo.
If a sport hunter does not kill a polar bear before his or her permit expires, the permit cannot be transferred to another hunter. In August 2011, Environment Canada published a national polar bear conservation strategy. ====Greenland==== In Greenland, hunting restrictions were first introduced in 1994 and expanded by executive order in 2005.
Government of Nunavut officials announced that the polar bear quota for the Baffin Bay region would be gradually reduced from 105 per year to 65 by the year 2013.
In September 2015, the polar bear range states agreed upon a "circumpolar action plan" describing their conservation strategy for polar bears. Although the United States government has proposed that polar bears be transferred to Appendix I of CITES, which would ban all international trade in polar bear parts, polar bears currently remain listed under Appendix II.
As of 2015, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) reports that the global population of polar bears is 22,000 to 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown.
Between 1987 and 2004, the Western Hudson Bay population declined by 22%, although the population was listed as "stable" as of 2017.
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