All About Polar Bears prsentación en inglés ppt

All_About_Polar_Bears - final

1. Tatiana Proaño
South American Institute

3. •Latin name -Ursus maritimus “sea bear”
•Largest Land predator
•Top of Arctic food chain
•Hunt seals
•Youngest of the eight bear species
•Descended from brown bear

4. •Thick layer of fat
•Wide paws disperse
weight
•Solitary animals
•Two Layers of Fur

6. •Prefer frozen winter
ice (Arctic ring of life)
•Hostile Environment
•Hunt at holes in ice
•Fast during the
summer melt on Land
•Adapted for swimming
Habitat

7. LiveintheArctic
•U.S.(Alaska)
•Canada
•Russia
•Greenland
•Norway
Habitat

8. Mating
•Mate between March –May
•Females test potential mates
•Set challenges for mates
•Courtship lasts three weeks

11. Maternity
•Den in deep snow
•Mother fasts in den for 6
months
•Emerge between March
and April
•1 –3 cubs

13. •Cares for cubs for
two years
•Guards from male
bears
•Teaches hunting skills
•Breast feeds cubs

15. Hunting & Diet
•Still-hunting
•Seals are 95% of diet
•Can smell a seal from
2 km
•Patient
•Excellent hearing and
eyesight
•Hunt at ice openings
•Camouflaged fur
•Intelligent

19. Melting of Ice
•Aug. 2007 –Record low of ice
extent a month before the end of
melt season
•Aug. 2012 –2007 record three
weeks before the end of the melt
season
Problems

21. Melting of Ice
•Starvation kills many sub adult bears
•Drowning incidences increasing
Problems
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9GDKrq
X4kIA

23. •Foraging in garbage dumps
•Increased attacks on humans
•Increased hunting of the bears
HUMAN CONTACT

24. •20thcentury–1.300to1.500bearskilled
•1960s–1.250bears
•Machinery–snowmobiles,planes
•Regulationonhunting
HUNTING

25. OIL AND GAS EXPLORATIONS
•Oil spills concentrates
where they hunt
•Reduced insulation of
fur -hypothermia
•Licking oil from fur –
Kidney failure
•Maternity dens
disturbed

26. Possible Extinction
•Possible Ice free arctic by 2015
•Approximately 25.000 to 27.000 polar bears today
•As little as 2/3 of this number by 2050

27. Thank You