Tag archives for polar bear
Posted by Best and Worst? Mother’s Day is generally reserved for honoring our mothers, wives, and even grandmothers. But since we are National Geographic, why not take some time to honor animal mothers who excel at raising their young? And while we’re at it, why not point out other animal mothers who could use some coaching to do…
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Explore the wilderness with us… Within the next 10-15 years we will see the last-remaining wilderness area on earth dominated by the demands of growing human populations and undermined by accelerated climate change. When the earth’s last wild places are gone, all we will have are fenced off protected areas dependent on constant intervention to persist…
Protecting the World’s Great Bird Nursery
Posted by Wildlife Conservation Society on June 13, 2012 Originally one of four Naval Petroleum Reserves, the NPR-A encompasses 23.5 million acres, including most of western Arctic Alaska. Handed over to the Department of Interior and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) in the 1970s, the NPR-A was also recognized by Congress for its exceptional wildlife values. At that time, the Interior department created so-called Special Areas to be given “maximal protection” when balancing energy activities. Teshekpuk Lake was one such area.
St. Louis Zoo & Polar Bears International are Spearheading an Effort to Bring Arctic Polar Bears to US Facilities
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on March 3, 2012 Contributing Editor Jordan Schaul discusses some zoo-related news concerning the future of polar bears in zoos in the lower 48–a week after the world celebrated International Polar Bear Day (February 27th). Seven or so AZA-accredited zoos are poised to either replace expired polar bears or exhibit them for the first time. About 45 AZA facilities…
Plight of the Ice Bear
Posted by International League of Conservation Photographers on January 10, 2012 
“As I stood on the deck of the Professor Khromov in the Chukchi Sea and strained to see the lone swimming polar bear buffeted by waves as she disappeared into the distance, the uncertainty of her fate weighed heavily on me. But the uncertain future of her entire species, and indeed the uncertain future facing all life on Earth, weighed on me even more.” -Jenny Ross
In August 2008, I was fortunate enough to join an expedition ship on a circumnavigation of the Svalbard Archipelago in the Arctic Circle, going as far north as 81⁰N. I was on a personal mission to experience and celebrate this Arctic wilderness. Life on a grand scale in this far away place of rock and ice.…
Libya’s Revolution Could Provide Stimulus through Cheaper Oil
Posted by Mason Inman on August 25, 2011 After rebel forces swept into Libya’s capital, Tripoli, the country may be able to start to ramp oil production and exports again, which many analysts hope will bring down oil prices. Libya claims Africa’s largest proven oil reserves, and was producing about 1.6 million barrels a day when the production suddenly dropped to near zero in February. Many…
Spitsbergen Expedition: Animals Big and Small
Posted by Jørn Hurum of National Geographic Emerging Explorers in Explorers Journal on August 8, 2011 
A nearby polar bear puts the team on high-alert, as plesiosaur excavations continue, and sea urchin fossils are discovered just outside camp.
Alaska Zoo Rescues Polar Bear Cub
Posted by Jordan Carlton Schaul of University of Alaska on May 9, 2011 Just over a week ago a 17lb polar bear cub was rescued from Alaska’s North Slope with the help of ConocoPhillip’s Alpine oil field operators and the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS). Alaskan zoological facilities were prepared to take in the cub and she was eventually placed at the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage. The zoo currently cares…
Posted by 2007 had the lowest sea ice coverage in recorded history, seriously impinging upon the habitat of the polar bear. This image released by WWF is not one of the bears spotted in open water last week. Image courtesy WWF While looking for whales in Alaska’s Chukchi Sea last week, U.S. government officials noticed an unusually…
