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Polar bear populations are not crashing. They're declining in some areas, stable in others, and actually increasing in some areas too[1]. Polar bears are smar

by beloch 4y ago

Polar bear populations are not crashing. They're declining in some areas, stable in others, and actually increasing in some areas too[1]. Polar bears are smart, adaptable, omnivores who are lucky enough to live in areas with relatively low human populations. They'll probably weather climate change better than a lot of species. [1]https://www.arcticwwf.org/wildlife/polar-bear/polar-bear-population/ https://www.arcticwwf.org/wildlife/polar-bear/polar-bear-pop...

refurb 4y ago
- dang 4y ago
  Could you please stop posting flamewar comments? You've been doing it repeatedly, unfortunately, and we ban that sort of account. It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
  - refurb 4y ago
    Dialing it back in the future! Thanks Dang
youessayyyaway 4y ago
They are marine mammals, though. Your link says that their numbers are projected to decline by 30% by 2050. They're very good swimmers, but they still need a place to sleep. They're smart and adaptable, but they are also ambush predators with bright white fur who need a lot of calories and mostly eat seafood.
noud 4y ago
I don't understand all the negative comments. Because it seems indeed to be the case that Polar bears are not doing that bad over the last 20 years [1]. Is climate warming a problem for Polar bears? Yes, definitely! But much less than we think. By far the biggest cause of the decline of Polar bears in the last century has been hunting. Only when Polar bears were put on the endangered list, and hunting was reduced, the Population have been increasing again. [3] Now that Polar bears are not hunted anymore, the melting ice becomes their prime problem. But Polar bears have survived warming climates in the past [4]. They are smart animals that have adapted to many different climates in the past and one could, arguably, assume that they could survive this one as well [5]. I'm not saying that it doesn't matter if the North pole melts. But it seems not to be as big of a treat for Polar bears as we believe it is. [1] - https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-that-the-polar-bear-population-is-declining/ https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-that-the-polar-bear-popula... [2] - https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Annual-estimates-of-the-number-of-Chukchi-Sea-polar-bears-that-used-the-study-area-during_fig2_328940601 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Annual-estimates-of-the-... [3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear#Hunting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear#Hunting [4] - https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528754-600-hardy-polar-bears-have-survived-past-global-warming/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528754-600-hardy-po... [5] - https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1210506109 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1210506109

by beloch 4y ago

refurb 4y ago

dang 4y ago
Could you please stop posting flamewar comments? You've been doing it repeatedly, unfortunately, and we ban that sort of account. It's not what this site is for, and it destroys what it is for. If you wouldn't mind reviewing https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html and taking the intended spirit of the site more to heart, we'd be grateful.
- refurb 4y ago
  Dialing it back in the future! Thanks Dang

youessayyyaway 4y ago

They are marine mammals, though. Your link says that their numbers are projected to decline by 30% by 2050. They're very good swimmers, but they still need a place to sleep. They're smart and adaptable, but they are also ambush predators with bright white fur who need a lot of calories and mostly eat seafood.

noud 4y ago

I don't understand all the negative comments. Because it seems indeed to be the case that Polar bears are not doing that bad over the last 20 years [1]. Is climate warming a problem for Polar bears? Yes, definitely! But much less than we think. By far the biggest cause of the decline of Polar bears in the last century has been hunting. Only when Polar bears were put on the endangered list, and hunting was reduced, the Population have been increasing again. [3] Now that Polar bears are not hunted anymore, the melting ice becomes their prime problem. But Polar bears have survived warming climates in the past [4]. They are smart animals that have adapted to many different climates in the past and one could, arguably, assume that they could survive this one as well [5]. I'm not saying that it doesn't matter if the North pole melts. But it seems not to be as big of a treat for Polar bears as we believe it is. [1] - https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-that-the-polar-bear-population-is-declining/ https://fee.org/articles/the-myth-that-the-polar-bear-popula... [2] - https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Annual-estimates-of-the-number-of-Chukchi-Sea-polar-bears-that-used-the-study-area-during_fig2_328940601 https://www.researchgate.net/figure/Annual-estimates-of-the-... [3] - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear#Hunting https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear#Hunting [4] - https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528754-600-hardy-polar-bears-have-survived-past-global-warming/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21528754-600-hardy-po... [5] - https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1210506109 https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1210506109