From CNS News:
From that article:
“The PBSG confirmed its earlier conclusion that unabated global warming will ultimately threaten polar bears everywhere,” it said.
At the same time, the report cited an American scientist who told the group that a research team had used a collar to track a polar bear that swam for more than 650 kilometers across the sea. “He described the extensive spatial data recovered from one particular collar that showed the bear swimming more than 650 km in the Beaufort Sea,” said the report.
Despite its concern that climate change could threaten the polar bear, the group also said it supported the right of human beings to “harvest” the bears.
Full story here
Ah, but what about the endangered Grolar Bears!? 😉
There would be a lot more polar bears if PlanetStupid had not made this ad:
There’s a global polar bear population? Who knew? I’d better keep my magnum handy.
Counting Polar Bears is problematic. They range over a huge area and the counters, using aircraft, must cope with some of the worst flying conditions imaginable. The accuracy of the count has obvious problems.
A few years ago I read an article about surveys done in the Davis Strait region.
It seems that a survey done about 1986 had found 850+ bears.
Ten years later another survey found 2000+ bears.
So the Davis Strait polar bear population more then doubled in a decade, didn’t it?
Well, maybe.
It seems the first count was done in April when most of the bears were on the ice (white on white).
The second count was done later in the year when most of the bears were on the land (white on brown).
Myrrh says:
May 20, 2011 at 4:49 pm
Good grief! I’ve been browsing through pages on ice age changes in Britain and Europe and came across this one on the LIA which has an astonishing disclaimer at the beginning – http://www2.sunysuffolk.edu/mandias/lia/little_ice_age.html
“In no way can my summary of the research regarding the impact of regional climate change on the Viking civilization and Europe during the Little Ice Age be used to “prove” the current global warming is due to a natural cycle.”
————————————–
I think we’re at the point now where anyone with half a brain reading that is going to read it as “I’m an a$$-kissing academic toady, but my summary of the impact of regional climate change on the Viking civilization and Europe during the Little Ice Age CAN be used to “support the null hypothesis” that the current global warming is due to a natural cycle.”
James Sexton says:
May 20, 2011 at 6:32 pm
“Somehow, it gets lost that polar bears are essentially genetically the same as grizzlies.”
Not quite. They are in the same genetic Clade as the ‘Alaska brown bears’ of the ABC Islands (Admirality, Baranoff (sp?), Chiganoff (sps?) – sorry, too busy to look up the spelling) which are different than other A Brown Bears and grizzly bears.
But all Ursus arctos (like all the Eurasian brown bears too). In reality if they played by the genetic rules polar bears wouldn’t be a seperate species at all, but they don’t. And White Brown Bears is a tad confusing.
The most interesting recent discovery in the genetics of the grizzly is that the ones in the contiguous US and adjacent southern Canada are in a distinct clade and that, along with ONE rather questionable fossil, suggests that a founder population got through the ice free corridor earlier than thought.
That said, there’s been some very funny business in the DNA department of the Conservation Biology crisis industry. Some actual fraud – google ‘lynxgate.’ And there are some IMPOSSIBLE DNA identification done in that most recent grizzly work which conveniently supports some EPA lies and one whole project based on a Big Lie.
Unfortunately, not easy to double check what these DNA ‘experts’ are up to.
This is a timely story. Wednesday night my wife, a relative fence-sitter in the AGW debate, asked me if I knew what a pizzly was. I did not so she told me about a National Geographic blurb story in the Now section of the June 2011 issue (we have both read it since we were children). She said something along the lines: “Grizzlies and polar bears have started interbreeding in the Canadian Arctic. They call them pizzlies. They think it’s due to climate change.”
I was a bit grizzled in my response, because I had known the news WUWT reports here for a long time now: “There are over 20,000 polar bears. They’re doing fine.”
Her answer: “Yeah but what about there being less sea ice.”
I had just come home from work and was a bit flippant I suppose: “You can go to Cryosphere Today and check out the ice for yourself.”
That night I read the blurb she mentioned and it didn’t sit too well, so when I got home from work Thursday I spun some yarn for her: “Hey it looks like efforts to protect the blue whale are paying off. Since we started protecting them in the 60s or 70s their numbers have increased from like 5,000 to about 25,000.”
Her: “Wow that’s great.”
Me: “I know, that’s like a 400% increase.”
Her: “Awesome.”
Me: “OK, sorry, I’m lying. That’s the story of the polar bear.”
Her: “Jerk.”
Yes, jerk, but good guy really with a caring heart for human and beast. I just like to have fun and make my points, sometimes passionately so. I did feel guilty about misleading her on blue whales and let her know that conservation has paid off for them as well. Their grand totals don’t appear to be up there just yet (still less than 1% of estimated historical population – call it 5% to account for NGO accounting), but to get to something like 10,000 from under 500 in under 40 years is good stuff. Similar deal for polar bears of course.
Here’s that NatGeo blurb by Jeremy Berlin:
“Hybrid Bears on the Move”
In the past five years two odd-looking bears, with white fur and brown patches, have been killed by hunters in the Canadian Arctic. DNA tests confirmed it: Polar and grizzly bears, after starting to diverge 200,000 years ago, are interbreeding in the wild. Climate change seems to be driving their reunion. But to what end?
Evolutionary biologist Brendan Kelly says that as natural barriers like sea ice vanish, 22 Arctic species are at risk of rapid hybridization. That could be bad news for polar bears, which rely on specialized adaptations to survive. Kelly says if “pizzlies” in the wild lack some of those vital Arctic traits—as zoo-born hybrids seem to—interbreeding could further imperil an already threatened species.”
It’s worse than we thought. More in depth story here. Heard of phocine distemper?
http://www.vancouversun.com/story_print.html?id=4765838&sponsor=
Yes, I’m cherry-picking, but this particular passage made me laugh:
“…a massive die-off somewhere is not out of the question.”
Enjoy your weekend.
Polar bears are holding their own, not the Florida manatee. Cold deaths have gone way up.
http://www.myfwc.com/research/manatee/rescue-mortality-response/mortality-statistics/
http://www.myfwc.com/news/news-releases/2011/january/05/11_x_manateedeaths2010/
Just one of the latest articles, there have been many more since 2008 documenting the doubling from the ten year average and then doubling the last five year average in 2010. Now they’re getting kind of quieter about it. Looks to me like they could have fed a lot of polar bears with the carcasses.
The Polar Bear Specialists Group report may be premature. What about all of the soon-to-be raptured polar bears? Think about it. Polar bears don’t blaspheme, and don’t worship false gods. Young polar bears are always respectful of their mothers. On top of that, they don’t drink alcohol, and don’t gamble!
These reseach groups seem to forget previous warmer periods. Did the polar bear die out then? No they seem able to adapt to changing climate. Oh the wonders of nature!
Scientists have found out that the polar bear population will fall off a cliff RSN; due to a tipping point. They modeled it.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8700000/8700472.stm
Just you wait.
`Polar bears overbreeding! Global warming the culprit!`
Polar bears are, essentially, the only animal population that has stayed virtually the same fixed amount of individuals for some 30 years. It’s like the testament to the crazed climate communist hippie parade and the other green looneys that was BSing from the get go for political reasons.
WWFers might be the worst kinds of cheatards when it comes to polar bears, or any other kind of furry animal. Most of the money people donate after watching a specific ad to save whom furry ever, that money go to paying the bills for the ads and the cost for running the project. If they didn’t run the ad campaign the polar bears (read owner of helicopter and pilot and big oil for fuel) would get more but WWF wouldn’t be able to employ as many “kind” people.
Polar bear count is about as accurate, and correct as my count of ants in my back yard. In 1979 I had at least 100 ants in my back yard, in 2009 there was still 100 ants in my back yard, and I’m pretty sure that when I start counting ants this year, 2011, there’ll be at least 100 ants in my back yard. Maybe I should run an ad campaign on saving the ants in my back yard for they “might” declined in the near future.
Meanwhile, your tax dollars at work.
I’d reckon that Polar Bears may actually be increasing in population (and growing increasingly dangerous) now that they are becoming addicted to human generated refuse.
In this, they are similar to other types of bears (not to mention other large dangerous carnivorous and omnivorous game).
Here is another proof that Global Warming and observed smog on Earth is not man made. It is very scientific like the post from Anthony Watts
http://www.republicanjesus.org/2011/02/30000-anti-smog-scientists-can%E2%80%99t-be-wrong/
Hey Dave like you mate I totally agree that the issue around PB’s is totally misunderstood. And you’re right the only real danger PB’s face is from over-zealous researchers and men with guns. I reckon the only justification for taking the life of a PB is to protect your own life or that of another human being.
Here in New Zealand http://www.tourismnz.co.nz all 4 million of us humans are under the threat of economic extinction so I reckon I’m justified in suggesting that we start harvesting and processing PB’s for sale on the international rug market. We can get about 40K for a ten and a half footer http://www.bearskinrugs.com which is pretty good but apparently there are only 20,000 of these big beauties left in the world.
That works out at about $800 million so that’s not going to keep the country running for long. You might not know but we have some really choice national parks here http://www.newzealand.com/travel/destinations/national-parks/national-parks-home.cfm so if we fence them off and turn them into breeding grounds there’s no limit to how much we could make.
So I reckon we grab about 40% of the PB’s and start breeding them here. My mate reckons once they get to 10.5 feet long we can organize a SAPB50W (Shoot a Polar Bear for $50 Weekend). I’ve told him I’m worried about bullet wounds to the head which would make the rug worthless but he reckons we can shoot them from behind. Bullets are only about $1.00 each http://www.guns.co.nz so even if it takes 5 bullets we’re still onto a winner.
Keep up the good work against the PB haters.
Polarpower303