Associated Press - Polar bears, hippos and freshwater fish are among more than 16,000 species of animal, bird, fish and plant threatened with global extinction, the World Conservation Union said Tuesday. According to the Swiss-based conservation group, known by its acronym IUCN, the number of species classified as in serious danger of extinction rose from about 15,500 in its previous "Red List" report, published in 2004. These include one in three amphibians, a quarter of the world's coniferous trees and mammals and one in eight birds, according to a preview of the 2006 Red List. The full report is published later this week. "Biodiversity loss is increasing, not slowing down," said IUCN Director General Achim Steiner. "The implications of this trend for the productivity and resilience of ecosystems and the lives and livelihoods of billions of people who depend on them are far-reaching."  The Red List classifies about 40,000 different species according to their risk of extinction and provides a searchable online database of the results. The total number of species on the planet is unknown, with 15 million being the most widely accepted estimate. Up to 1.8 million are known today.  People are the main reason for most species' decline, mainly through habitat destruction, according to IUCN. Polar bears are threatened by global warming and melting ice caps, because they are conditioned for the icy environment and depend on Arctic ice floes for hunting seas. They are predicted to suffer a 30 percent population decline in the next 45 years.  The hippopotamus population in war-ravaged Congo, meanwhile, has plummeted by 95 percent, mainly due to unregulated hunting for meat and ivory in their teeth. "Regional conflicts and political instability in some African countries have created hardship for many of the region's inhabitants and the impact on wildlife has been equally devastating," said IUCN Chief Scientist Jeffrey McNeely.  Freshwater fish have suffered some of the most dramatic population declines because of human activities that damage their habitat, like forest clearance, pollution and water extraction. Around the Mediterranean, more than half of the 252 endemic species are threatened with extinction. Seven species, including two relatives of carp, are already extinct, IUCN said.  The conservation union warned that the decline in wetlands and freshwater ecosystems will also damage supplies for humans of food, clean drinking water and sanitation.  Other species threatened with extinction include desert gazelles, ocean sharks and Mediterranean flowers, IUCN said.  Some 784 are listed as extinct - only a small increase from 2004 - while 65 are found only in captivity. But the situation looks a little brighter for some others, such as the white-tailed eagle and Indian vultures.  "Reversing this trend is possible, as numerous conservation success stories have proven," Steiner said. "Biodiversity cannot be saved by environmentalists alone - it must become the responsibility of everyone with the power and resources to act.'

 
'

 

Polar bear-grizzly bear hybrid photo
CBC NEWS- Scientists with the territory's Department of Environment and Natural Resources compared the animal's genetic makeup with samples taken from polar bears in the area and with DNA previously collected from grizzly bears along the coast to the south. They concluded that the bear shot by Jim Martell was indeed a rare hybrid of the two types of bear. Officials say it could be the first recorded polar-grizzly bear hybrid found in the wild.  Martell, a sport hunter from the United States, was on a guided hunt when he shot the bear on April 16 near Nelson Head on southern Banks Island.  Since it looked like a polar bear but had strange colouration, the hide was turned over to the Environment and Natural Resources department for testing. It was considered nearly impossible for the two species to mate, since polar bears mate on the ice, while grizzlies mate on land.  'Some of the elders here in town say in the past there's been grizzly sightings but usually they fight.'-Hunting guide Roger Kuptana "It's a total surprise," said Roger Kuptana, Martell's guide.  He said the relationship between polar and grizzly bears is usually more adversarial. "Some of the elders here in town say in the past there's been grizzly sightings but usually they fight."  Additional analyses are underway to determine whether the mother was a grizzly bear or a polar bear and to determine the age of the bear.  Martell had a tag that allowed him to hunt polar bears, but conservation officers were threatening to charge him with shooting a grizzly. It could have landed him 12 months in jail.  Martel wasn't very happy, having spent $50,000 on his trip. He was also worried he wouldn't be able to take the hide back home with him to Idaho. ENR will return the hide to Martell, who is already back in the territory ╄ on a grizzly hunt.

BEAR BIOLOGY/CONSERVATION NEWS

 

 


 

Archived Bear News- Orlando Sentinel

 

 

 

 

 

http://www.beartrails.co.uk/

 

 

 

 

 

Polar Bears Being Considered for U.S. Endangered List

 

 

 

 NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC NEWS (May 11, 2006)- DNA analysis has confirmed that a bear shot in the Canadian Arctic last month is a half-polar bear, half-grizzly hybrid. While the two bear species have interbred in zoos, this is the first evidence of a wild polar bear-grizzly offspring.  Jim Martell (pictured at left), a 65-year-old hunter from Idaho, shot the bear April 16 on the southern tip of Banks Island (see Northwest Territories map), the CanWest News Service reports.  Wildlife officials seized the bear after noticing its white fur was interspersed with brown patches. It also had long claws, a concave facial profile, and a humped back, which are characteristic of a grizzly. Now the genetic tests have confirmed that the hybrid's father was a grizzly and its mother was a polar bear. "I don't think anyone expected it to actually happen in the wild," said Ian Stirling, a polar bear expert with the Canadian Wildlife Service in Edmonton. Polar bears and grizzlies require an extended mating ritual to reproduce, Stirling said. Both live by themselves in large, open habitats. To prevent wasting their eggs, females ovulate only after spending several days with a male, Stirling explained. "Then they mate several times over several days." In other words, the mating between the polar bear and grizzly was more than a chance encounter. "That's what makes it quite interesting," he added. Stirling says the hybrid has no official name, though locals have taken to calling it a "pizzly" and a "grolar bear."

 

 

Associated Press

 

polar bear

brown bear