Some polar bears may have to be placed in temporary holding compounds until it is cold enough for them to go back on to the sea ice, say scientists. Photograph: Paul Souders/Corbis
This story in the Guardian‘s Environment section, one of the longest stories that section has ever run, is worth the time to read. It raises a kind of semi-doomsday scenario, and in the process heightens sensitivity to this particular magnificent charismatic megafauna. Decades back, WWF leveraged the Panda into a strong iconic hot-button for the need of donations to conservation NGOs. This article got us thinking whether the polar bear is now the hot button icon for increasing the sense of urgency needed to do something about climate change:
The day may soon come when some of the 19 polar bear populations in Canada, Alaska, Greenland, Norway, and Russia will have to be fed by humans in order to keep them alive during an extended ice-free season or prevent them from roaming into northern communities. Some bears may have to be placed in temporary holding compounds until it is cold enough for them to go back onto the sea ice. In worst-case scenarios, polar bears from southern regions may have to be relocated to more northerly climes that have sufficient sea ice cover. Continue reading
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