Polar Bear Facts

Tag: Polar Bear Status

  • How Long Do Polar Bears Live? | Polar Bear Lifespan

    The wild polar bear (Ursus maritimus) lives up to 20 years but the maximum lifespan rarely goes beyond 25 years. In this article we’re going to study what is the life expectancy of a polar bear. One of the wild specimens died at 32 years age which is so far the oldest on record. In captivity a female polar bear lived as long as 43 years. She died in 1991. Unluckily scientists have not been able to understand the real causes of polar bear’s mortality in the arctic habitat. This is because the carcasses of dead bears are hard to find in the frosty habitat. Let’s see how old do polar bears live in the arctic as well as in captivity.

    How Long Do Polar Bears Live?

    Biologists have reason to believe that polar bears have low lifespans in the wild habitat mainly because they find it hard to hunt seals as they eventually grow older. Besides, starving with age is a tough ask. On an average arctic polar bears live for 18 – 20 years. Only a handful number of bears are perhaps lucky enough to celebrate their silver jubilee.

    Polar bear Lifespan in Captivity

    Captive bears live longer lives because they are fed properly and on timely basis and they are given ideal environment. They do not hunt animals for they don’t need to. All these contribute to the longer lifespan of polar bears in captivity.

    A mother polar bear guards her cub in the first two years. How long do polar bears live? Photo by FloridaStock/Shutterstock

    How Old can Polar Bears Live up to?

    Under the ideal conditions such as those provided in captivity polar bears live around 32 – 35 years with one captive specimen reaching 43 years age. However in the arctic they can hardly survive beyond 25 years due to difficulty in hunting at an old age. Males are thought to have lesser annual survival rate as compared to females within wild populations. This is probably because male polar bears get into conflict on females and their fight often leads to fatal injuries.

    Probable Causes of Polar Bears’ Deaths in the Wild

    Over time polar bears begin to lose strength and possibly desire to hunt seals. They will now rely on easy meal such as those that can be found without hunting i.e. carcasses. However in the frigid arctic habitat the carcasses are hard (even harder) to find. Many adult polar bears are thought to survive on dead carcasses and sometimes bird (geese) eggs. These food sources do not provide sufficient nutrition value to polar bears since they rely almost exclusively on fats. Thus the scarcity of food and a lack of will power in polar bears become the significant causes of their deaths.

    Fighting and Cannibalism

    Main Article: Polar Bear Cannibalism

    Polar bears do not seem to have any natural predator in the arctic. However adult bears do sometimes fight each other just to win over a female during breeding season. The polar bear’s fight leads to serious bruises which are likely the causes of her death. The injured bear however powerful she may be is less likely to hunt. Besides fighting, adult polar bears also kill cubs to mostly to bring females into estrus and rarely to eat them as a potential food source. The interspecific conflicts also appear to become greater when the food is scarce. All these causes lead to the shorter lifespans of a polar bear in the wild habitat.

    How Long Do Polar Bears Live? – Polar Bear Lifespan – Video

  • Are Polar Bears Endangered? | Why are Polar Bears Endangered?

    No, polar bears are not endangered they are listed as Vulnerable species by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature Red List. However it is more likely than not to occur that white bears fall into the category of endangerment. Scientists claim that polar bears face high risk of endangerment in the next 20 years or so possibly due to rapid climate change, human hunting, and scarcity of food. On the contrary recent findings show that the overall global population of polar bears has been stable. It clearly suggests the divided opinion of scientists on polar bear status.

    Are Polar Bears Endangered?

    Endangered species are those species that are likely to become extinct in the next few decades if the appropriate conservation efforts are not made. The status is defined by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Endangered species are listed on the Red List of IUCN.

    Why are Polar Bears not Endangered?

    Studies show that there is a slightest chance of polar bears getting extinct—not at least in the next 20 years. Thus they are not endangered. While many factors such as excessive hunting, harvesting, and climate change contribute towards polar bears future endangerment still the overall population is more than 20,000. The maximum population size is 25,000 which can qualify polar bears as vulnerable species but certainly not endangered animals.

    Why are Polar Bears going to be Endangered in 2030?

    Factors such as these are likely to change the polar bear’s conservation status in near future. We can probably imagine that polar bear may face rapid decline in her population given the climate continues to change; the habitat continues to be threatened, and the indigenous people continue to hunt polar bears.

    Read More: Are Polar Bears going Extinct?

    Climate Change/Global Warming

    The overall warming of the earth’s surface temperature has caused the Arctic sea ice to melt. As it turns out summers are longer than winter and bears are forced to stay on land more than ever. Unlike before, polar bears must learn to hunt land mammals which might be a tough ask since polar bears are marine mammals. They are adept to spend so much time in water; playing and hunting seals. Currently the survival on land is turning into a major challenge. If the global warming goes on with time then it can pose serious threats to the polar bear’s existence.

    Indigenous People Hunting

    The native people in Canada and Greenland are allowed to hunt polar bears because their living depends on it. They eat meat and they sell polar bear’s skin and coat in the village market. However villagers are not permitted to deal commercially outside the village. The legal hunting by the locals is going to hit the polar bears’ population in the years to come.

    Are Polar Bears Endangered? – Video