Alaska will sue U.S. government over polar bear status
Wed, May 21, 2008
Posted in Alaska News, Top Stories
The State of Alaska announced today it’s planning to sue the federal government for listing the polar bear as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
Annie Feidt - Anchorage, AK and Joel Southern, APRN - Washington, DC
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3 Comments to “Alaska will sue U.S. government over polar bear status”
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Well, that’s stupid. The Polar Bear is endangered, what they’re doing doesn’t make sense,
As a science teacher that actually prefers facts to “feel good” rhetoric,It important to point out that polar bear numbers at the turn of the 20th century only numbered about 5,000. Today, due to proper regulation of the species that number is estimated to be in excess of 25,000.These numbers are recent estimates by Federal government agencies that have expertise in the field. The decision to place polar bears on the endangered species list is an example of shameless pandering to the Gore led “environmentally conscious” crowd.Far from being cute, cuddly , innocent animals, polar bears are vicious predators that are opportunistic and have been known to brazenly take food from other predatory animals including kodiak/grizzlies.The evidence of hybridization with other bear species shows that the polar bear in its current form is a relatively recent adaptation and serves to show that far from being endangered, this animal may very likely be able to survive and even thrive in a rapidly changing polar environment.
Doug, you quote an interesting statistic — the 5,000 polar bears in 1900. Can you provide a source for that statistic? We’d be interested to see that.
Also, can you offer a source for the 25,000 figure for the present day?
Given the state of polar science in 1900 compared to 2000 and beyond, I do wonder whether any statistics from that era can be compared to our present world, in which previously-inaccessible polar regions are now peppered with remote sensing systems and active international research programs.