News of the North

Three environmental groups are suing the US federal government to place the polar bear under the protection of the threatened species list, as their habitat melts from under them. As the Arctic ice thaws, polar bears are being forced into longer and longer swims to find food. While polar bears are capable of swimming distances of about 15 miles without difficulty, the increasing distance between ice floes has meant bears must swim up to 60 miles across the open sea to find seals living at the edges of the ice pack. Four bears were found drowned within a single month this past autumn, most likely having succumbed to exhaustion.

By listing the polar bear under the United States Endangered Species Act, the law requires that the United States government not take actions that “jeopardize the continued existence” of the species.

More information about the bears' plight and the lawsuit is available at the Environmental News Network. You can learn more about polar bears and their habitat at the World Wildlife Federation's Polar Bear Tracker.