Polar bear under contract with different German zoo
BBC Dec 3, 08 11:50 AM CST
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The world's favorite polar bear may be bidding auf wiedersehen to the Berlin Zoo. Cuddly tourist attraction Knut actually belongs to the north German zoo his father came from, and a move is expected in the first half of 2009. "We entered into a contract which stated that the first surviving cub is owned by Neumuenster Zoo," said the Berlin Zoo's director. But Berlin officials want to keep Knut—and the extra $6.3 million he pulled in last year, the BBC reports.
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Japan park figures out why polar bears don't have much chemistry
CNN Nov 26, 08 1:36 PM CST
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A Japanese zoo is learning it might want to check the plumbing more closely the next time it acquires a polar bear cub, CNN reports. Tsuyoshi was brought to the Kushiro Zoo to breed with 11-year-old Kurumi. But when the cub reached reproductive age, he turned out to be she, which explained why Tsuyoshi wasn't making a move on “his” older lady.
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Scientists, locals clash over quotas in Canada's frozen north
Economist Nov 21, 08 4:43 PM CST
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One man’s endangered species is another’s livelihood in the Arctic north, where polar bear hunting is this season’s hot-button issue, the Economist reports. Scientists set a sustainable annual quota to protect dwindling species near the Canada-Greenland border, but some Inuit locals—who distrust outsiders and use the bears for blankets, mukluks and stews—refuse to comply.
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'Things were hanging on for a little bit too long' for Milwaukee Zoo star Zero
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Oct 30, 08 12:10 PM CDT
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Fed-up zookeepers took drastic action today to rescue Zero the polar bear from the moat he’s been trapped in since Oct. 13, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel reports. Milwaukee County Zoo officials used tranquilizer darts to subdue the 1,100-pound beast, then had a crane lift him to safety. “Things were hanging on for a little bit too long,” a spokesman explained.
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Zero has been stuck in Milwaukee park's moat for 2 weeks
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Oct 27, 08 4:01 PM CDT
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Staff members at the Milwaukee County Zoo are taking new action to rescue a polar bear named Zero who has been stuck in the moat that surrounds his habitat for 2 weeks, the Journal Sentinel reports. Using a crane, handlers lowered a big plastic crate filled with Zero’s favorite treats—apples with peanut butter and herring—to the bottom of the moat.
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Greenland ice shelf loses 24 cubic miles to melting
ABC News Oct 16, 08 6:44 PM CDT
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The Arctic had its warmest year on record in 2007, and a new government report underscores the unsettling consequences for ice sheets and wildlife, ABC News reports. The report reiterates many of the familiar scenarios of late about the region—sea ice is vanishing at a record pace and permafrost is thawing, and these in turn set off a sort of climate domino effect that spells bad news for polar bears, walruses, and other creatures.
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VP pick has denied warming is man-made, focused on adapting, not reversing
Washington Post Sep 23, 08 10:09 AM CDT
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Sarah Palin disagrees with both John McCain and scientific consensus on the causes of global warming, acknowledging that while Alaska has warmed by 4 degrees during the past 50 years, she’s not among those who “attribute it to being man-made.” McCain, meanwhile, has made a signature issue of capping carbon emissions in an effort to reverse climate change, the Washington Post reports.
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Bear pond algae stains fur
Associated Press Sep 8, 08 6:38 AM CDT
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Polar bears at a Japanese zoo are turning green, AP reports. Visitors to Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Gardens in Nagoya are stunned by big green patches on the bears' fur, caused by algae. The algae was picked up by swimming in the bear pond and is now growing deep within the animals' fur.
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Bone is found in the stomach of a Greenland shark
Reuters Aug 12, 08 6:42 PM CDT
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As if polar bears in the North Pole didn't have enough to worry about these days: Scientists have found the bone of a young bear in the stomach of a Greenland shark, Reuters reports. The unprecedented discovery prompts a "million dollar question," says one researcher: Do the bears now have to worry about sharks as predators? It seems improbable that the sluggish shark could catch and kill a bear, but the possibility raises intriguing questions.
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Feds can dodge review under rule changes
Oregonian (Portland) Aug 12, 08 3:21 AM CDT
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Critics are raising an alarm over planned White House changes to the Endangered Species Act, reports the Oregonian . The modifications would give federal agencies such as the US Forest Service more leeway to decide whether activities such as logging would harm endangered species—and such determinations would no longer be scrutinized by outside reviewers.
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It was the first to arrive in Iceland for 15 years
Guardian (UK) Jun 6, 08 8:27 AM CDT
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Police in Iceland shot dead a polar bear that swam more than 200 miles to reach the island nation, the Guardian reports. The bear, thought to be the first to reach Iceland since 1993, probably came from Greenland or a floating chunk of Arctic ice. Authorities said they had to shoot the bear for public safety, but conservationists are furious.
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They're just fine, governor insists
CBC (Canada) May 22, 08 8:51 AM CDT
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The state of Alaska will sue to challenge the federal government's decision to place polar bears on the endangered species list, reports CBC News. The Department of the Interior cited the bears' diminishing sea ice habitat as a reason for listing them as threatened, but Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin fears offshore shore oil and gas exploration will be inhibited by safeguards for the bears.
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First species to be listed as endangered by global warming
Associated Press May 14, 08 2:39 PM CDT
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After 15 months of deliberation, the Interior Department will declare polar bears “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act, officials told the AP today. The decision will reportedly cite internal scientific studies which project that melting Arctic ice could nearly wipe out the animals by 2050.
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Green groups hail decision giving feds deadline under endangered species act
Los Angeles Times Apr 29, 08 4:03 PM CDT
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A federal judge today ordered the US government to decide by May 15 if polar bears are endangered, the Los Angeles Times reports, a victory for environmental groups. The judge ruled the feds broke the law by missing the original Jan. 9 deadline; the government offered "no specific facts that would justify the existing delay, much less further delay," the judge said.
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