How can we stop the polar bear from dying out due to global warming?

[darin]

As long as the pictures aren't retouched, there isn't anything wrong with posting a few. Pictures help to get the word out and arouse sympathy for the cause.
I wonder how we can save the bears.

You are an evil, nasty Seal hater.

[avatar4321]

I still dont see how polar bears can be stranded on Ice bergs when they can swim freaking 60 miles.

[Rahul]

That's bullshit. The arctic circle doesn't see the sun for 6 months out of the year and the temperature drops dozens of degrees. For ice to be receding during that time is a scientific impossibility. It's like saying you can heat water by moving it to the shade.

It isn't what you think it is. In any case, what does it matter when the ice recedes? The fact is, that the ice is receding. That much has been proven.

You are an evil, nasty Seal hater.

Why do you keep making this statement? The bears eat seals, and the seals eat fish. Would I be a fish hater if I wanted to save the seals from harm caused by humans? Would you like me to start a thread on how the poor baby seals are being slaughtered mercilessly off the coast of Canada, by humans?

I still dont see how polar bears can be stranded on Ice bergs when they can swim freaking 60 miles.

This has been asked, and answered before. The bears drown when they try and swim way more miles than they were intended to. Perhaps you should read the quoted articles in the thread.

[Hobbit]

It isn't what you think it is. In any case, what does it matter when the ice recedes? The fact is, that the ice is receding. That much has been proven.

The ice has been receding seasonally for billions of years. You might as well say that the sky being blue proves global warming.

[Rahul]

The ice has been receding seasonally for billions of years. You might as well say that the sky being blue proves global warming.

I disagree. The floes have only recently started to recede at this alarmingly rapid rate.



The bears need our help.

[Abbey Marie]

They are magnificent animals. If there is scientific proof that they are dying off, whatever the reason, we need to help them.

[Said1]

I'll bet seal is tasty.

It isn't.

[Said1]

Have you not been following the thread? I have said repeatedly that the bears have to swim greater distances to find ice floes that are moving further and further away from the coast due to global warming, and die during the long swim which they cannot complete.



The problem is definitely one of global warming. Question is, how can we help the bears?

Ya know, the actual problem is food stocks in the areas where the bears search for food. They don't have to search farther for good because of global warming (well maybe artic prey can't live in the now tropical climate) causing ice flows to melt, they have to search farther because there is no food. Why is the seal population doing fine? Bears eat seals don't they? If they don't, they should and puffins, they're cute but wtf, eh?

Actually, the above is just a wild guess based on my studies of aqua-culture, not global warming. Prove me wrong why don't cha.

Also, to the best of my knowledge, polar bears are not a protected species in Canada, you know what tthat means donn't you?

[Said1]

It isn't what you think it is. In any case, what does it matter when the ice recedes? The fact is, that the ice is receding. That much has been proven.



Why do you keep making this statement? The bears eat seals, and the seals eat fish. Would I be a fish hater if I wanted to save the seals from harm caused by humans? Would you like me to start a thread on how the poor baby seals are being slaughtered mercilessly off the coast of Canada, by humans?



This has been asked, and answered before. The bears drown when they try and swim way more miles than they were intended to. Perhaps you should read the quoted articles in the thread.

Do you think an over abundance of seals and over fishing MIGHT be some of the problem? Ya know, depleting fish stocks? Again, just a guess.

[Rahul]

Ya know, the actual problem is food stocks in the areas where the bears search for food.

The food stocks are getting depleted as well. I agree.

They don't have to search farther for good because of global warming (well maybe artic prey can't live in the now tropical climate) causing ice flows to melt, they have to search farther because there is no food.

They have to search further because the ice floes are retreating from the coastline at a rapid pace.

Why is the seal population doing fine? Bears eat seals don't they? If they don't, they should and puffins, they're cute but wtf, eh?

The seal population is not doing fine. Have you heard about the cruel and merciless slaughter of the baby seals by the sealers off Canada's coast? This is the second time someone has asked me about seals, and I wonder if I should start a thread on it.

Actually, the above is just a wild guess based on my studies of aqua-culture, not global warming. Prove me wrong why don't cha.

I have posted dozens of sources already.

Do you think an over abundance of seals and over fishing MIGHT be some of the problem? Ya know, depleting fish stocks? Again, just a guess.

There isn't an overabundance of seals. OK. Here you go.

http://www.harpseals.org/hunt/press/...ondecline.html

If sealers continue to harvest at the same rates over the next few years, it could spell trouble for the herd population, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans' leading marine mammal scientist.



Dr. Garry Stenson said the combination of high mortality and low reproduction rates has caused the seal population to drop by almost half a million - from 5.8 million to 5.4 million over the last several years.

Those numbers will continue to decline, he said, if the catches remain the same, forcing it to a point where it could be an environmental concern in the very near future.

"It means if we continue to take (the current quota of) 325,000 seals (each year), what we're predicting is that we've got two, maybe three, years before it becomes a conservation concern," he said.

Decline expected

Considering the high catches, the decline was expected. He said back in 2003, scientists estimated sealers could take about 250,000 seals a year.

"Well, we've been taking out 325,000 up to 355,000, but that was OK because we said we could do that for a few years on the understanding we would have a few good years, but then we would have to cut back," said Stenson, whose current research focuses on seals population dynamics. "And that's where we are now - we're going to have to start cutting back.

While Stenson is an internationally recognized expert on seal populations, he has no official say on where seal quotas are set. However, the information he provides influences government's decision.

Fisheries and Oceans Minister Loyola Hearn is considering reducing the quotas next year. He expects to make his final decision within the next week or so after he meets with DFO management.

"Now the question becomes where do we want to be in the future?" Hearn said.

Poor ice conditions have had a big impact on the mortality rate, Stenson said. It has resulted in the deaths of many pups, which have drowned..

"You start getting to the point where there's fewer young coming in. It's kind of like our rural communities in Newfoundland - the young just aren't there," said Stenson, a biology professor at Memorial University and member of the committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada marine mammal subcommittee.

"And when it really has an impact is when those young should be there to breed, which happens (in seals), on average, at around five years of age."

Other causes of mortality include struck and loss - in which sealers shoot and kill the animal but are unable to retrieve it - and fishing gear catches, in which young harp seals are caught in fishermen's gear while they catching lump fish in the spring.

Stenson said for the commercial hunt, scientists estimate a between two and five per cent loss due to struck and loss. However, he said scientists apply a 50 per cent loss in the Arctic, where data is collected and recorded in varying ways. Seals in the Arctic and Greenland, he said, are also often shot in open waters. When compiling a population model, the seals in the Arctic and Greenland are included since they are from the same population, which is migratory.

He said seal catches in fishing gear peaked in the mid-1990s, when up to 40,000 were estimated to have been caught. However, in this era, he said it's lower, partly due to the fewer nets out and the shorter fishing season.

Stenson said scientists will continue to work with sealers to monitor reproductive rates.

While official population surveys are completed every four or five years, Stenson said counts based on the population model is used yearly, based on the reproductive and catch data. The last official survey was done in 2004, with the next in 2009.

He noted estimating populations is difficult and scientists often make assumptions based on the data they can acquire.

In the end, Stenson said the goal is to try and prevent disasters, like what happened in the cod fishery.

"That's exactly what we're trying to avoid," he said. "Now, we are nowhere near where we were with cod. We still have a very healthy (seal) population.

"We just want to make sure we keep it that way."

[Nuc]

It is a well known fact, to most of us at least that global warming is causing the ice floes to melt off the Arctic, and polar bears are drowning due to having to swim far greater distances than before in search of food, and not being able to return to dry land.



There are some that steadfastly deny the occurence of global warming despite the mountains of evidence proving it, but the more rational amongst us acknowledge that it is indeed a problem.

How do we save the bears?

Your thoughts and comments on this important issue would be much appreciated.

Rahul

My thoughts on this issue are, "Who gives a fuck?".

Fact: Polar bears don't pay taxes.
Fact: Polar bears don't go to church
Fact: Polar bears do not buy American made SUV's
Fact: Polar bears never picket abortion clinics
Fact: Polar bears do not watch nor are they contestants on "American Idol"
Opinion: "Global Warming" is a bad thing. Yeah right!!!!!!

Therefore you could almost say they are not human.

Even if they are human they are of indeterminate nationality. They might be Americans but they could just as easily be Canadians or even Siberians.

So why should we care if they go extinct? You liberal commies and your whiny anthropomorphizing. Pathetic.

[Said1]

The food stocks are getting depleted as well. I agree.



They have to search further because the ice floes are retreating from the coastline at a rapid pace.

You're missing the point. Yes, they very often fish off the ice, however, that is NOT their only method of hunting. For example, males do not forage in the spring, due to their preoccupation with finding a mate. If there are NO local food sources, or they are drasticlly depleted increasing competition between other coast dwelling animales, they will die, or become undernourished. This in turn limits their physical abilities in the summer when they do go foraging, the same time ice naturally retreats.

The seal population is not doing fine. Have you heard about the cruel and merciless slaughter of the baby seals by the sealers off Canada's coast? This is the second time someone has asked me about seals, and I wonder if I should start a thread on it.

Myth #5: The hunt is unsustainable and is endangering the harp seal population.

Reality: Since the 1960s, environmental groups have been saying the seal hunt is unsustainable. In fact, the harp seal population is healthy and abundant. A 2004 survey estimated the Northwest Atlantic harp seal population at approximately 5.8 million animals, nearly triple what it was in the 1970s.

DFO sets quotas at levels that ensure the health and abundance of seal herds. In no way are seals - and harp seals in particular – an “endangered species”.
http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/seal-phoque/myth_e.htm
I have posted dozens of sources already.

Yes I have heard of the seal hunt, probably more humane than throwing a live lobster in pot of boiling water or a pig living in a 12ftx12ft pen waiting to be slautered. Ever see a lion thrash and tear at it's prey? now that's not nice, someone should protest the lions,.

There isn't an overabundance of seals. OK. Here you go.

There's tons. You're source is an anti hunt group. I did not see any legitimate data linked in that article and I think the same can be said about some of your other sources. Did sea world quote any of their sources or link studies?

[Nukeman]

You posted probably the best link so far. No leaning to one side or the other just facts about the hunt.

[Rahul]

My thoughts on this issue are, "Who gives a fuck?".

Fact: Polar bears don't pay taxes.
Fact: Polar bears don't go to church
Fact: Polar bears do not buy American made SUV's
Fact: Polar bears never picket abortion clinics
Fact: Polar bears do not watch nor are they contestants on "American Idol"
Opinion: "Global Warming" is a bad thing. Yeah right!!!!!!

Therefore you could almost say they are not human.

Even if they are human they are of indeterminate nationality. They might be Americans but they could just as easily be Canadians or even Siberians.

So why should we care if they go extinct? You liberal commies and your whiny anthropomorphizing. Pathetic.

So, are you saying that the bears should not be saved because they are not human?

[Rahul]

You're missing the point. Yes, they very often fish off the ice, however, that is NOT their only method of hunting.

It isn't, however, the other source is human garbage and in or around human settlements which is not desirable either.

For example, males do not forage in the spring, due to their preoccupation with finding a mate. If there are NO local food sources, or they are drasticlly depleted increasing competition between other coast dwelling animales, they will die, or become undernourished.

Exactly. They are dying out, and also underweight, which is my whole point. Thank for reinforcing my point.

Yes I have heard of the seal hunt, probably more humane than throwing a live lobster in pot of boiling water or a pig living in a 12ftx12ft pen waiting to be slautered.

Am I to believe you or my own two eyes?

Ever see a lion thrash and tear at it's prey? now that's not nice, someone should protest the lions,.

The lions have no other option other than to tear at it's prey, but the sealers are not required to hunt seals. They could go fishing or learn another skill.

In addition to saving polar bears, we should boycott Canadian seafood as it would help the seals and in turn the bears.

http://www.harpseals.org/helpstop/boycott.html




Why will this boycott strategy be successful?

Here are a few powerful reasons why a targeted boycott on Canadian seafood can be effective!

* MOST sealers are fishermen. Seal products are illegal in the U.S, but these fishermen sell their seafood here. This is our direct response.

* Many seafood companies lobby for the seal kill. One of them owns one of 2 seal processing companies. Others think they’ll catch more cod if they kill off the seals. And those companies that don’t actively lobby for the kill either quietly support the massacres or are too timid to challenge government policies. This boycott will encourage all to demand an end to the killing.

* Americans purchase about 70% of the seafood exports from Canada. That gives us consumer power! Canadian seafood exports to the U.S. add up to over CAN$3 billion (compared to about CAN$16 million in income from seal pelts). Just making a dent in the sales of Canadian seafood here in the U.S. will pressure the Canadian seafood industry to demand an end to the seal kill.

Add to this the fact that the Canadian Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has said that they will not stop the seal killing until the fishery corporations demand it! That means those few fish companies that support these massacres will have to reverse their position and/ or all the others will have to speak out against the seal killing. The Canadian seafood boycott will encourage both these actions.