Friday, 26 February 2021, 4:29 pmPress Release: Polar Bears International
©
Dmytro Cherkasov / Polar Bears
International
For the 16th
consecutive year, Polar
Bears International (PBI), the only nonprofit
organization dedicated solely to wild polar bears and their
Arctic sea ice home, will host International Polar Bear Day
to celebrate this special time of year when mother polar
bears and their cubs are snug in their dens across the
Arctic and draw attention to the threats they face. Sea ice
loss from climate change is the single biggest threat to
polar bears. While pushing business and civic leaders to
make a swift transition to renewable energy, it is also
critically important to protect denning moms and cubs,
preserving healthy polar bear populations for generations to
come. On February 27th, the group asks people to join them
in raising awareness and take action to protect moms and
cubs now and into the future. This years programs include
a donation drive to protect moms and cubs, live scientist
chats, educational programming, a Northern
Lights Live Cam, and more. Learn
more about International Polar Bear Day
here.
All moms want to protect their cubs. A
future thats good for people is good for polar bears too.
While we work to address climate change it is critically
important that we protect denning moms and cubsensuring
healthy populations of polar bears into the future. says
Krista Wright, Executive Director of PBI. “International
Polar Bear Day brings people around the world together,
providing education, inspiration, and ways to act on behalf
of moms and cubs everywhere.
There are several ways
people can get involved with International Polar Bear Day
and protect polar bear moms and cubs, now and into the
future.
Tune-In on Polar Bear Day:
Tune in to
PBIs live events. See
the schedule of live programming during the week leading
up to Polar Bear Day– and on the day itself. These
Tundra Connections chats, and corresponding
educational materials, are geared towards learners of all
ages.
Watch
this video about the PBI den-detection project. Any
donations will help fund this innovative technology to
protect moms and cubs.
Learn
5 facts about moms and cubs.
Watch the Northern
Lights Live Cam. As moms and cubs are snuggled in their
dens, northern lights ripple overhead. The live cam streams
from Churchill, Manitoba, Canada, — one of the best places
on earth to view the aurora borealis.
Take
Action:
Donate
to protect moms and cubs. This year, PBI is launching a
campaign to fund the development of a new tool to find, and
hence protect, dens hidden under the snow. By protecting
dens, you’ll protect cubs, helping to ensure their future.
This is critically important as more industry moves into the
Arctic, threatening denning habitat and putting vulnerable
moms and cubs at risk.
Take the Protect
Moms and Cubs Challenge. Want to snowball your
commitment to moms and cubs? Start a
Protect Moms and Cubs Challenge fundraiser and
invite your friends, family, and colleagues to join you. PBI
will reward the top 3 fundraisers with prizes!
Adopt
a Polar Bear: Choose either a stuffed animal or virtual
adoption
Stay in touch.
Sign up here to receive exclusive Arctic news to share
with your community. Socialize International Polar Bear Day
with #InternationalPolarBearDay, #PolarBearDay,
#PolarBearsInternational, #ProtectMomsAndCubs and
#SaveOurSeaIce.
More About Polar Bears:
When
polar bears are born they are extremely vulnerable. The cubs
are blind, covered with light fur, and weigh roughly one
pound– making them approximately the size of a guinea pig!
The cubs and mom emerge from their dens in the spring,
during which PBI conducts long-term
den emergence studies in Alaska and Svalbard.
Most
polar
bears could be gone by 2100, if greenhouse gas emissions
continue on their current path, due to sea ice loss from
global warming. However, if we reduce emissions, most polar
bear populations will survive throughout 2100.
As
industry expands into the Arctic, moms and cubs are
particularly at risk during the denning period. The oil
industrys main den detection tool, aerial FLIR surveying,
misses
55% of dens. Watch
this video about the FLIR study and see this testimony to
Congress from Dr. Amstrup, PBI Chief Scientist, about
the risks to moms and cubs from proposed drilling in the
Arctic Refuge. PBI is investing in developing new
technology, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), to detect and
protect denning bears. Donations
on International Polar Bear Day will fund this critical
research.
The Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced the
need for swift action and policy rooted in science, says
Dr. Steven C. Amstrup, Chief Scientist at PBI. Polar Bear
Day highlights the importance of protecting our environment.
The survival of every single cub is vitally important and is
why we must protect denning sites, alongside efforts to slow
global warming. Because the polar bears habitat literally
melts as temperatures rise, the threat unabated warming
poses to polar bears is clear — if we dont reduce
emissions, we estimate that most polar bear populations
could disappear by 2100. But if we reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, we expect they will persist into the next century
— its not too late to save the polar bears and protect
future generations of bears and humans
alike.
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