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U.S. Government proposes steps to save conservation icon.
The United States has admitted what conservationists have been saying for years — that the polar bear is in danger of losing its battle with habitat loss. A new government proposal suggests that the species be listed as 'threatened' as a result of melting Arctic ice.
Under the plan, unveiled by Secretary of the Interior Dirk Kempthorne yesterday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service will spend a year evaluating the status of the polar bear. If it is listed as threatened, it will come under the protection of the US Endangered Species Act, which sets out recovery plans for endangered wildlife.
"Based on current analysis, there are concerns about the effect of receding sea ice on polar bear populations," Kempthorne said in his announcement. There are thought to be fewer than 25,000 polar bears (Ursus maritimus) remaining.
