No animal is more symbolic of the Arctic than the polar bear. In
the short space of 150,000 years, it has evolved from a grizzly
bear into the most specialized predator of the arctic sea ice.
Through behavioral, morphological, and physiological changes in a
remarkably short period of time, the polar bear has become totally
adapted to living comfortably in one of the harshest environments
on the planet. Yet, the very survival of this unique mammal is now
threatened by global climate warming.
Dr. Ian Stirling, the best known polar bear scientist in the
world, compresses the major new discoveries of the last 40 years of
research on this iconic Arctic mammal into a major new, easily
readable, and scientifically comprehensive book about the ecology
and natural history of polar bears. In an accessible non-technical
style, he explains how polar bears evolved, how researchers study
them, aspects of their behavior, how they prey and live on various
marine mammals for their very survival, how the seals and bears
have evolved in response to each other, and how, specifically, they
have come to threatened by climate warming. In a separate chapter,
he explains why the polar bears in Hudson Bay have become so
important to our understanding of the species, how Churchill became
"The Polar Bear Capital of the World".
Despite the deep concerns about climate warming, there is hope.
Ecotourism in several areas, such as Svalbard, Hudson Bay, and the
Canadian High Arctic is helping to develop a world-wide
constituency of people who care about polar bears and the Arctic.
The influence of this constituency is vitally important because
there is still time for the world to reduce the rate of climate
warming, but only if we make significant reductions in greenhouse
gases soon. Maps, tables and graphs throughout the book illustrate
the distribution of polar bears, where they originated, the status
of populations, critical differences in ice conditions and how they
impact the survival different populations of bears, and many other
technical aspects made simple. The details of their ecology,
behavior, hunting, and habitat us, described in detail in the text
are illustrated with the most diverse and extensive collection of
spectacular photographs of polar bears ever assembled in a single
book. Some of the finest photos from several of the world''s most
experienced polar bear photographers, including Norbert
Rosing, Mats Forsberg, Stefan Lundgren, Sue Flood, Doug Allen,
Daniel Cox, Per Michelsen, David Shaw, Philip Dalton, and
Jenny Ross, combine with the text make this book
an incomparable treasure of understanding of this amazing
mammal.
