Polar bear status, distribution & population

20-25,000
polar bears worldwide

~19
distinct sub-populations (see above map)

60-80%
of polar bears are in Canada

Status by country

• International: Vulnerable
• Canada (COSEWIC): Species of Special Concern
• Greenland / Denmark: Vulnerable
• Norway: Vulnerable
• Russia: Uncertain, Rare, and Rehabilitated/Rehabilitating
• United States: Threatened

Timeline of polar bear conservation

Before 1973

• Several polar bear populations were decimated by unsustainable hunting by European, Russian and American hunters and trappers from the 1600s right through to the mid-1970's.

1973

• Canada, the United States, Denmark, Norway and the former USSR signed the International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and their Habitat, strictly regulating commercial hunting.
• The US Government classified the Polar Bear under its Endangered Species Act (ESA).

2005

• The polar bear was upgraded from Least Concern to Vulnerable by the the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group, based on the likelihood of a decline in the total global polar bear population of more than 30% within the next 35 to 50 years.

Today

• Today, polar bears are among the few large carnivores that are still found in roughly their original habitat and range--and in some places, in roughly their natural numbers.
• Although most populations have returned to healthy numbers, there are differences between the populations. Some are stable, some seem to be increasing, and some are decreasing due to various pressures. A 2011 study found that 7 of 19 populations were declining.
• Some populations are still harvested quite heavily, and their status is uncertain.

In the future

• If current warming trends continue unabated, scientists believe that polar bears will be vulnerable to extinction within the next century.
• By 2040, scientists predict that only a fringe of ice will remain in Northeast Canada and Northern Greenland when all other large areas of summer ice are gone.