Racing extinction: Can science act fast enough to save large, endangered mammals?

Abstract

How far can a polar bear swim? The answer to that one question could have altered the course of the global warming movement and tempered current public distrust in scienceand scientists. As is the case for many large, fierce mammals, many aspects of the basic biology that dictate what polar bears (<i>Ursus maritimus</i>) need to survive in a changing world remain a mystery. We don't know the limitations of the bear's thermoregulatory or swimming capabilities in Arctic waters. Nor do we know whether a terrestrial diet of berries and scavenging is able to sustain a mother bear throughout pregnancy and cub rearing should the continued deterioration of sea ice force them to remain on land. At a time when understanding animal capacities and resiliency in the face of human perturbation is crucial to species survival, science has been unable to keep pace with emerging environmental threats.