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Ursus Jowlus
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Ursus Jowlus
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 2:13 pm 
With global warming melting polar sea ice earlier and earlier, polar bears face near extinction, possibly within 100 years. As that point approaches, would you favor relocating a viable population of polar bears to Antarctica, assuming they could survive on the Weddell Seals and other food sources there? Seals are polar bears' primary food source in the northern Arctic.

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touron
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 2:59 pm 
If both ice caps melt, the only solution may be to build more zoos.

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mtnmitch
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 8:49 pm 
I think the focus should be on the bigger problem of the global warming causing the melting of the ice caps. If that problem is dealt with properly then we would mess with the environment more than we(humans) already have.

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Magellan
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 9:31 pm 
Polar bears don't need ice. Haven't you seen 'Lost'?

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polarbear
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 9:35 pm 
Quote:
In the wild, adult polar bears live an average of 15 to 18 years, though biologists have found a few that have lived to 30. In zoos, many captive bears live until their late 30s.

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Ursus Jowlus
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 11:05 pm 
polarbear wrote:
Quote:
In the wild, adult polar bears live an average of 15 to 18 years, though biologists have found a few that have lived to 30. In zoos, many captive bears live until their late 30s.
Maybe we should put humans in zoos and let polar bears run the earth. Betcha they'd do a better job. BTW, I think 100 years to polar bear extinction is too conservative. Other estimates put their extinction at 20 to 50 years.

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seawallrunner
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 11:11 pm 
I don't think that relocating polar bears to the other end of the Earth will solve anything - it will only accelerate their demise. it's a lot colder and a lot drier in Antarctica than it is in the Arctic, and there is far less flora (virtually none) and fauna (different types of seals - the bears might not touch them or get ill after eating them) I think it's a bad idea. Completely different ecosystem - with grave consequences to the bears and to the ecosystem they will be introduced into. Keep 'em poles apart.

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polarbear
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PostSun Feb 11, 2007 11:49 pm 
Ursus Jowlus wrote:
polarbear wrote:
Quote:
In the wild, adult polar bears live an average of 15 to 18 years, though biologists have found a few that have lived to 30. In zoos, many captive bears live until their late 30s.
Maybe we should put humans in zoos and let polar bears run the earth. Betcha they'd do a better job. BTW, I think 100 years to polar bear extinction is too conservative. Other estimates put their extinction at 20 to 50 years.
Who knows? We've been through some mini ice ages and thawings. I wonder how recent polar bears are, geologically speaking, and what environmental extremes they are able to live in. There are all sorts of critters that want to be in the zoo, but only room for so many.

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Ursus Jowlus
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PostMon Feb 12, 2007 11:44 am 
seawallrunner wrote:
I don't think that relocating polar bears to the other end of the Earth will solve anything - it will only accelerate their demise. it's a lot colder and a lot drier in Antarctica than it is in the Arctic, and there is far less flora (virtually none) and fauna (different types of seals - the bears might not touch them or get ill after eating them) I think it's a bad idea. Completely different ecosystem - with grave consequences to the bears and to the ecosystem they will be introduced into. Keep 'em poles apart.
Good points. Not to mention what polar bears might do to penguin rookeries. Perhaps the solution is to relocate humans to the moon and let other species handle the responsibility of reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

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UGH
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PostMon Jan 16, 2017 4:46 pm 
seawallrunner wrote:
I don't think that relocating polar bears to the other end of the Earth will solve anything - it will only accelerate their demise. it's a lot colder and a lot drier in Antarctica than it is in the Arctic, and there is far less flora (virtually none) and fauna (different types of seals - the bears might not touch them or get ill after eating them)
I generally agree, and wonder if polar bears would decimate penguin rookeries. But it's clear that the polar bears are on a fast path to extinction in the arctic. So perhaps introducing them to areas in the Antarctic with seals they will hunt and eat, but removed from most penguin populations? Oh one other thing - looking at Seawallrunner's pic makes me want. Are you still around, cutie?

Just because you're paranoid, doesn't mean someone isn't out to get you.
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Randito
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PostMon Jan 16, 2017 5:40 pm 
I love these things, crunchy on the outside, with a chewy center.

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Humptulips
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PostMon Jan 16, 2017 10:10 pm 
When I read this I thought it was probably said in jest. Apparently some people don't realize polar bear populations are healthy and if anything increasing. The news of their demise is much exaggerated. A couple links but there are many more if you look: http://www.npr.org/2013/02/02/170779528/the-inconvenient-truth-about-polar-bears http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2436882/The-poster-boys-climate-change-thrive-icy-Arctic-Polar-bears-defy-concerns-extinction.html Polar bears in the Antarctic dizzy.gif We are so good at bringing in invasive species everywhere. I'm sure that would work out perfect.

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Chico
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PostMon Jan 16, 2017 10:19 pm 
Ursus Jowlus wrote:
With global warming melting polar sea ice earlier and earlier, polar bears face near extinction, possibly within 100 years. As that point approaches, would you favor relocating a viable population of polar bears to Antarctica, assuming they could survive on the Weddell Seals and other food sources there? Seals are polar bears' primary food source in the northern Arctic.
moon.gif You are kidding right? You can't be serious about this. Man has screwed up ecosystems in the past and we are still trying to fix the messes.

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NacMacFeegle
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PostTue Jan 17, 2017 12:43 am 
Aside from the many, many problems with such a project, relocating polar bears to Antarctica would be treating the symptoms of climate change, when we should be addressing the cause. We have all the tools necessary at our disposal to reduce our greenhouse gas emissions, achieve a sustainable society, and effectively fight climate change. We simply lack the cohesiveness needed to implement those tools on a global scale.

Read my hiking related stories and more at http://illuminationsfromtheattic.blogspot.com/
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Chief Joseph
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PostTue Jan 17, 2017 2:34 am 
When Portland had the big snow last week I saw a video of a polar bear at the Portland zoo....it warmed my heart to watch it frolicking in the snow as it was meant to be....yet made me very sad to realize that it was a fleeting moment in it's life. frown.gif

Go placidly amid the noise and waste, and remember what comfort there may be in owning a piece thereof.
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