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Polar bears' natural habitat are areas where frigid temperatures are the norm. Their hibernation depends on it. If the weather warms too soon, it disturbs their natural rhythms. They live in the arctic cold in places close to the North Pole. At a rough guess there are about 20,000 of them still left in the wild. There will be less of them if the warming trend continues.

They are well suited to these colder regions of he world but the warming trend has many countries worried. For one thing if the warming trend continues it could put them on the endangered list. Even now, it is noted, that in some places their numbers have dropped.

Their bodies have adapted to the cold and the ice but if the tempertures get warmer the Polar bears' hormonal system could be affected. In fact this warming trend could affect all creatures that live in this type of frigid environment; walruses, bears, penguins and others.

Canada's Hudson Bay polar bears hibernate for 6 to 8 months and they hunt during the winter to build up their fat reserves. Warming trends cause them to store up less fat and this has an overall devastating effect for them. It affects their ability to have cubs and to produce enough milk to feed them. Already there has been a noticeable drop in the birth rate.

Countries such as Canada, Denmark, US, Russia, Norway, have signed agreements protecting them. Hunting with power boats and aircraft is not allowed. Scientist first became concerned about the polar bears in 1965 and the first meeting was held to see what could be done to secure their habitats.

In 1973 an agreement was reached where each country promised to honor that each country protect the areas where polor bears live and raise their young. In the United States in 1772 the Marine Mammal Protection Act was signed into law. Following that other protection laws has been put into place.

Polar bears are beautiful creatures and their heavy fur coats and their unique systems that allow them to live in such stark surroundings have been fascinations for people ever since we got our first glimpse of a photo of them.

As long as the cold places of the earth stayed cold and there were no interruption to their usual life style, there was no need for alarm. But now that the earth is producing more carbon than can be utilized, the ice caps are melting faster than they can freeze back. This causes problems for all of humanity, and all life on earth. Before we began hearing of these warming trends and began taking these dire predictions seriously, the only problems polar bears had been exploitation. It was feared hunters and poachers would hunt them for their carcasses and their hides.

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