Nanuk overheating?

It's Spring and after six months of darkness the sun has risen over the Arctic. The Nanuk (polar bear in the local native language, Inuktitut) are beginning their courtship towards mating. Once pregnant, the female bear will need to gain over 400lbs, often doubling her body weight, to survive till her cubs are born. Then she will need to nurse them for around two and a half years before they can fend for themselves.

But there's a chance that these cubs will never survive that long, that's why we need you to join Greenpeace today. Global warming is threatening the future of the polar bear. The International Arctic Science Committee has said that polar bears are unlikely to survive if warming trends continue. Polar bears use sea ice for hunting, but rising temperatures are causing the ice to melt earlier, forcing the bears to shore before they have finished hunting and built sufficient reserves, leading to malnutrition and starvation. In extreme cases this has even led to cannibalism among the bears as a last resort for survival. Less sea-ice also forces bears to swim longer distances, using up even more of their energy and resulting in increased instances of drowning. A study by the Canadian Wildlife Service has indicated that as far back as 1981 shorter periods of sea-ice cover had led to a 22% decline in the Hudson Bay bear population. But you can save the bears! Greenpeace activists around the world and here in the U.S. are taking action and creating pressure on governments and industry around the world to take significant steps to stop global warming. By joining Greenpeace today you will allow us to do more, do it quicker and achieve greater success. As the worlds leading independent environmental organization Greenpeace is uniquely able to bring about real global change on global issues, please join us today.