The figures are computer simulations of what happens to sea levels in the event of ice sheet melts near the Northern or Southern poles. The blue colors show a drop in sea level while the red and orange colors show a rise. The top image shows the impact on sea level when polar ice sheets in the Antarctic are melted. The blue color indicates a decrease in sea level near the Antarctic while it also shows a corresponding rise in sea level in the Northern Hemisphere. The bottom image shows the effect on sea level when the polar ice sheets of Greenland are melted. The sea level decreases around Greenland but rises in the Southern Hemisphere. Images courtesy of Jerry Mitrovica, University of Toronto

Although the recent discovery of a hybrid grizzly bear & polar bear (“Pizzly” bear) appears strange and bizarre, it brings attention to a bigger and more serious issue.

Scientists have documented signs of escalating temperatures as well as changes in the atmosphere and sea currents in the Arctic , leading some to believe these trends may result in the Arctic Ocean being ice-free within a hundred years.

Although this may appear to be a catastrophists view, there is no arguing the Polar Regions are in trouble – and this means we’re all in trouble. Even small increments of increasing polar temperatures can affect global atmospheric and oceanographic temperatures. These complex dynamics are partly affected by Arctic sea ice – and the sea ice is disappearing at an alarming rate!

Minute increases in temperatures of the Polar Regions can play a critical role in delineating habitat for the Earths flora and fauna. According to the IUCN, the polar bear has been moved from the previously classified “conservation dependent” into the “threatened” category, making it “one of the most notable casualties of global warming”. The change in status has been directly correlated to loss of habitat caused by melting Arctic ice floes that allow polar bears to migrate and hunt for seals. The IUCN is projecting a 30-percent decline of the species over the next 45 years.

As some habitats shrink, others grow and shift, possibly allowing different habitats to merge. Although the exact cause and/or reason for the hybrid bear is still being considered, it is obvious the habitat of the two animals have overlapped somewhere.

It is a reasonable to argue the status of the polar bear could be a global barometer for changes to our Earth. Therefore, it is crucial more studies on polar climate and sea ice are considered.

Polar tour operator, Peregrine Adventures represented in the USA by Adventure Center, has been extremely effective in educating and developing an awareness/fund-raising program of the vulnerable Polar Regions with their passengers. In fact they have raised more than $400,000.00 in the last few years supporting the symbol of the Southern Ocean – the albatross, whose numbers are drastically decreasing.

Peregrine is now planning to get involved in the northern hemisphere where it operates two ships.  They operate one ship in the Canadian Arctic and West Greenland while their other vessel operates in Svalbard waters and East Greenland .

Peregrine’s theme will be “Protect Our Poles”, and if their campaign and fund-raising prowess proves as successful in the Arctic as in Antarctica , the chances of seeing another “pizzly” bear may be significantly reduced in the future.