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Ziibos (10)
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Polar bears in Canada are at risk from climate change but not threatened with extinction, a panel of experts has advised the Canadian government. The government should develop a plan to protect the country's estimated 15,000 polar bears, the panel said. The special-concern tag was first applied to the polar bear in 1991, and was reconfirmed in 1999 and 2002 ("special concern" is one category below threatened, and two below endangered).
If the government accepts the advice of the group and lists the polar bear as a species of special concern, the federal environment minister would be required to prepare a plan to conserve the animals and improve their habitat. The WWF said the minister would have five years to produce the plan - action the group believes should be taken immediately.
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The officials told The Associated Press the bears are threatened by the decline in Arctic sea ice. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the official announcement was to come from Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne. He scheduled a news conference Wednesday.
The action comes a day before a court-imposed deadline on deciding whether the bear should be put under the protection of the federal Endangered Species Act.
The department will cite studies by its own scientists saying the decline in Arctic sea ice could result in two-thirds of the polar bears disappearing by mid-century.
Back to the question: the Conservatives are not the best conservationists out there. I have a strong feeling that they will do the bare-bone minimal that is required.