The bear's survival is doubtful in India and Bangladesh, according to the study. In South America, forests that are home to the spectacled bear are under threat from logging, cattle ranching, and clearance for drug crops, while the bears also are hunted for bile and meat, it said. In the United States, extensive land clearing for agriculture and other development has reduced the historic range of the black bear to 20 per cent of its original size in the southeastern United States. The range of the grizzly bear in the continental United States is only 2 per cent of its original size. The polar bear is the only species that still lives throughout its original range, but could face a threat from pollutants in the Arctic, it added.
Chemicals accumulate in the tissues of the bear with as yet unknown effects.
Climate change also could lead polar ice to thaw early and reduce the bears' access to seals, their main source of food, the report said. We welcome your feedback. All rights reserved.