Bear (Polar)
Polar bear: Ursus maritimus
Distribution: northern polar regions occurring in 5 nations - Greenland, Norway, Canada, United States, the former Soviet Union and also on Arctic sea pack ice usually within 300km of land. Some individuals wander up to 200km inland.
Population: 20,000 - 25,000 with 60% living in Canada. Status: vulnerable species (IUCN).
Habitat: favourite habitat is a combination of pack ice, open water and coastal land.
Description: coat colour varies from pure white to shades of yellow. Small ears; black eyes and nose.
Height: 1.6m to shoulder
Length: 2.2 - 2.5m.
Size of feet: 30cm long, 25cm wide.
These glaciers currently are receeding at a rate of between 30 meters per year to 50 meters per year. 
The largest "glacier" is now about 1 square kilometer, in 2012. 
The rate at which these glaciers are disappearing is increasing, and they will soon be extinct in our lifetime, probably by 2020. 
Gloabal warming, caused by pollution and the burning of fossil fuels is the cause of this extinction. Unlike animals, however, glaciers can return when the climate cools down again, if we can reduce our population, pollution, and stop burning fossil fuels and modify our energy system. So perhaps extinction is too strong a word to use.
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