Wild Polar Bear Research Paper

In order for polar bears to preserve their species and live long healthy lives, and avoid stress, they must live in a stable environment with an appropriate consistent diet. Since Polar Bears have been recognized as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act in 2008 by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (The Alaska Zoo 2005), it is essential to use precaution to preserve them. Captive facilities like the Alaska Zoo possess the sufficient resources for the polar bears that will aid in their restoration and expansion as a species. It is imperative that an alternative lifestyle is provided for them to conserve their species and avoid extinction. The Alaska Zoo is one of many nonprofit organizations that is a Polar Bears International (PBI) Arctic Ambassador Center since 2004, who strive to have a positive influence on these bear’s lives in captivity, and promote the need for change and action for the wild polar bears that are enduring sea ice thawing due to climate change (The Alaska Zoo 2005). …show more content…
Researchers from EPOCH times expressed that polar bears have a low gene variation which causes them to have a weak immune system that is incapable of recognizing new pathogens in their environment, and creating an immune system response to withstand it. The genes coding the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) is a part of the immune system in vertebrates (Almberg 2013), and “according to Weber, polar bears most likely have a low MHC due to their confinement to the cold arctic environment that isolates them from most pathogens and limits their exposure to pathogens overall (EPOCH Times