News Release

April 14, 2011

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact : Sondra Katzen
Public Relations
708.688.8351
sondra.katzen@czs.org

Note: Images of the speakers and polar bears may be downloaded at www.CZS.org/PressRoom.

World-Renowned Scientists on Quest to Save Polar Bears
Presentation at Brookfield Zoo Highlights Effects of Climate Change on Species

      Brookfield, Ill.—The future of polar bears—one of the most charismatic animals of the north—is being taken very seriously by two esteemed researchers who will be presenting an informative talk, “The Quest to Save Polar Bears,” at 7:30 p.m. on May 5 in Brookfield Zoo’s Discovery Center.,

Dr. Steven C. Amstrup is a world-renowned polar bear biologist who has been studying the species’ ecology since 1980. He will share his experience in leading the international team of researchers who prepared nine reports that became the basis for the Secretary of Interior’s 2008 decision to list polar bears as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act. Additionally, Dr. Ian Stirling, a polar bear researcher with the Canadian Wildlife Service for 37 years, will demonstrate the negative effects that climate change has had on these magnificent marine mammals.

The presentations will give insight into what biologists predict could happen to polar bears by the end of this century: the species could be extinct. In 2008, biologists estimated that there were between 20,000 and 25,000 polar bears in the wild. About 60 percent of those live in Canada. This number is declining due to global warming. There has been a noticeable warming trend in portions of polar bears’ habitat, threatening the species’ survival. For instance, in Canada’s Hudson Bay, the ice that polar bears use to hunt seals is melting earlier than it did 20 years ago, which means they have less time to hunt and store up needed fat. This is a particularly serious problem for the females because they use so much energy to nurse their cubs.

Dr. Amstrup and Dr. Stirling currently serve as senior scientists for Polar Bears International (PBI), one of the Chicago Zoological Society’s conservation partners. Since 1980, Dr. Amstrup has been conducting research on all aspects of polar bear ecology in the Beaufort Sea, with an emphasis on distribution and movement patterns, as well as population dynamics of wildlife, and how information on those topics can be used to ensure wise stewardship. He is particularly interested in how science can help to reconcile the ever enlarging human footprint on our environment with the needs of other species for that same environment. Dr. Amstrup, who joined PBI’s staff in 2010, is also an adjunct professor at the University of Wyoming in Laramie and an associate professor at the University of Alaska in Fairbanks. Prior to joining PBI, he was a research wildlife biologist with the United States Geological Survey at the Alaska Science Center, Anchorage, Alaska, and is a past chairman of the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group, of which he has been an active member throughout his career.

Dr. Stirling is an adjunct professor in the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, Canada. His long-term studies of polar bears in Western Hudson Bay, one of the world's most southerly populations, confirmed the negative effects of climate change. The population has dropped 22 percent since 1987. Dr. Stirling has also studied the bears of the Southern Beaufort Sea and Canadian High Arctic for several decades, along with their interrelationships with seals and sea ice.

The lecture, which is followed by a wine and cheese reception, costs $16 per person. For reservations or further information, visit www.CZS.org/Events or call (708) 688-8000.

The Chicago Zoological Society, which manages Brookfield Zoo, inspires conservation leadership by connecting people with wildlife and nature. Open every day of the year, Brookfield Zoo is located off First Avenue between the Stevenson (I-55) and Eisenhower (I-290) expressways and is also accessible via the Tri-State Tollway (I-294), Metra commuter line, CTA, and PACE bus service.
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