On Thin Ice
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- $6.99
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- $6.99
Publisher Description
From "a graceful writer who’s written some of the best natural history books of the past decade” (The New York Times Book Review) comes an urgent, stirring celebration and a rallying cry on behalf of one of earth's greatest natural treasures.
Polar bears—fierce and majestic—have captivated us for centuries. Feared by explorers, revered by the Inuit, and beloved by zoo goers everywhere, they are a symbol for the harsh beauty and muscular grace of the Arctic. But as global warming threatens the ice caps’ integrity, the polar bear has also come to symbolize the environmental peril that has arisen due to harmful human practices. In the past twenty years alone, the world population of polar bears has shrunk by half. Today they number just 22,000.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
As climate change continues to shrink Arctic winter ice fields, the polar bear faces extinction possibly by the end of the century, a stark reality wrought vivid by prolific science writer Ellis (Tuna) in this well-sourced geographical, historical, cultural, political and environmental overview. One of the largest land predators in the world, the great white bear hunted almost to the brink of extinction decades ago, and after a population rebound reduced again to an estimated 22,000 has become the "poster child" for global warming. A dramatic reduction in permanent, year-round ice is inhibiting access to seals, its almost exclusive food source, and as natural prey becomes elusive, bears are resorting to cannibalism. Ellis, rendering complex science engagingly simple, peppers his authoritative assessment of ursine plight with interesting tidbits bears and primates are the only bipedal mammals, for example. And despite an undeservedly fearsome reputation for savagery, the polar bear is in fact much less dangerous to man than man is to the bear, writes Ellis, as he pays impassioned homage to "a great white spirit." Photos.
