Conservation News Stage 6 Comprehension PDF

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Conservation Text focus: Newspaper Conservation News Polar bears now on endangered species list due to human activity and climate change. Leading scientists...

STAGE 6 Unit focus: Conservation Text focus: Newspaper Conservation News Polar bears now on endangered species list due to human activity and climate change. Leading scientists at the Norwegian Svalbard Polar research facility have warned world leaders that unless we do something meaningful to reduce our impact on climate change, then we run the risk of losing a number of species who live in the Polar A furry family under threat Regions, including the iconic marine mammal: the polar bear. Homeless Adapted to live in the harsh environment of the Polar bears spend much of their year on the ice Artic polar region, polar bears have previously shelf hunting and feeding on seals. They survive the managed to cope with changes to the climate and food- sparse months (late summer-late autumn) the impact this has on the ice shelf where they make by building up a fat reserve and moving off the ice their home. shelf as it melts, moving inland onto the permafrost landscapes. Rapidly increasing rates Although regarded as excellent swimmers, with a However, increased human activity in this area, thick layer of insulating fat and a water-repellent and further development across the world, has coat to protect them in the water, many polar bears rapidly increased the rate at which our planet’s have been found stranded on sections of ice shelf temperature is changing over the last 50 years. The which have detached and floated out into freezing seas around the Arctic ice shelf are now warming waters. at such a speed that arctic dwellers, such as the polar bear, arctic fox and snowy owl, are struggling Here they either starve or face floating into newly to adapt as quickly. As the ice shelf literally melts developed commercial shipping lanes (formed away under their feet, the animals are left homeless to help exploit the rich oil reserves of the area), and without the ability to hunt their usual prey. This created by the opening up of the icy region. has particularly affected the polar bear, a highly Melting Ice specialised arctic species, who relies on the ice shelf As the ice shelf now thaws earlier in the spring and as part of its natural life cycle. does not form again until much later in the autumn, the period during which polar bears can build up their winter fat store is dramatically reduced. It also all resources ©2021 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com shortens the time the polar bears have to mate (April/May). Pregnant females dig a den near the ice shelf in September and stay in it through the winter. Cubs (usually 2, born in December) will stay with their mothers for up to 3 years, learning how to survive on the ice shelf. Sadly, the rapidity of the melting ice shelf has resulted in a disruption to the polar bears’ lifecycle and forced many animals further inland for a greater proportion of the year. Here, they often encounter human populations. Polar Bear Whisperer’s Warning Dr Nikita Ovsyaniov, a polar bear and arctic fox expert, spent 45 years living amongst polar animals to study their life patterns. He is very alarmed by the decline in a number of polar bear populations across the Arctic. “For the first time in the entire polar bear evolutionary history, polar bears are struggling to survive climate change combined with the impact of high human presence and activity in the Arctic. [Humans are] the major threat for polar bear existence in the modern world.” Dr Nikita Ovsyaniov Conservation Agreements Although the world’s 5 major polar bear countries (USA, Canada, Russia, Denmark and Norway) have signed a protective conservation agreement, it is clear that unless some worldwide consensus is reached to dramatically slow down human impact on our climate, the polar bear and its Arctic habitat will remain under threat of annihilation. all resources ©2021 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com  SUMMARY FOCUS 1. Sequence the events of the polar bears year in the table below. Season State of ice shelf Polar bear activities Winter Solid Mothers _________________. Cubs __________ in ______________. Male polar bears ___________________. Spring ______________season on a ____ year cycle. Cubs _______________ March/ April. Mother_______________ for herself and ______________s. Summer Searches _________________, may __________ or ___________ for many miles. Autumn Mothers build a ____________. Then ______________________ready for time when food is scarce. 2. Why is climate change a problem for polar bears? 3. How has climate change affected the bears life cycle? 4. What can be done to help the polar bears? VIPERS QUESTIONS R Who are the 5 major polar bear countries that have signed the conservation agreement? R Where do Polar bears spend most of their life? I How do the bears’ fat reserves help them survive? R How long do cubs stay with their mothers? V At the end of the piece the reporter says the polar bears face potential “annihilation”. What does this mean? E How does the use of photographs affect the reader? How do they make you feel about polar bears? all resources ©2021 Literacy Shed http://www.literacyshedplus.com