 The sixth species of bear has been added to the list of those considered endangered. The Sun Bear who habitat spans from India to Indonesia has been added to the list and the causes are deforestation and poaching.
These bears are hunted for two reasons typically. One is for their bile which is used in some types of Chinese medicine to treat eye and liver ailments. The second is because there are people who consider bear paws a delicacy to eat.
"We estimate that sun bears have declined by at least 30% over the past 30 years and continue to decline at this rate," said Rob Steinmetz, a bear expert with the Geneva-based group, The World Conservation Union (IUCN).
In other related news, one alarming statistic is how many giant panda bears still exist today; less than 3,000. Other vulnerable bear species are the Asiatic black bear, the sloth bear on the Indian subcontinent, the Andean bear in South America and the polar bear. The brown bear and the American black bear are in a lesser category of threat and their stats are actually improving due to laws which protect them in North America and parts of Europe.
Seventy-five percent of bear species are said to be facing extinction according to the IUCN.
SourceLabels: endangered species |
