Mystery illness in Polar Bears

Polar Bear showing signs of fur loss

Polar bears in Alaska have been seen with missing patches of fur and reports say that it may be due to a “mystery illness” related to the nuclear accident at the Fukushima power plant in Japan, although this has not yet been proved. Nine out of 33 bears studied were found to have alopecia — loss of fur — and skin lesions, Sky News reported. “There’s a lot we don’t know yet, whether we’re dealing with something that’s different or something that’s the same,” said Tony DeGange, chief biologist for the US Geological Survey (USGS) Science Centre in Alaska. A similar illness has killed around 60 ringed seals in the region. Unlike the seals, the polar bears otherwise seem healthy and there have been no deaths. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polar_bear

As climate change melts sea ice, the U.S. Geological Survey projects that two thirds of polar bears will disappear by 2050. Rapid Arctic ice melt in 2011:

• Arctic sea ice extent for January 2011 was the lowest in the satellite record for that month. 
• The winter's maximum Arctic sea ice extent tied for the lowest on record. The year saw the second lowest Arctic ice levels since 1979 when observation began. 
• A female polar bear reportedly swam for nine days nonstop across the Beaufort Sea before reaching an ice floe, losing 22 percent of her weight and her cub.

Mother polar bear with cub

WWF discusses threats to polar bears:

http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/polarbear/threats.html