animal_wiki.py

test_wiki = [   
            {
                "role": "system",
                "content": "You are helping raise awareness for an endangered animal. You'll be given the Wikipedia article about the animal. Respond with 10 fun facts about interesting quirks of the specified animal. Write at a 5th grade level. Each fun fact should be 2-3 sentences long. Put a new line between each fun fact. Do not include any introduction, bullet points, or numbers.",
            },
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "Red wolf\nThe red wolf (Canis rufus)[2][6][7] is a canine native to the\nsoutheastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the\ncoyote (Canis latrans) and gray wolf (Canis lupus).\n[8]\nThe red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate\nspecies has been contentious for nearly a century, being\nclassified either as a subspecies of the gray wolf Canis lupus\nrufus,\n[9]",
            },
        ]


red_wolf_wiki = [
            {
                "role": "system",
                "content": "You are helping raise awareness for an endangered animal. You'll be given the Wikipedia article about the animal. Respond with 10 fun facts about interesting quirks of the specified animal. Write at a 5th grade level. Each fun fact should be 2-3 sentences long. Put a new line between each fun fact. Do not include any introduction, bullet points, or numbers.",
            },
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content":"The red wolf (Canis rufus) [2][6][7] is a canine native to the southeastern United States. Its size is intermediate between the coyote (Canis latrans) and gray wolf (Canis lupus). [8] The red wolf's taxonomic classification as being a separate species has been contentious for nearly a century, being classified either as a subspecies of the gray wolf Canis lupus rufus, [9][10] or a coywolf (a genetic admixture of wolf and coyote). Because of this, it is sometimes excluded from endangered species lists, despite its critically low numbers. [11][12] Under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service currently recognizes the red wolf as an endangered species and grants it protected status. [3] Since 1996, the IUCN has listed the red wolf as a Critically Endangered species; [2] however, it is not listed in the CITES Appendices of endangered species. [13] Red wolves were originally distributed throughout the southeastern and south-central United States from the Atlantic Ocean to central Texas, southeastern Oklahoma and southwestern Illinois in the west, and in the north from the Ohio River Valley, northern Pennsylvania, southern New York, and extreme southern Ontario in Canada[2] south to the Gulf of Mexico. [14] The red wolf was nearly driven to extinction by the mid-1900s due to aggressive predator-control programs, habitat destruction, and extensive hybridization with coyotes. By the late 1960s, it occurred in small numbers in the Gulf Coast of western Louisiana and eastern Texas. Fourteen of these survivors were selected to be the founders of a captive-bred population, which was established in the Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium between 1974 and 1980. After a successful experimental relocation to Bulls Island off the coast of South Carolina in 1978, the red wolf was declared extinct in the wild in 1980 to proceed with restoration efforts. In 1987, the captive animals were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) on the Albemarle Peninsula in North Carolina, with a second release, since reversed, taking place two years later in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. [15] Of 63 red wolves released from 1987 to 1994, [16] the population rose to as many as 100–120 individuals in 2012, but due to the lack of regulation enforcement by the US Fish and Wildlife History †C. r. gregoryi[6] C. r. rufus [6] A red wolf Service, the population has declined to 40 individuals in 2018,[17] about 14 in 2019 [18] and 8 as of October 2021.[19] No wild litters were born between 2019 and 2020.[19] Under pressure from conservation groups, the US Fish and Wildlife Service resumed reintroductions and increased protection. Reintroductions resumed in 2021. In 2022, the first wild litter was born since 2018. As of 2023, there are between 15 and 17 wild red wolves in ARNWR. [20] The red wolf's appearance is typical of the genus Canis, and is generally intermediate in size between the coyote and gray wolf, though some specimens may overlap in size with small gray wolves. A study of Canis morphometrics conducted in eastern North Carolina reported that red wolves are morphometrically distinct from coyotes and hybrids. [21] Adults measure 136–165 cm (53.5–65 in) in length, comprising a tail of about 37 cm (14.6 in). [11][21] Their weight ranges from 20 to 39 kg (44-85 lbs) with males averaging 29 kg (64 lbs) and females 25 kg (55 lbs). [21] Its pelage is typically more reddish and sparsely furred than the coyote's and gray wolf's, though melanistic individuals do occur. [11] Its fur is generally tawny to grayish in color, with light markings around the lips and eyes. [12] The red wolf has been compared by some authors to the greyhound in general form, owing to its relatively long and slender limbs. The ears are also proportionately larger than the coyote's and gray wolf's. The skull is typically narrow, with a long and slender rostrum, a small braincase and a well developed sagittal crest. Its cerebellum is unlike that of other Canis species, being closer in form to that of canids of the Vulpes and Urocyon genera, thus indicating that the red wolf is one of the more plesiomorphic members of its genus. [11] The red wolf is more sociable than the coyote, but less so than the gray wolf. It mates in January–February, with an average of 6-7 pups being born in March, April, and May. It is monogamous, with both parents participating in the rearing of young.[22][23] Denning sites include hollow tree trunks, along stream banks and the abandoned earths of other animals. By the age of six weeks, the pups distance themselves from the den,[22] and reach full size at the age of one year, becoming sexually mature two years later. [12] Using long-term data on red wolf individuals of known pedigree, it was found that inbreeding among firstdegree relatives was rare. [24] A likely mechanism for avoidance of inbreeding is independent dispersal trajectories from the natal pack. Many of the young wolves spend time alone or in small non-breeding packs composed of unrelated individuals. The union of two unrelated individuals in a new home range is the predominant pattern of breeding pair formation.[24] Inbreeding is avoided because it results in progeny with reduced fitness (inbreeding depression) that is predominantly caused by the homozygous expression of recessive deleterious alleles. [25] Prior to its extinction in the wild, the red wolf's diet consisted of rabbits, rodents, and nutria (an introduced species). [26] In contrast, the red wolves from the restored population rely on white-tailed deer, pig, raccoon, rice rats, muskrats, nutria, rabbits and carrion. [27][28][29] White-tailed deer were largely absent from the last wild refuge of red wolves on the Gulf Coast between Texas and Louisiana (where specimens were trapped from the last wild population for captive breeding), which likely accounts for the discrepancy in their Description and behavior Historical range of the red wolf Melanistic red wolf at Audubon Park, New Orleans (1931) dietary habits listed here. Historical accounts of wolves in the southeast by early explorers such as William Hilton, who sailed along the Cape Fear River in what is now North Carolina in 1644, also note that they ate deer. [30] The originally recognized red wolf range extended throughout the southeastern United States from the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, north to the Ohio River Valley and central Pennsylvania, and west to Central Texas and southeastern Missouri. [31] Research into paleontological, archaeological and historical specimens of red wolves by Ronald Nowak expanded their known range to include land south of the Saint Lawrence River in Canada, along the eastern seaboard, and west to Missouri and mid-Illinois, terminating in the southern latitudes of Central Texas. [1] Given their wide historical distribution, red wolves probably used a large suite of habitat types at one time. The last naturally occurring population used coastal prairie marshes, swamps, and agricultural fields used to grow rice and cotton. However, this environment probably does not typify preferred red wolf habitat. Some evidence shows the species was found in highest numbers in the once extensive bottom-land river forests and swamps of the southeastern United States. Red wolves reintroduced into northeastern North Carolina have used habitat types ranging from agricultural lands to forest/wetland mosaics characterized by an overstory of pine and an understory of evergreen shrubs. This suggests that red wolves are habitat generalists and can thrive in most settings where prey populations are adequate and persecution by humans is slight. [32] In 1940 the biologist Stanley P. Young noted that the red wolf was still common in eastern Texas, where more than 800 had been caught in 1939 because of their attacks on livestock. He did not believe that they could be exterminated because of their habit of living concealed in thickets. [33] In 1962 a study of skull morphology of wild Canis in the states of Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas indicated that the red wolf existed in only a few populations due to hybridization with the coyote. The explanation was that either the red wolf could not adapt to changes to its environment due to human land-use along with its accompanying influx of competing coyotes from the west, or that the red wolf was being hybridized out of existence by the coyote. [34] Since 1987, red wolves have been released into northeastern North Carolina, where they roam 1.7 million acres. [35] These lands span five counties (Dare, Hyde, Tyrrell, Washington, and Beaufort) and include three national wildlife refuges, a U.S. Air Force bombing range, and private land.[35] The red wolf recovery Range and habitat Extirpation in the wild Reintroduced habitat USFWS worker with red wolf pups, August 2002 program is unique for a large carnivore reintroduction in that more than half of the land used for reintroduction lies on private property. Approximately 680,000 acres (2,800 km2 ) are federal and state lands, and 1,002,000 acres (4,050 km2 ) are private lands. Beginning in 1991, red wolves were also released into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park in eastern Tennessee. [36] However, due to exposure to environmental disease (parvovirus), parasites, and competition (with coyotes as well as intraspecific aggression), the red wolf was unable to successfully establish a wild population in the park. Low prey density was also a problem, forcing the wolves to leave the park boundaries in pursuit of food in lower elevations. In 1998, the FWS took away the remaining red wolves in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, relocating them to Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge in eastern North Carolina. [37] Other red wolves have been released on the coastal islands in Florida, Mississippi, and South Carolina as part of the captive breeding management plan. St. Vincent Island in Florida is currently the only active island propagation site. After the passage of the Endangered Species Act of 1973, formal efforts backed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service began to save the red wolf from extinction, when a captive-breeding program was established at the Point Defiance Zoological Gardens, Tacoma, Washington. Four hundred animals were captured from southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas from 1973 to 1980 by the USFWS. [38][39] Measurements, vocalization analyses, and skull X-rays were used to distinguish red wolves from coyotes and red wolf × coyote hybrids. Of the 400 canids captured, only 43 were believed to be red wolves and sent to the breeding facility. The first litters were produced in captivity in May 1977. Some of the pups were determined to be hybrids, and they and their parents were removed from the program. Of the original 43 animals, only 17 were considered pure red wolves and since three were unable to breed, 14 became the breeding stock for the captive-breeding program. [40] These 14 were so closely related that they had the genetic effect of being only eight individuals. In 1996, the red wolf was listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as a critically endangered species. [2] 1976 release in Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge In December 1976, two wolves were released onto Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge's Bulls Island in South Carolina with the intent of testing and honing reintroduction methods. They were not released with the intent of beginning a permanent population on the island. [41] The first experimental translocation lasted for 11 days, during which a mated pair of red wolves was monitored day and night with remote telemetry.A second experimental translocation was tried in 1978 with a different mated pair, and they were allowed to remain on the island for close to nine months.[41] After that, a larger project was executed in 1987 to reintroduce a permanent population of red wolves back to the wild in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge (ARNWR) on the eastern coast of North Carolina.Also in 1987, Bulls Island became the first island breeding site. Pups were raised on the island and relocated to North Carolina until 2005. [42] Captive breeding and reintroduction 20th century releases 1986 release in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge In September 1987, four male-female pairs of red wolves were released in the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, in northeastern North Carolina, and designated as an experimental population. Since then, the experimental population has grown and the recovery area expanded to include four national wildlife refuges, a Department of Defense bombing range, state-owned lands, and private lands, encompassing about 1,700,000 acres (6,900 km2 ). [43] 1989 release on Horn Island, Mississippi In 1989, the second island propagation project was initiated with release of a population on Horn Island off the Mississippi coast. This population was removed in 1998 because of a likelihood of encounters with humans. The third island propagation project introduced a population on St. Vincent Island, Florida, offshore between Cape San Blas and Apalachicola, Florida, in 1990, and in 1997, the fourth island propagation program introduced a population to Cape St. George Island, Florida, south ofApalachicola. 1991 release in the Great Smoky Mountains In 1991, two pairs were reintroduced into the Great Smoky Mountains National Park, where the last known red wolf was killed in 1905. Despite some early success, the wolves were relocated to eastern North Carolina in 1998, ending the effort to reintroduce the species to the park. Over 30 facilities participate in the red wolf Species Survival Plan and oversee the breeding and reintroduction of over 150 wolves. [44] In 2007, the USFWS estimated that 300 red wolves remained in the world, with 207 of those in captivity. [45] By late 2020, the number of wild individuals had shrunk to only about 7 radio-collared and a dozen uncollared individuals, with no wild pups born since 2018. This decline has been linked to shooting and poisoning of wolves by landowners, and suspended conservation efforts by the USFWS. [46] A 2019 analysis by the Center for Biological Diversity of available habitat throughout the red wolf's former range found that over 20,000 square miles of public land across five sites had viable habitat for red wolves to be reintroduced to in the future. These sites were chosen based on prey levels, isolation from coyotes and human development, and connectivity with other sites. These sites include: the Apalachicola and Osceola National Forests along with the Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge and nearby protected lands; numerous national parks and national forests in the Appalachian Mountains including the Monongahela, George Washington & Jefferson, Cherokee, Pisgah, Nantahala, Chattahoochee, and Talladega National Forests along with Shenandoah National Park and the lower elevations of Great Smoky Mountains National Park; Croatoan National Forest and Hofmann Forest on the North Carolina coast, and the Ozark, Ouatchita, and Mark Twain National Forests in the central United States. [18] In late 2018, two canids that are largely coyote were found on Galveston Island, Texas with red wolf alleles (gene expressions) left from a ghost population of red wolves. Since these alleles are from a different population from the red wolves in the North Carolina captive breeding program, there has been a proposal to selectively cross-breed the Galveston Island coyotes [a] into the captive red wolf population.[47] Another study published around the same time analyzing canid scat and hair samples in southwestern Louisiana found genetic evidence of red wolf ancestry in about 55% of sampled canids, with one such individual having between 78 and 100% red wolf ancestry, suggesting the possibility of more red wolf genes in the wild that may not be present in the captive population.[48] 21st century status From 2015 to 2019, there were no red wolves released into the wild. But in March 2020, the FWS released a new breeding pair of red wolves, including a young male red wolf from St. Vincent Island, Florida into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The pair were unsuccessful at producing a litter of pups in the wild. On March 1, 2021, two male red wolves from Florida were paired with two female wild red wolves from eastern North Carolina and released into the wild. One of the male wolves was killed by a car shortly after being released into the wild. On April 30 and May 1, four adult red wolves were released into the wild and four red wolf pups were fostered by a wild female red wolf. [49] In addition to the eight released wolves, the total number of red wolves living in the wild amount to nearly thirty wild individuals, including a dozen other wolves not wearing radio collars. [50] A study published in 2020 reported camera traps recorded 'the presence of a large canid possessing wolflike characters' in northeast Texas and later hair samples and tracks from the area indicated the presence of red wolves. [51] By fall of 2021, a total of six red wolves had been killed, including the four adults that had been released in the spring. Three of the released adults had been killed in vehicle collisions, two had died from unknown cases, and the fourth released adult had been shot by a landowner who feared the wolf was attempting to get his chickens. These losses dropped the number of wolves in the wild down to about 20 wild individuals. In the winter of 2021–2022, the Fish and Wildlife Services selected nine captive adult red wolves to be released into the wild. A family of five red wolves were released into the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge, while two new breeding pairs of adult wolves were released into the Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. The release of these new wolves brought the number of wild red wolves in eastern North Carolina up to less than 30 wild individuals. On April 22, 2022, one of the breeding pairs of adult red wolves produced a litter of six wolf pups, four females and two males. This new litter of red wolf pups became the first litter born in the wild since 2018. As of 2023, there are between 15 and 17 wild red wolves in Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge. [20] In April and May 2023, two captive male red wolves were paired with two wild female wolves in acclamation pens and were later released into the wild. At the same time, the wild breeding pair that produced a litter of pups the previous year gave birth to a second litter of 5 pups, 2 males and 3 females. A male wolf pup from a captive litter was fostered into the pack, and with this new addition, the family of red wolves, which was named the Milltail pack by FWS, has grown to 13 wild individuals. These six new pups has brought the wild population of red wolves up to 23-25 wild individuals. In May 2023, two families of red wolves were placed in acclamation pens to be released into the wild in the Pocosin Lakes National Wildlife Refuge in Tyrrell County. One family consisted of a breeding pair and three pups, while the other consisted of a breeding pair, a yearling female, and four young pups that were born in the acclamation pen. In early June 2023, the two families of red wolves were released into the wild to roam through PLNWR. With the addition of these two separate packs, the wild population of red wolves had increased to about 35 wild individuals. In addition to the wild population, there are approximately 270 red wolves in zoos and captive breeding programs across the U.S. Interbreeding with the coyote has been recognized as a threat affecting the restoration of red wolves. Currently, adaptive management efforts are making progress in reducing the threat of coyotes to the red wolf population in northeastern North Carolina. Other threats, such as habitat fragmentation, disease, and Current population Coyote × re-introduced red wolf issues human-caused mortality, are of concern in the restoration of red wolves. Efforts to reduce the threats are presently being explored.[35] By 1999, introgression of coyote genes was recognized as the single greatest threat to wild red wolf recovery and an adaptive management plan which included coyote sterilization has been successful, with coyote genes being reduced by 2015 to < 4% of the wild red wolf population.[16] Since the 2014 programmatic review, the USFWS ceased implementing the red wolf adaptive management plan that was responsible for preventing red wolf hybridization with coyotes and allowed the release of captive-born red wolves into the wild population.[52] Since then, the wild population has decreased from 100 to 115 red wolves to less than 30.[53] Despite the controversy over the red wolf's status as a unique taxon as well as the USFWS' apparent disinterest towards wolf conservation in the wild, the vast majority of public comments (including NC residents) submitted to the USFWS in 2017 over their new wolf management plan were in favor of the original wild conservation plan.[54] A 2016 genetic study of canid scats found that despite high coyote density inside the Red Wolf Experimental Population Area (RWEPA), hybridization occurs rarely (4% are hybrids). [55] High wolf mortality related to anthropogenic causes appeared to be the main factor limiting wolf dispersal westward from the RWEPA. [55] High anthropogenic wolf mortality similarly limits expansion of eastern wolves outside of protected areas in south-eastern Canada. [56] In 2012, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission for jeopardizing the existence of the wild red wolf population by allowing nighttime hunting of coyotes in the five-county restoration area in eastern North Carolina. [57] A 2014 courtapproved settlement agreement was reached that banned nighttime hunting of coyotes and requires permitting and reporting coyote hunting.[57] In response to the settlement, the North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission adopted a resolution requesting the USFWS to remove all wild red wolves from private lands, terminate recovery efforts, and declare red wolves extinct in the wild.[58] This resolution came in the wake of a 2014 programmatic review of the red wolf conservation program conducted by The Wildlife Management Institute. [59][60][61] The Wildlife Management Institute indicated the reintroduction of the red wolf was an incredible achievement. The report indicated that red wolves could be released and survive in the wild, but that illegal killing of red wolves threatens the long-term persistence of the population.[61] The report stated that the USFWS needed to update its red wolf recovery plan, thoroughly evaluate its strategy for preventing coyote hybridization and increase its public outreach.[62] In 2014, the USFWS issued the first take permit for a red wolf to a private landowner. [63] Since then, the USFWS issued several other take permits to landowners in the five-county restoration area. During June 2015, a landowner shot and killed a female red wolf after being authorized a take permit, causing a public outcry. [64][65] In response, the Southern Environmental Law Center filed a lawsuit against the USFWS for violating the Endangered Species Act. [66] By 2016, the red wolf population of North Carolina had declined to 45–60 wolves. The largest cause of this decline was gunshot. [67] In June 2018, the USFWS announced a proposal that would limit the wolves' safe range to only Alligator River National Wildlife Refuge, where only about 35 wolves remain, thus allowing hunting on private land.[68][69] In November 2018, Chief Judge Terrence W. Boyle found that the USFWS had violated its Contested killing of re-introduced red wolves Comparative image of a red wolf and a western coyote (C. latrans incolatus) congressional mandate to protect the red wolf, and ruled that USFWS had no power to give landowners the right to shoot them. [70] Since before European colonization of the Americas, the red wolf has featured prominently in Cherokee spiritual beliefs, where it is known as wa'ya (ᏩᏯ), and is said to be the companion of Kana'ti - the hunter and father of the Aniwaya or Wolf Clan.[71] Traditionally, Cherokee people generally avoid killing red wolves, as such an act is believed to bring about the vengeance of the killed animals' pack-mates. [72] Showing color variation In winter Color contrast A red wolf in a breeding program. Fewer than 100 remain in the wild. With radio collar A captive red wolf from Oklahoma (1944) The taxonomic status of the red wolf is debated. It has been described as either a species with a distinct lineage, [73] a recent hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote, [10] an ancient hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote which warrants species status, [74] or a distinct species that has undergone recent hybridization with the coyote. [75][76] The naturalists John James Audubon and John Bachman were the first to suggest that the wolves of the southern United States were different from wolves in its other regions. In 1851 they recorded the 'Black American Wolf' as C. l. var. Relationship to humans Gallery Taxonomy ater that existed in Florida, South Carolina, North Carolina, Kentucky, southern Indiana, southern Missouri, Louisiana, and northern Texas. They also recorded the 'Red Texan Wolf' as C. l. var. rufus that existed from northern Arkansas, through Texas, and into Mexico. In 1912 the zoologist Gerrit Smith Miller Jr. noted that the designation ater was unavailable and recorded these wolves as C. l. floridanus. [77] In 1937, the zoologist Edward Alphonso Goldman proposed a new species of wolf Canis rufus. [6] Three subspecies of red wolf were originally recognized by Goldman, with two of these subspecies now being extinct. The Florida black wolf (Canis rufus floridanus) (Maine to Florida) has been extinct since 1908 and the Mississippi Valley red wolf (Canis rufus gregoryi) (south-central United States) [1] was declared extinct by 1980. By the 1970s, the Texas red wolf (Canis rufus rufus) existed only in the coastal prairies and marshes of extreme southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana. These were removed from the wild to form a captive breeding program and reintroduced into eastern North Carolina in 1987.[39] In 1967, the zoologists Barbara Lawrence and William H. Bossert believed that the case for classifying C. rufus as a species was based too heavily on the small red wolves of central Texas, from where it was known that there existed hybridization with the coyote. They said that if an adequate number of specimens had been included from Florida, then the separation of C. rufus from C. lupus would have been unlikely. [77] The taxonomic reference Catalogue of Life classifies the red wolf as a subspecies of Canis lupus. [9] The mammalogist W. Christopher Wozencraft, writing in Mammal Species of the World (2005), regards the red wolf as a hybrid of the gray wolf and the coyote, but due to its uncertain status compromised by recognizing it as a subspecies of the gray wolf Canis lupus rufus. [10] In 2021, the American Society of Mammalogists considered the red wolf as its own species (Canis rufus). [78][79] When European settlers first arrived to North America, the coyote's range was limited to the western half of the continent. They existed in the arid areas and across the open plains, including the prairie regions of the midwestern states. Early explorers found some in Indiana and Wisconsin. From the mid-1800s onward, coyotes began expanding beyond their original range. [77] The taxonomic debate regarding North American wolves can be summarised as follows: There are two prevailing evolutionary models for North American Canis: (i) a two-species model that identifies grey wolves (C. lupus) and (western) coyotes (Canis latrans) as distinct species that gave rise to various hybrids, including the Great Lakesboreal wolf (also known as Great Lakes wolf), the eastern coyote (also known as Coywolf / brush wolf / tweed wolf), the red wolf, and the eastern (Algonquin) wolf; and (ii) a three-species model that identifies the grey wolf, western coyote, and eastern wolf (C. lycaon) as distinct species, where Great Lakes-boreal wolves are the product of grey wolf × eastern wolf hybridization, eastern coyotes are the result of eastern wolf × western coyote hybridization, and red wolves are considered historically the same species as the eastern wolf, although their contemporary genetic Taxonomic debate Audubon's depiction of the red wolf (1851) signature has diverged owing to a bottleneck associated with captive breeding. [80] The paleontologist Ronald M. Nowak notes that the oldest fossil remains of the red wolf are 10,000 years old and were found in Florida near Melbourne, Brevard County, Withlacoochee River, Citrus County, and Devil's Den Cave, Levy County. He notes that there are only a few, but questionable, fossil remains of the gray wolf found in the southeastern states. He proposes that following the extinction of the dire wolf, the coyote appears to have been displaced from the southeastern US by the red wolf until the last century, when the extirpation of wolves allowed the coyote to expand its range. He also proposes that the ancestor of all North American and Eurasian wolves was C. mosbachensis, which lived in the Middle Pleistocene 700,000–300,000 years ago.[1] C. mosbachensis was a wolf that once lived across Eurasia before going extinct. It was smaller than most North American wolf populations and smaller than C. rufus, and has been described as being similar in size to the small Indian wolf, Canis lupus pallipes. He further proposes that C. mosbachensis invaded North America where it became isolated by the later glaciation and there gave rise to C. rufus. In Eurasia, C. mosbachensis evolved into C. lupus, which later invaded North America. [73]:242 The paleontologist and expert on the genus Canis' natural history, Xiaoming Wang, looked at red wolf fossil material but could not state if it was, or was not, a separate species. He said that Nowak had put together more morphometric data on red wolves than anybody else, but Nowak's statistical analysis of the data revealed a red wolf that is difficult to deal with. Wang proposes that studies of ancient DNA taken from fossils might help settle the debate. [81] In 1771, the English naturalist Mark Catesby referred to Florida and the Carolinas when he wrote that 'The Wolves in America are like those of Europe, in shape and colour, but are somewhat smaller.' They were described as being more timid and less voracious. [82] In 1791 the American naturalist William Bartram wrote in his book Travels about a wolf which he had encountered in Florida that was larger than a dog, but was black in contrast to the larger yellow-brown wolves of Pennsylvania and Canada. [32][83] In 1851 the naturalists John James Audubon and John Bachman described the 'Red Texan Wolf' in detail. They noted that it could be found in Florida and other southeastern states, but it differed from other North American wolves and named it Canis lupus rufus. It was described as being more fox-like than the gray wolf, but retaining the same 'sneaking, cowardly, yet ferocious disposition'. [5] In 1905, the mammalogist Vernon Bailey referred to the 'Texan Red Wolf' with the first use of the name Canis rufus. [84] In 1937 the zoologist Edward Goldman undertook a morphological study of southeastern wolf specimens. He noted that their skulls and dentition differed from those of gray wolves and closely approached those of coyotes. He identified the specimens as all belonging to the one species which he referred to as Canis rufus. [6][85] Goldman then examined a large number of southeastern wolf specimens and identified three subspecies, noting that their colors ranged from black, gray, and cinnamon-buff. [85] Fossil evidence Morphological evidence Skulls of North American canines, with the red wolf in the center It is difficult to distinguish the red wolf from a red wolf × coyote hybrid.[32] During the 1960s, two studies of the skull morphology of wild Canis in the southeastern states found them to belong to the red wolf, the coyote, or many variations in between. The conclusion was that there has been recent massive hybridization with the coyote. [34][86] In contrast, another 1960s study of Canis morphology concluded that the red wolf, eastern wolf, and domestic dog were closer to the gray wolf than the coyote, while still remaining clearly distinctive from each other. The study regarded these 3 canines as subspecies of the gray wolf. However, the study noted that 'red wolf' specimens taken from the edge of their range which they shared with the coyote could not be attributed to any one species because the cranial variation was very wide. The study proposed further research to ascertain if hybridization had occurred.[87][88] In 1971, a study of the skulls of C. rufus, C. lupus and C. latrans indicated that C. rufus was distinguishable by being in size and shape midway between the gray wolf and the coyote. A re-examination of museum canine skulls collected from central Texas between 1915 and 1918 showed variations spanning from C. rufus through to C. latrans. The study proposes that by 1930 due to human habitat modification, the red wolf had disappeared from this region and had been replaced by a hybrid swarm. By 1969, this hybrid swarm was moving eastwards into eastern Texas and Louisiana. [8] In the late 19th century, sheep farmers in Kerr County, Texas, stated that the coyotes in the region were larger than normal coyotes, and they believed that they were a gray wolf and coyote cross. [77] In 1970, the wolf mammalogist L. David Mech proposed that the red wolf was a hybrid of the gray wolf and coyote. [89] However, a 1971 study compared the cerebellum within the brain of six Canis species and found that the cerebellum of the red wolf indicated a distinct species, was closest to that of the gray wolf, but in contrast indicated some characteristics that were more primitive than those found in any of the other Canis species. [90] In 2014, a three-dimensional morphometrics study of Canis species accepted only six red wolf specimens for analysis from those on offer, due to the impact of hybridization on the others. [75] Different DNA studies may give conflicting results because of the specimens selected, the technology used, and the assumptions made by the researchers. [91][b] Phylogenetic trees compiled using different genetic markers have given conflicting results on the relationship between the wolf, dog and coyote. One study based on SNPs [93] (a single mutation), and another based on nuclear gene sequences [94] (taken from the cell nucleus), showed dogs clustering with coyotes and separate from wolves. Another study based on SNPS showed wolves clustering with coyotes and separate from dogs. [95] Other studies based on a number of markers show the more widely accepted result of wolves clustering with dogs separate from coyotes. [96][97] These results demonstrate that caution is needed when interpreting the results provided by genetic markers. [93] In 1980, a study used gel electrophoresis to look at fragments of DNA taken from dogs, coyotes, and wolves from the red wolf's core range. The study found that a unique allele (expression of a gene) associated with Lactate dehydrogenase could be found in red wolves, but not dogs and coyotes. The study DNA studies Genetic marker evidence suggests that this allele survives in the red wolf. The study did not compare gray wolves for the existence of this allele. [98] Mitochondrial DNA (mDNA) passes along the maternal line and can date back thousands of years. [81] In 1991, a study of red wolf mDNA indicates that red wolf genotypes match those known to belong to the gray wolf or the coyote. The study concluded that the red wolf is either a wolf × coyote hybrid or a species that has hybridized with the wolf and coyote across its entire range. The study proposed that the red wolf is a southeastern occurring subspecies of the gray wolf that has undergone hybridization due to an expanding coyote population; however, being unique and threatened that it should remain protected.[99] This conclusion led to debate for the remainder of the decade. [100][101][102][103][104][105][106][107][108][109][110] In 2000, a study looked at red wolves and eastern Canadian wolves. The study agreed that these two wolves readily hybridize with the coyote. The study used eight microsatellites (genetic markers taken from across the genome of a specimen). The phylogenetic tree produced from the genetic sequences showed red wolves and eastern Canadian wolves clustering together. These then clustered next closer with the coyote and away from the gray wolf. A further analysis using mDNA sequences indicated the presence of coyote in both of these two wolves, and that these two wolves had diverged from the coyote 150,000– 300,000 years ago. No gray wolf sequences were detected in the samples. The study proposes that these findings are inconsistent with the two wolves being subspecies of the gray wolf, that red wolves and eastern Canadian wolves evolved in North America after having diverged from the coyote, and therefore they are more likely to hybridize with coyotes. [111] In 2009, a study of eastern Canadian wolves using microsatellites, mDNA, and the paternally-inherited yDNA markers found that the eastern Canadian wolf was a unique ecotype of the gray wolf that had undergone recent hybridization with other gray wolves and coyotes. It could find no evidence to support the findings of the earlier 2000 study regarding the eastern Canadian wolf. The study did not include the red wolf. [112] In 2011, a study compared the genetic sequences of 48,000 single nucleotide polymorphisms (mutations) taken from the genomes of canids from around the world. The comparison indicated that the red wolf was about 76% coyote and 24% gray wolf with hybridization having occurred 287–430 years ago. The eastern wolf was 58% gray wolf and 42% coyote with hybridization having occurred 546–963 years ago. The study rejected the theory of a common ancestry for the red and eastern wolves. [81][113] However the next year, a study reviewed a subset of the 2011 study's Single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data and proposed that its methodology had skewed the results and that the red and eastern wolves are not hybrids but are in fact the same species separate from the gray wolf. [81][114] The 2012 study proposed that there are three true Canis species in North America - the gray wolf, the western coyote, and the red wolf / eastern wolf, with the eastern wolf represented by the Algonquin wolf, with the Great Lakes wolf being a hybrid of the eastern wolf and the gray wolf, and the eastern coyote being a hybrid of the western coyote and the eastern (Algonquin) wolf. [114] A red wolf in the forest Also in 2011, a scientific literature review was undertaken to help assess the taxonomy of North American wolves. One of the findings proposed was that the eastern wolf is supported as a separate species by morphological and genetic data. Genetic data supports a close relationship between the eastern and red wolves, but not close enough to support these as one species. It was 'likely' that these were the separate descendants of a common ancestor shared with coyotes. This review was published in 2012.[115] In 2014, the National Center for Ecological Analysis and Synthesis was invited by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service to provide an independent review of its proposed rule relating to gray wolves. The center's panel findings were that the proposed rule was heavily dependent upon the analysis contained in a scientific literature review conducted in 2011 (Chambers et al.), that this work was not universally accepted, that the issue was 'not settled', and that the rule does not represent the 'best available science'. [116] In early 2016, an mDNA analysis of three ancient (300–1,900 years old) wolf-like samples from the southeastern United States found that they grouped with the coyote clade, although their teeth were wolflike. The study proposed that the specimens were either coyotes and this would mean that coyotes had occupied this region continuously rather than intermittently, a North American evolved red wolf lineage related to coyotes, or an ancient coyote–wolf hybrid. Ancient hybridization between wolves and coyotes would likely have been due to natural events or early human activities, not landscape changes associated with European colonization because of the age of these samples. [117] Coyote–wolf hybrids may have occupied the southeastern United States for a long time, filling an important niche as a large predator. [107][117] In July 2016, a whole-genome DNA study proposed, based on the assumptions made, that all of the North American wolves and coyotes diverged from a common ancestor less than 6,000– 117,000 years ago. The study also indicated that all North America wolves have a significant amount of coyote ancestry and all coyotes some degree of wolf ancestry, and that the red wolf and Great Lakes region wolf are highly admixed with different proportions of gray wolf and coyote ancestry. One test indicated a wolf/coyote divergence time of 51,000 years before present that matched other studies indicating that the extant wolf came into being around this time. Another test indicated that the red wolf diverged from the coyote between 55,000 and 117,000 years before present and the Great Lakes region wolf 32,000 years before present. Other tests and modelling showed various divergence ranges and the conclusion was a range of less than 6,000 and 117,000 years before present. The study found that coyote ancestry was highest in red wolves from the southeast of the United States and lowest among the Great Lakes region wolves. The theory proposed was that this pattern matched the south-to-north disappearance of the wolf due to European colonization and its resulting loss of habitat. Bounties led to the extirpation of wolves initially in the southeast, and as the wolf population declined wolf-coyote admixture increased. Later, this process occurred in the Great Lakes region with the influx of coyotes replacing wolves, followed by the expansion of coyotes and their hybrids across the wider region.[79][118] The red wolf may possess some genomic elements that were unique to gray wolf and coyote lineages from the American South.[79] The proposed timing of the wolf/coyote divergence conflicts with the finding of a coyote-like specimen in strata dated to 1 million years before present, [119] and red wolf fossil specimens dating back 10,000 years ago.[1] The study concluded by stating that because of the extirpation of gray wolves in the American Southeast, 'the reintroduced population of red wolves in eastern North Carolina is doomed to genetic swamping by coyotes without the extensive management of hybrids, as is currently practiced by the USFWS.'[79] Whole-genome evidence In September 2016, the USFWS announced a program of changes to the red wolf recovery program [120] and 'will begin implementing a series of actions based on the best and latest scientific information'. The service will secure the captive population which is regarded as not sustainable, determine new sites for additional experimental wild populations, revise the application of the existing experimental population rule in North Carolina, and complete a comprehensive Species Status Assessment. [121] In 2017, a group of canid researchers challenged the recent finding that the red wolf and the eastern wolf were the result of recent coyote-wolf hybridization. The group highlight that no testing had been undertaken to ascertain the time period that hybridization had occurred and that, by the previous study's own figures, the hybridization could not have occurred recently but supports a much more ancient hybridization. The group found deficiencies in the previous study's selection of specimens and the findings drawn from the different techniques used. Therefore, the group argues that both the red wolf and the eastern wolf remain genetically distinct North American taxa. [74] This was rebutted by the authors of the earlier study. [122] Another study in late 2018 of wild canids in southwestern Louisiana also supported the red wolf as a separate species, citing distinct red wolf DNA within hybrid canids. [48] In 2019, a literature review of the previous studies was undertaken by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. The position of the National Academies is that the historical red wolf forms a valid taxonomic species, the modern red wolf is distinct from wolves and coyotes, and modern red wolves trace some of their ancestry to historic red wolves. The species Canis rufus is supported for the modern red wolf, unless genomic evidence from historical red wolf specimens changes this assessment, due to a lack of continuity between the historic and the modern red wolves. [123] Genetic studies relating to wolves or dogs have inferred phylogenetic relationships based on the only reference genome available, that of the Boxer dog. In 2017, the first reference genome of the wolf Canis lupus lupus was mapped to aid future research.[124] In 2018, a study looked at the genomic structure and admixture of North American wolves, wolf-like canids, and coyotes using specimens from across their entire range that mapped the largest dataset of nuclear genome sequences against the wolf reference genome. The study supports the findings of previous studies that North American gray wolves and wolflike canids were the result of complex gray wolf and coyote mixing. A polar wolf from Greenland and a coyote from Mexico represented the purest specimens. The coyotes from Alaska, California, Alabama, and Quebec show almost no wolf ancestry. Coyotes from Missouri, Illinois, and Florida exhibit 5–10% wolf ancestry. There was 40%:60% wolf to coyote ancestry in red wolves, 60%:40% in Eastern timber wolves, and 75%:25% in the Great Lakes wolves. There was 10% coyote ancestry in Mexican wolves and Atlantic Coast wolves, 5% in Pacific Coast and Yellowstone wolves, and less than 3% in Canadian archipelago wolves. [125] The study shows that the genomic ancestry of red, eastern timber and Great Lakes wolves were the result of admixture between modern gray wolves and modern coyotes. This was then followed by development into local populations. Individuals within each group showed consistent levels of coyote to wolf inheritance, indicating that this was the result of relatively ancient admixture. The eastern timber wolf (Algonquin Provincial Park) is genetically closely related to the Great Lakes wolf (Minnesota, Isle Royale National Park). If a third canid had been involved in the admixture of the North American wolf-like canids, then its genetic signature would have been found in coyotes and wolves, which it has not. [125] Gray wolves suffered a species-wide population bottleneck (reduction) approximately 25,000 YBP during the Last Glacial Maximum. This was followed by a single population of modern wolves expanding out of a Beringia refuge to repopulate the wolf's former range, replacing the remaining Late Pleistocene wolf Wolf genome populations across Eurasia and North America as they did so.[126][127] This implies that if the coyote and red wolf were derived from this invasion, their histories date only tens of thousands and not hundreds of thousands of years ago, which is consistent with other studies. [127] The Endangered Species Act provides protection to endangered species, but does not provide protection for endangered admixed individuals, even if these serve as reservoirs for extinct genetic variation. Researchers on both sides of the red wolf debate argue that admixed canids warrant full protection under this Act. [47][79] In 2020, a study conducted DNA sequencing of canines across southeastern US to detect those with any red wolf ancestry. The study found that red wolf ancestry exists in the coyote populations of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas, but also newly detected in North Carolina. The red wolf ancestry of these populations possess unique red wolf alleles not found in the current captive red wolf population. The study proposes that the expanding coyotes admixed with red wolves to gain genetic material that was suited to the southeastern environment and would aid their adaptation to it, and that surviving red wolves admixed with coyotes because the red wolves were suffering from inbreeding.[128] In 2021, a study conducted DNA sequencing of canines across the remnant red wolf hybrid zone of southwestern Louisiana and southeastern Texas. The study found red wolf ancestry in the coyote genomes which increases up to 60% in a westward gradient. This was due to introgression from the remnant red wolf population over the past 100 years. The study proposes that coyotes expanded into the gulf region and admixed with red wolves prior to the red wolf going extinct in the wild due to loss of habitat and persecution. In the past two decades the hybrid region has expanded. The study presented the genetic evidence that the red wolf is a separate species, based on the structure of one of the loci of its Xchromosome which is accepted as a marker for distinct species. As such, the study suggested that the introgressed red wolf ancestry could be de-introgressed back as a basis for breeding further red wolves from the hybrids. [129] In 2021, a study of mitochondrial genomes sourced from specimens dated before the 20th century revealed that red wolves could be found across North America. With the arrival of the gray wolf between 80,000 and 60,000 years ago, the red wolf's range shrank to the eastern forests and California, and the coyote replaced the red wolf mid-continent between 60,000 and 30,000 years ago. The coyote expanded into California at the beginning of the Holocene era 12,000–10,000 years ago and admixed with the red wolf, phenotypically replacing them. The study proposes that the red wolf may pre-date the coyote in North America. [130]"
            },
        ]

polar_bear_wiki = [
            {
                "role": "system",
                "content": "You are helping raise awareness for an endangered animal. You'll be given the Wikipedia article about the animal. Respond with 10 fun facts about interesting quirks of the specified animal. Write at a 5th grade level. Each fun fact should be 2-3 sentences long. Put a new line between each fun fact. Do not include any introduction, bullet points, or numbers.",
            },
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content":"The polar bear (Ursus maritimus) is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear and land carnivore, with adult males weighing 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). The species is sexually dimorphic, as adult females are much smaller. The polar bear is white- or yellowish-furred with black skin and a thick layer of fat. It is more slender than the brown bear, with a narrower skull, longer neck and lower shoulder hump. Its teeth are sharper and more adapted to cutting meat. The paws are large and allow the bear to walk on ice and paddle in the water. Polar bears are both terrestrial and pagophilic (ice-living) and are considered to be marine mammals due to their dependence on marine ecosystems. They prefer the annual sea ice but live on land when the ice melts in the summer. They are mostly carnivorous and specialized for preying on seals, particularly ringed seals. Such prey is typically taken by ambush; the bear may stalk its prey on the ice or in the water, but also will stay at a breathing hole or ice edge to wait for prey to swim by. The bear primarily feeds on the seal's energy-rich blubber. Other prey include walruses, beluga whales and some terrestrial animals. Polar bears are usually solitary but can be found in groups when on land. During the breeding season, male bears guard females and defend them from rivals. Mothers give birth to cubs in maternity dens during the winter. Young stay with their mother for up to two and a half years. The polar bear is considered to be a vulnerable species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) with an estimated total population of 22,000 to 31,000 individuals. Its biggest threats are climate change, pollution and energy development. Climate change has caused a decline in sea ice, giving the polar bear less access to its favoured prey and increasing the risk of malnutrition and starvation. Less sea ice also means that the bears must spend more time on land, increasing conflicts with people. Polar bears have been hunted, both by native and non-native peoples, for their coats, meat and Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774 [4] Polar bear range Synonyms Ursus eogroenlandicus Ursus groenlandicus Ursus jenaensis Ursus labradorensis Ursus marinus Ursus polaris Ursus spitzbergensis Ursus ungavensis Thalarctos maritimus other items. They have been kept in captivity in zoos and circuses and are prevalent in art, folklore, religion and modern culture. The polar bear was given its common name by Thomas Pennant in A Synopsis of Quadrupeds (1771). It was known as the 'white bear' in Europe between the 13th and 18th centuries, as well as 'ice bear', 'sea bear' and 'Greenland bear'. The Norse referred to it as isbjørn ('ice bear') and hvitebjørn ('white bear'). The bear is called nanook by the Inuit. The Netsilik cultures additionally have different names for bears based on certain factors, such as sex and age: these include adult males (anguraq), single adult females (tattaq), gestating females (arnaluk), newborns (hagliaqtug), large adolescents (namiaq) and dormant bears (apitiliit). [5] The scientific name Ursus maritimus is Latin for 'sea bear'. [6][7] Carl Linnaeus classified the polar bear as a type of brown bear (Ursus arctos), labelling it as Ursus maritimus albus-major, articus in the 1758 edition of his work Systema Naturae. [8] Constantine John Phipps formally described the polar bear as a distinct species, Ursus maritimus in 1774, following his 1773 voyage towards the North Pole. [4][9] Due to its adaptations to a marine environment, some taxonomists like Theodore Knottnerus-Meyer have placed the polar bear in its genus Thalarctos. [10][11] However Ursus is widely considered to be the valid genus for the species based on the fossil record and the fact that it can breed with the brown bear. [11][12] Different subspecies have been proposed including Ursus maritimus maritimus and U. m. marinus. [a][13] However these are not supported and the polar bear is considered to be monotypic. [14] One possible fossil subspecies, U. m. tyrannus, was posited in 1964 by Björn Kurtén, who reconstructed the subspecies from a single fragment of an ulna which was approximately 20 percent larger than expected for a polar bear. [12] However, re-evaluation in the 21st century has indicated that the fragment likely comes from a giant brown bear. [15][16] The polar bear is one of eight extant species in the bear family Ursidae and of six extant species in the subfamily Ursinae. Ursine bears may have originated around 5 million years ago and show extensive hybridization of species in their lineage. The cladogram below is based on a 2017 genetic study:[17] Ursidae Ursinae Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) Naming Taxonomy Evolution Brown bear (Ursus arctos) American black bear (Ursus americanus) Asiatic black bear (Ursus thibetanus) Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus) Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus) Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) Fossils of polar bears are uncommon.[12][15] The oldest known fossil is a 130,000- to 110,000-year-old jaw bone, found on Prince Charles Foreland, Norway, in 2004.[18][1] Scientists in the 20th century surmised that polar bears directly descended from a population of brown bears, possibly in eastern Siberia or Alaska. [12][15] Mitochondrial DNA studies in the 1990s and 2000s supported the status of the polar bear as a derivative of the brown bear, finding that some brown bear populations were more closely related to polar bears than to other brown bears, particularly the ABC Islands bears of Southeast Alaska. [18][19][20] A 2010 study estimated that the polar bear lineage split from other brown bears around 150,000 years ago.[18] More extensive genetic studies have refuted the idea that polar bears are directly descended from brown bears and found that the two species are separate sister lineages. The genetic similarities between polar bears and some brown bears were found to be the result of interbreeding.[21][22] A 2012 study estimated the split between polar and brown bears as occurring around 600,000 years ago.[21] A 2022 study estimated the divergence as occurring even earlier at over one million years ago.[22] Glaciation events over hundreds of thousands of years led to both the origin of polar bears and their subsequent interactions and hybridizations with brown bears. [23] Studies in 2011 and 2012 concluded that gene flow went from brown bears to polar bears during hybridization.[21][24] In particular, a 2011 study concluded that living polar bear populations derived their maternal lines from now-extinct Irish brown bears. [24] Later studies have clarified that gene flow went from polar to brown bears rather than the reverse. [23][25][26] Up to 9 percent of the genome of ABC bears was transferred from polar bears, [27] while Irish bears had up to 21.5 percent polar bear origin.[25] Mass hybridization between the two species appears to have stopped around 200,000 years ago. Modern hybrids are relatively rare in the wild.[22] Polar/brown bear hybrid taxidermy specimen on display at Natural History Museum at Tring in Hertfordshire, England Polar bear skeleton Bear skull Analysis of the number of variations of gene copies in polar bears compared with brown bears and American black bears shows distinct adaptions. Polar bears have a less diverse array of olfactory receptor genes, a result of there being fewer odours in their Arctic habitat. With its carnivorous, high-fat diet the species has fewer copies of the gene involved in making amylase, an enzyme that breaks down starch, and more selection for genes for fatty acid breakdown and a more efficient circulatory system. The polar bear's thicker coat is the result of more copies of genes involved in keratin-creating proteins. [28] The polar bear is the largest living species of bear and land carnivore, though some brown bear subspecies like the Kodiak bear can rival it in size. [29][30] Males are generally 200–250 cm (6.6–8.2 ft) long with a weight of 300–800 kg (660–1,760 lb). Females are smaller at 180–200 cm (5.9–6.6 ft) with a weight of 150–300 kg (330–660 lb). [10] Sexual dimorphism in the species is particularly high compared with most other mammals. [31] Male polar bears also have proportionally larger heads than females. [32] The weight of polar bears fluctuates during the year, as they can bulk up on fat and increase their mass by 50 percent. [29] A fattened, pregnant female can weigh as much as 500 kg (1,100 lb). [33] Adults may stand 130–160 cm (4.3–5.2 ft) tall at the shoulder. The tail is 76–126 mm (3.0–5.0 in) long.[10] The largest polar bear on record, reportedly weighing 1,002 kg (2,209 lb), was a male shot at Kotzebue Sound in northwestern Alaska in 1960.[34] Compared with the brown bear, this species has a more slender build, with a narrower, flatter and smaller skull, a longer neck, and a lower shoulder hump. [29][35] The snout profile is curved, resembling a 'Roman nose'. [29] They have 34–42 teeth including 12 incisors, 4 canines, 8–16 premolars and 10 molars. The teeth are adapted for a more carnivorous diet than that of the brown bear, having longer, sharper and more spaced out canines, and smaller, more pointed cheek teeth (premolars and molars). [31][36][35] The species has a large space or diastema between the canines and cheek teeth, which may allow it to better bite into prey. [36][37] Since it normally preys on animals much smaller than it, the polar bear does not have a particularly strong bite. [37] Polar bears have large paws, with the front paws being broader than the back. The feet are hairier than in other bear species, providing warmth and friction when stepping on snow and sea ice. [38] The claws are small but sharp and hooked and are used both to snatch prey and climb onto ice. [39][40] The coat consists of dense underfur around 5 cm (2.0 in) long and guard hairs around 15 cm (5.9 in) long.[10] Males have long hairs on their forelegs, which is thought to signal their fitness to females. [41] The outer surface of the hairs has a scaly appearance, and the guard hairs are hollow, which allows the animals to trap heat and float in the water. [42] The transparent guard hairs forward scatter ultraviolet light between the underfur and the skin, leading to a cycle of absorption and re-emission, keeping them warm. [43] The fur appears white due to the backscatter of incident light and the absence of pigment. [43][44] Polar bears gain a Characteristics Polar bear jumping on floating ice at Svalbard Map of 19 polar bear subpopulations. The Queen Elizabeth Islands (QE) subpopulation is not universally accepted. [54] yellowish colouration as they are exposed more to the sun. This is reversed after they moult. It can also be grayish or brownish.[10] Their light fur provides camouflage in their snowy environment. After emerging from the water, the bear can easily shake itself dry before freezing since the hairs are resistant to tangling when wet. [45] The skin, including the nose and lips, is black and absorbs heat. [10][43] Polar bears have a 5–10 cm (2.0–3.9 in) thick layer of fat underneath the skin,[10] which provides both warmth and energy. [46] Polar bears maintain their core body temperature at about 36.9 °C (98 °F). [47] Overheating is countered by a layer of highly vascularized striated muscle tissue and finely controlled blood vessels. Bears also cool off by entering the water. [43][48] The eyes of a polar bear are close to the top of the head, which may allow them to stay out of the water when the animal is swimming at the surface. They are relatively small, which may be an adaption against blowing snow and snow blindness. Polar bears are dichromats, and lack the cone cells for seeing green. They have many rod cells which allow them to see at night. The ears are small, allowing them to retain heat and not get frostbitten. [49] They can hear best at frequencies of 11.2–22.5 kHz, a wider frequency range than expected given that their prey mostly makes low-frequency sounds. [50] The nasal concha creates a large surface area, so more warm air can move through the nasal passages. [51] Their olfactory system is also large and adapted for smelling prey over vast distances. [52] The animal has reniculate kidneys which filter out the salt in their food.[53] Polar bears inhabit the Arctic and adjacent areas. Their range includes Greenland, Canada, Alaska, Russia and the Svalbard Archipelago of Norway. [10][55][56] Polar bears have been recorded 25 km (16 mi) from the North Pole. [57] The southern limits of their range include James Bay and Newfoundland and Labrador in Canada and St. Matthew Island and the Pribilof Islands of Alaska. [10] They are not permanent residents of Iceland but have been recorded visiting there if they can reach it via sea ice. [58] Due to minimal human encroachment on the bears' remote habitat, they can still be found in much of their original range, more so than any other large land carnivore. [59] Polar bears have been divided into at least 18 subpopulations labelled East Greenland (ES), Barents Sea (BS), Kara Sea (KS), Laptev Sea (LVS), Chukchi Sea (CS), northern and southern Beaufort Sea (SBS and NBS), Viscount Melville (VM), M'Clintock Channel (MC), Gulf of Boothia (GB), Lancaster Sound (LS), Norwegian Bay (NB), Kane Basin (KB), Baffin Bay (BB), Davis Strait (DS), Foxe Basin (FB) and the western and southern Hudson Bay (WHB and SHB) populations. [60][54] Bears in and around the Queen Elizabeth Islands have been proposed as a subpopulation but this is not universally accepted.[54] A 2022 study has suggested that the bears in southeast Greenland should be considered a different subpopulation based on their geographic isolation and genetics. [61] Polar bear populations can also be divided into four gene clusters: Southern Canadian, Canadian Archipelago, Western Basin (northwestern Canada west to the Russian Far East) and Eastern Basin (Greenland east to Siberia). [60] Distribution and habitat Mother bear and cubs sleeping Young bears play-fighting The polar bear is dependent enough on the ocean to be considered a marine mammal. [14][62] It is pagophilic and mainly inhabits annual sea ice covering continental shelves and between islands of archipelagos. These areas, known as the 'Arctic Ring of Life', have high biological productivity. [59][63] The species tends to frequent areas where sea ice meets water, such as polynyas and leads, to hunt the seals that make up most of its diet. [64] Polar bears travel in response to changes in ice cover throughout the year. They are forced onto land in summer when the sea ice disappears. [65] Terrestrial habitats used by polar bears include forests, mountains, rocky areas, lakeshores and creeks. [66] In the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, where the sea ice breaks off and floats north during the summer, polar bears generally stay on the ice, though a large portion of the population (15–40%) has been observed spending all summer on land since the 1980s. [67] Some areas have thick multiyear ice that does not completely melt and the bears can stay on all year, [68][69] though this type of ice has fewer seals and allows for less productivity in the water. [69] Polar bears may travel areas as small as 3,500 km2 (1,400 sq mi) to as large as 38,000 km2 (15,000 sq mi) in a year, while drifting ice allows them to move further. [70] Depending on ice conditions, a bear can travel an average of 12 km (7.5 mi) per day. [71] These movements are powered by their energy-rich diet. [46] Polar bears move by walking and galloping and do not trot. [72] Walking bears tilt their front paws towards each other. [39] They can run at estimated speeds of up to 40 km/h (25 mph)[73] but typically move at around 5.5 km/h (3.4 mph). [74] Polar bears are also capable swimmers and can swim at up to 6 km/h (3.7 mph). [75] One study found they can swim for an average of 3.4 days at a time and travel an average of 154.2 km (95.8 mi). [76] They can dive for as long as three minutes. [77] When swimming, the broad front paws do the paddling, while the hind legs play a role in steering and diving.[10][39] Most polar bears are active year-round. Hibernation occurs only among pregnant females. [78] Non-hibernating bears typically have a normal 24-hour cycle even during days of all darkness or all sunlight, though cycles less than a day are more common during the former. [79] The species is generally diurnal, being most active early in the day. [80] Polar bears sleep close to eight hours a day on average. [81] They will sleep in various positions, including curled up, sitting up, lying on one side, on the back with limbs spread, or on the belly with the rump elevated. [74][40] On sea ice, polar bears snooze at pressure ridges where they dig on the sheltered side and lie down. After a snowstorm, a bear may rest under the snow for hours or days. On land, the bears may dig a resting spot on gravel or sand beaches. [82] They will also sleep on rocky outcrops. [83] In mountainous areas on the coast, mothers and subadults will sleep on slopes where they can better spot another bear coming.[81] Adult males are less at risk from other bears and can sleep nearly anywhere. [83] Polar bears are typically solitary, aside from mothers with cubs and mating pairs. [84] On land, they are found closer together and gather around food resources. Adult males, in particular, are more tolerant of each other in land environments and outside the breeding season.[85][86] They have been recorded forming stable 'alliances', travelling, resting and playing together. A dominant hierarchy exists among polar bears with the largest mature males ranking at the top. Behaviour and ecology Social life Bear feeding on a bearded seal Adult females outrank subadults and adolescents and younger males outrank females of the same age. In addition, cubs with their mothers outrank those on their own.[87] Females with dependent offspring tend to stay away from males, [86] but are sometimes associated with other female–offspring units, creating 'composite families'. [87] Polar bears are generally quiet but can produce various sounds. [88] Chuffing, a soft pulsing call, is made by mother bears presumably to keep in contact with their young.[89] During the breeding season, adult males will chuff at potential mates. [90] Unlike other animals where chuffing is passed through the nostrils, in polar bears it is emitted through a partially open mouth.[89] Cubs will cry for attention and produce humming noises while nursing.[91] Teeth chops, jaw pops, blows, huffs, moans, growls and roars are heard in more hostile encounters. [90] A polar bear visually communicates with its eyes, ears, nose and lips. [87] Chemical communication can also be important: bears secrete their scent from their foot pads into their tracks, allowing individuals to keep track of one another. [92] The polar bear is a hypercarnivore, [93] and the most carnivorous species of bear. [35] It is an apex predator of the Arctic, [94] preying on ice-living seals and consuming their energy-rich blubber. [95] The most commonly taken species is the ringed seal, but they also prey on bearded seals and harp seals. [10] Ringed seals are ideal prey as they are abundant and small enough to be overpowered by even small bears. [96] Bearded seal adults are larger and are more likely to break free from an attacking bear, hence adult male bears are more successful in hunting them. Less common prey are hooded seals, spotted seals, ribbon seals and the more temperate-living harbour seals. [97] Polar bears, mostly adult males, will occasionally hunt walruses, both on land and ice, though they mainly target the young, as adults are too large and formidable, with their thick skin and long tusks. [98] Besides seals, bears will prey on cetacean species such as beluga whales and narwhals, as well as reindeer, birds and their eggs, fish and marine invertebrates. [99] They rarely eat plant material as their digestive system is too specialized for animal matter, [100] though they have been recorded eating berries, moss, grass and seaweed. [101] In their southern range, especially near Hudson Bay and James Bay, polar bears endure all summer without sea ice to hunt from and must subsist more on terrestrial foods. [102] Fat reserves allow polar bears to survive for months without eating.[103] Cannibalism is known to occur in the species. [104] Polar bears hunt their prey in several different ways. When a bear spots a seal hauling out on the sea ice, it slowly stalks it with the head and neck lowered, possibly to make its dark nose and eyes less noticeable. As it gets closer, the bear crouches more and eventually charges at a high speed, attempting to catch the seal before it can escape into its ice hole. Some stalking bears need to move through water; traversing through water cavities in the ice when approaching the seal or swimming towards a seal on an ice floe. The polar bear can stay underwater with its nose exposed. When it gets close enough, the animal lunges from the water to attack.[105] During a limited time in spring, polar bears will search for ringed seal pups in their birth lairs underneath the ice. Once a bear catches the scent of a hiding pup and pinpoints its location, it approaches the den quietly to not alert it. It uses its front feet to smash through the ice and then pokes its head in to catch the pup before it can escape. A ringed seal's lair can be more than 1 m (3.3 ft) below the surface of the ice and thus more massive bears are better equipped for breaking in. Some bears may simply stay still near a Diet and hunting Bear with whale carcass Courting male approaching female breathing hole or other spot near the water and wait for prey to come by. [106] This can last hours and when a seal surfaces the bear will try to pull it out with its paws and claws. [107] This tactic is the primary hunting method from winter to early spring.[10] Bears hunt walrus groups by provoking them into stampeding and then look for young that have been crushed or separated from their mothers during the turmoil. [98] There are reports of bears trying to kill or injure walruses by throwing rocks and pieces of ice on them. [108] Belugas and narwhals are vulnerable to bear attacks when they are stranded in shallow water or stuck in isolated breathing holes in the ice. [109] When stalking reindeer, polar bears will hide in vegetation before an ambush.[73] On some occasions, bears may try to catch prey in open water, swimming underneath a seal or aquatic bird. Seals in particular, however, are more agile than bears in the water. [110] Polar bears rely on raw power when trying to kill their prey, and will employ bites or paw swipes. [93] They have the strength to pull a mid-sized seal out of the water or haul a beluga carcass for quite some distance. [111] Polar bears only occasionally store food for later—burying it under snow—and only in the short term. [112] Arctic foxes routinely follow polar bears and scavenge scraps from their kills. The bears usually tolerate them but will charge a fox that gets too close when they are feeding. Polar bears themselves will scavenge. Subadult bears will eat remains left behind by others. Females with cubs often abandon a carcass when they see an adult male approaching, though are less likely to if they have not eaten in a long time. [113] Whale carcasses are a valuable food source, particularly on land and after the sea ice melts, and attract several bears. [85] In one area in northeastern Alaska, polar bears have been recorded competing with grizzly bears for whale carcasses. Despite their smaller size, grizzlies are more aggressive and polar bears are likely to yield to them in confrontations. [114] Polar bears will also scavenge at garbage dumps during ice-free periods. [115] Polar bear mating takes place on the sea ice and during spring, mostly between March and May. [10][116][117][84] Males search for females in estrus and often travel in twisting paths which reduces the chances of them encountering other males while still allowing them to find females. The movements of females remain linear and they travel more widely. [118] The mating system can be labelled as female-defence polygyny, serial monogamy or promiscuity. [117][119] Upon finding a female, a male will try to isolate and guard her. Courtship can be somewhat aggressive, and a male will pursue a female if she tries to run away. It can take days for the male to mate with the female which induces ovulation. After their first copulation, the couple bond. Undisturbed polar bear pairings typically last around two weeks during which they will sleep together and mate multiple times. [120] Competition for mates can be intense and this has led to sexual selection for bigger males. Polar bear males often have scars from fighting.[116][117] A male and female that have already bonded will flee together when another male arrives. [121] A female mates with multiple males in a season and a single litter can have more than one father. [119] Reproduction and development Polar bear cubs Mother nursing her young When the mating season ends, the female will build up more fat reserves to sustain both herself and her young. Sometime between August and October, the female constructs and enters a maternity den for winter. Depending on the area, maternity dens can be found in sea ice just off the coastline or further inland and may be dug underneath snow, earth or a combination of both.[122] The inside of these shelters can be around 1.5 m (4.9 ft) wide with a ceiling height of 1.2 m (3.9 ft) while the entrance may be 2.1 m (6.9 ft) long and 1.2 m (3.9 ft) wide. The temperature of a den can be much higher than the outside. [123] Females hibernate and give birth to their cubs in the dens. [124] Hibernating bears fast and internally recycle bodily waste. Polar bears experience delayed implantation and the fertilized embryo does not start development until the fall, between mid-September and mid-October. [125] With delayed implantation, gestation in the species lasts seven to nine months but actual pregnancy is only two months. [126] Mother polar bears typically give birth to two cubs per litter. As with other bear species, newborn polar bears are tiny and altricial. [127] The newborns have woolly hair and pink skin, with a weight of around 600 g (21 oz). [10][29] Their eyes remain closed for a month.[128] The mother's fatty milk fuels their growth, and the cubs are kept warm both by the mother's body heat and the den. The mother emerges from the den between late February and early April, and her cubs are well-developed and capable of walking with her. [129] At this time they weigh 10–15 kilograms (22–33 lb). [10] A polar bear family stays near the dens for roughly two weeks; during this time the cubs will move and play around while the mother mostly rests. They eventually head out on the sea ice. [130] Cubs under a year old stay close to their mother. When she hunts, they stay still and watch until she calls them back.[131] Observing and imitating the mother helps the cubs hone their hunting skills. [132] After their first year they become more independent and explore. At around two years old, they are capable of hunting on their own.[133] The young suckle their mother as she is lying on her side or sitting on her rump.[130] A lactating female cannot conceive and give birth,[134] and cubs are weaned between two and twoand-a-half years. [10] She may simply leave her weaned young or they may be chased away by a courting male. [133] Polar bears reach sexual maturity at around four years for females and six years for males. [135] Females reach their adult size at 4 or 5 years of age while males are fully grown at twice that age. [136] Polar bears can live up to 30 years. [10] The bear's long lifespan and ability to consistently produce young offsets cub deaths in a population. Some cubs die in the dens or the womb if the female is not in good condition. Nevertheless, the female has a chance to produce a surviving litter the next spring if she can eat better in the coming year. Cubs will eventually starve if their mothers cannot kill enough prey. [137] Cubs also face threats from wolves [138] and adult male bears. Males kill cubs to bring their mother back into estrus but also kill young outside the breeding season for food.[104] A female and her cubs can flee from the slower male. If the male can get close to a cub, the mother may try to fight him off, sometimes at the cost of her life. [139] Mortality Map from the U.S. Geological Survey shows projected changes in polar bear habitat from 2001 to 2010 and 2041 to 2050. [142] Polar bear swimming. The loss of sea ice has led to more open water and more pressure on the bears to swim great distances. [59][145] Subadult bears, who are independent but not quite mature, have a particularly rough time as they are not as successful hunters as adults. Even when they do succeed, their kill will likely be stolen by a larger bear. Hence subadults have to scavenge and are often underweight and at risk of starvation. At adulthood, polar bears have a high survival rate, though adult males suffer injuries from fights over mates. [140] Polar bears are especially susceptible to Trichinella, a parasitic roundworm they contract through cannibalism. [141] In 2015, the IUCN Red List categorized the polar bear as vulnerable due to a 'decline in area of occupancy, extent of occurrence and/or quality of habitat'. It estimated the total population to be between 22,000 to 31,000, and the current population trend is unknown. Threats to polar bear populations include climate change, pollution and energy development. [2] In 2021, the IUCN/SSC Polar Bear Specialist Group labelled four subpopulations (Barents and Chukchi Sea, Foxe Basin and Gulf of Boothia) as 'likely stable', two (Kane Basin and M'Clintock Channel) as 'likely increased' and three (Southern Beaufort Sea, Southern and Western Hudson Bay) as 'likely decreased' over specific periods between the 1980s and 2010s. The remaining ten did not have enough data. [54] A 2008 study predicted two-thirds of the world's polar bears may disappear by 2050, based on the reduction of sea ice, and only one population would likely survive in 50 years. [143] A 2016 study projected a likely decline in polar bear numbers of more than 30 percent over three generations. The study concluded that declines of more than 50 percent are much less likely. [144] A 2012 review suggested that polar bears may become regionally extinct in southern areas by 2050 if trends continue, leaving the Canadian Archipelago and northern Greenland as strongholds. [145] The key danger from climate change is malnutrition or starvation due to habitat loss. Polar bears hunt seals on the sea ice, and rising temperatures cause the ice to melt earlier in the year, driving the bears to shore before they have built sufficient fat reserves to survive the period of scarce food in the late summer and early fall. Thinner sea ice tends to break more easily, which makes it more difficult for polar bears to access seals. Insufficient nourishment leads to lower reproductive rates in adult females and lower survival rates in cubs and juvenile bears. Lack of access to seals also causes bears to find food on land which increases the risk of conflict with humans. [59][145] Reduction in sea ice cover also forces bears to swim longer distances, which further depletes their energy stores and occasionally leads to drowning. Increased ice mobility may result in less stable sites for dens or longer distances for mothers travelling to and from dens on land. Thawing of permafrost would lead to more fire-prone roofs for bears denning underground. Less snow may affect insulation while more rain could cause more caveins. [59][145] The maximum corticosteroid-binding capacity of corticosteroid-binding globulin in polar bear serum correlates with stress in polar bears, and this has increased with climate warming.[146] Disease-causing bacteria and parasites would flourish more readily in a warmer climate. [145] Conservation status Nelson and the bear, by Richard Westall (1773) Oil and gas development also affects polar bear habitat. The Chukchi Sea Planning Area of northwestern Alaska, which has had many drilling leases, was found to be an important site for non-denning female bears. [147] Oil spills are also a risk. A 2018 study found that ten percent or less of prime bear habitat in the Chukchi Sea is vulnerable to a potential spill, but a spill at full reach could impact nearly 40 percent of the polar bear population.[148] Polar bears accumulate high levels of persistent organic pollutants such as polychlorinated biphenyl (PCBs) and chlorinated pesticides, due to their position at the top of the ecological pyramid. Many of these chemicals have been internationally banned due to the recognition of their harm to the environment. Traces of them have slowly dwindled in polar bears but persist and have even increased in some populations. [149] Polar bears receive some legal protection in all the countries they inhabit. The species has been labelled as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act since 2008,[150] while the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada listed it as of 'Special concern' since 1991.[151] In 1973, the Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears was signed by all five nations with polar bear populations, Canada, Denmark (of which Greenland is an autonomous territory), Russia (then USSR), Norway and the US. This banned most harvesting of polar bears, allowed indigenous hunting using traditional methods, and promoted the preservation of bear habitat. [152] The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna lists the species under Appendix II, [3] which allows regulated trade. [153] Polar bears have coexisted and interacted with circumpolar peoples for millennia. [154] 'White bears' are mentioned as commercial items in the Japanese book Nihon Shoki in the seventh century. It is not clear if these were polar bears or white-coloured brown bears. [155] During the Middle Ages, Europeans considered white bears to be a novelty and were more familiar with brown- and black-coloured bears. [156] An early written account of the polar bear in its natural environment is found in the 13th-century anonymous Norwegian text Konungs skuggsjá, which mentions that 'the white bear of Greenland wanders most of the time on the ice of the sea, hunting seals and whales and feeding on them' and says the bear is 'as skillful a swimmer as any seal or whale'. [157] Over the next centuries, several European explorers would mention polar bears and describe their habits. [158][159] Such accounts became more accurate after the Enlightenment, and both living and dead specimens were brought back. Nevertheless, some fanciful reports continued, including the idea that polar bears cover their noses during hunts. A relatively accurate drawing of a polar bear is found in Henry Ellis's work A Voyage to Hudson's Bay (1748). [160] Polar bears were formally classified as a species by Constantine Phipps after his 1773 voyage to the Arctic. Accompanying him was a young Horatio Nelson, who was said to have wanted to get a polar bear coat for his father but failed in his hunt. [9] In his 1785 edition of Histoire Naturelle, Comte de Buffon mentions and depicts a 'sea bear', clearly a polar bear, and 'land bears', likely brown and black bears. This helped promote ideas about speciation. Buffon also mentioned a 'white bear of the forest', possibly a Kermode bear. [161] Relationship with humans Exploitation Hunter with polar bear slain with bow and arrow in Alaska (1924) Skins of hunted bears in Greenland Polar bears were hunted as early as 8,000 years ago, as indicated by archaeological remains at Zhokhov Island in the East Siberian Sea. The oldest graphic depiction of a polar bear shows it being hunted by a man with three dogs. This rock art was among several petroglyphs found at Pegtymel in Siberia and dates from the fifth to eighth centuries. Before access to firearms, native people used lances, bows and arrows and hunted in groups accompanied by dogs. Though hunting typically took place on foot, some people killed swimming bears from boats with a harpoon. Polar bears were sometimes killed in their dens. Killing a polar bear was considered a rite of passage for boys in some cultures. Native people respected the animal and hunts were subject to strict rituals. [162] Bears were harvested for the fur, meat, fat, tendons, bones and teeth.[163][164] The fur was worn and slept on, while the bones and teeth were made into tools. For the Netsilik, the individual who finally killed the bear had the right to its fur while the meat was passed to all in the party. Some people kept the cubs of slain bears. [165] Norsemen in Greenland traded polar bear furs in the Middle Ages. [166] Russia traded polar bear products as early as 1556, with Novaya Zemlya and Franz Josef Land being important commercial centres. Large-scale hunting of bears at Svalbard occurred since at least the 18th century, when no less than 150 bears were killed each year by Russian explorers. In the next century, more Norwegians were harvesting the bears on the island. From the 1870s to the 1970s, around 22,000 of the animals were hunted in total. Over 150,000 polar bears in total were either killed or captured in Russia and Svalbard, from the 18th to the 20th century. In the Canadian Arctic, bears were harvested by commercial whalers especially if they could not get enough whales. The Hudson's Bay Company is estimated to have sold 15,000 polar bear coats between the late 19th century and early 20th century. [167] In the mid-20th century, countries began to regulate polar bear harvesting, culminating in the 1973 agreement. [152] Polar bear meat was commonly eaten as rations by explorers and sailors in the Arctic. Its taste and texture have been described both positively and negatively. Some have called it too coarse with a powerful smell, while others praised it as a 'royal dish'. [168] The liver was known for being too toxic to eat. This is due to the accumulation of vitamin A from their prey. [169] Polar bear fat was also used in lamps when other fuel was unavailable. [168] Polar bear rugs were almost ubiquitous on the floors of Norwegian churches by the 13th and 14th centuries. In more modern times, classical Hollywood actors would pose on bearskin rugs, notably Marilyn Monroe. Such images often had sexual connotations. [170] When the sea ice melts, polar bears, particularly subadults, conflict with humans over resources on land.[171] They are attracted to the smell of human-made foods, particularly at garbage dumps and may be shot when they encroach on private property. [172] In Churchill, Manitoba, local authorities maintain a 'polar bear jail' where nuisance bears are held until the sea ice freezes again.[173] Climate change has increased conflicts between the two species. [171] Over 50 polar bears swarmed a town in Novaya Zemlya in February 2019, leading local authorities to declare a state of emergency. [174] Conflicts Road sign warning about the presence of polar bears. The Norwegian text translates into 'Applies to all of Svalbard'. Visitors observing polar bears underneath a plexiglass tunnel at the Detroit Zoo From 1870 to 2014, there were an estimated 73 polar bear attacks on humans, which led to 20 deaths. The majority of attacks were by hungry males, typically subadults, while female attacks were usually in defence of the young. In comparison to brown and American black bears, attacks by polar bears were more often near and around where humans lived. This may be due to the bears getting desperate for food and thus more likely to seek out human settlements. As with the other two bear species, polar bears are unlikely to target more than two people at once. Though popularly thought of as the most dangerous bear, the polar bear is no more aggressive to humans than other species. [175] The polar bear was a particularly sought-after species for exotic animal collectors due to being relatively rare and remote living, and its reputation as a ferocious beast. [176] It is one of the few marine mammals that can reproduce well in captivity. [177] They were originally kept only by royals and elites. The Tower of London got a polar bear as early as 1252 under King Henry III. In 1609, James VI and I of Scotland, England and Ireland were given two polar bear cubs by the sailor Jonas Poole, who got them during a trip to Svalbard. [178] At the end of the 17th century, Frederick I of Prussia housed polar bears in menageries with other wild animals. He had their claws and canines removed to perform mock fights. Around 1726, Catherine I of Russia gifted two polar bears to Augustus II the Strong of Poland, who desired them for his animal collection.[179] Later, polar bears were displayed to the public in zoos and circuses. [180] In early 19th century, the species was exhibited at the Exeter Exchange in London, as well as menageries in Vienna and Paris. The first zoo in North America to exhibit a polar bear was the Philadelphia Zoo in 1859.[181] Polar bear exhibits were innovated by Carl Hagenbeck, who replaced cages and pits with settings that mimicked the animal's natural environment. In 1907, he revealed a complex panoramic structure at the Tierpark Hagenbeck Zoo in Hamburg consisting of exhibits made of artificial snow and ice separated by moats. Different polar animals were displayed on each platform, giving the illusion of them living together. Starting in 1975, Hellabrunn Zoo in Munich housed its polar bears in an exhibit which consisted of a glass barrier, a house, concrete platforms mimicking ice floes and a large pool. Inside the house were maternity dens, and rooms for the staff to prepare and store the food. The exhibit was connected to an outdoor yard for extra room. Similar naturalistic and 'immersive' exhibits were opened in the early 21st century, such as the 'Arctic Ring of Life' at the Detroit Zoo and Ontario's Cochrane Polar Bear Habitat. [182][183] Many zoos in Europe and North America have stopped keeping polar bears due to the size and costs of their complex exhibits. [184] In North America, the population of polar bears in zoos reached its zenith in 1975 with 229 animals and declined in the 21st century. [185] Polar bears have been trained to perform in circuses. Bears in general, being large, powerful, easy to train and human-like in form, were widespread in circuses, and the white coat of polar bears made them particularly attractive. Circuses helped change the polar bear's image from a fearsome monster to something more comical. Performing polar bears were used in 1888 by Circus Krone in Germany and later in 1904 by the Bostock and Wombwell Menagerie in England. Circus director Wilhelm Hagenbeck trained up to 75 polar bears to slide into a large tank through a chute. He began performing with them in 1908 and they had a particularly well-received show at the Hippodrome in London. Other circus tricks performed by polar Captivity Performing polar bear at the 1973 Nationaal Songfestival in the Netherlands Ivory carving of a swimming polar bear from the Dorset culture, northern Canada The coat of arms of Greenland bears involved tightropes, balls, roller skates and motorcycles. One of the most famous polar bear trainers in the second half of the twentieth century was the East German Ursula Böttcher, whose small stature contrasted with that of the large bears. Starting in the late 20th century, most polar bear acts were retired and the use of these bears for the circus is now prohibited in the US. [186] Several captive polar bears gained celebrity status in the late 20th and early 21st century, notably Knut of the Berlin Zoological Garden, who was rejected by his mother and had to be hand-reared by zookeepers. Another bear, Binky of the Alaska Zoo in Anchorage, became famous for attacking two visitors who got too close. [187][188] Captive polar bears may pace back and forth, a stereotypical behaviour. In one study, they were recorded to have spent 14 percent of their days pacing.[189] Gus of the Central Park Zoo was prescribed Prozac by a therapist for constantly swimming in his pool. [190] To reduce stereotypical behaviours, zookeepers provide the bears with enrichment items to trigger their play behaviour. [191] Zoo polar bears may appear green due to algae concentrations. [192] Polar bears have prominent roles in Inuit culture and religion. The deity Torngarsuk is sometimes imagined as a giant polar bear. He resides underneath the sea floor in an underworld of the dead and has power over sea creatures. Kalaallit shamans would worship him through singing and dancing and were expected to be taken by him to the sea and consumed if he considered them worthy. Polar bears were also associated with the goddess Nuliajuk who was responsible for their creation, along with other sea creatures. It is believed that shamans could reach the Moon or the bottom of the ocean by riding on a guardian spirit in the form of a polar bear. Some folklore involves people turning into or disguising themselves as polar bears by donning their skins or the reverse, with polar bears removing their skins. In Inuit astronomy, the Pleiades star cluster is conceived of as a polar bear trapped by dogs while Orion's Belt, the Hyades and Aldebaran represent hunters, dogs and a wounded bear respectively. [193] Nordic folklore and literature have also featured polar bears. In The Tale of Auðun of the West Fjords, written around 1275, a poor man named Auðun spends all his money on a polar bear in Greenland, but ends up wealthy after giving the bear to the king of Denmark.[194] In the 14th-century manuscript Hauksbók, a man named Odd kills and eats a polar bear that killed his father and brother. In the story of The Grimsey Man and the Bear, a mother bear nurses and rescues a farmer stuck on an ice floe and is repaid with sheep meat. 18thcentury Icelandic writings mention the legend of a 'polar bear king' known as the bjarndýrakóngur. This beast was depicted as a polar bear with 'ruddy cheeks' and a unicorn-like horn, which glows in the Cultural significance dark. The king could understand when humans talk and was considered to be very astute. [195] Two Norwegian fairy tales, 'East of the Sun and West of the Moon' and 'White-Bear-King-Valemon', involve white bears turning into men and seducing women.[196] Drawings of polar bears have been featured on maps of the northern regions. Possibly the earliest depictions of a polar bear on a map is the Swedish Carta marina of 1539, which has a white bear on Iceland or 'Islandia'. A 1544 map of North America includes two polar bears near Quebec. Notable paintings featuring polar bears include François-Auguste Biard's Fighting Polar Bears (1839) and Edwin Landseer's Man Proposes, God Disposes (1864). Polar bears have also been filmed for cinema. An Inuit polar bear hunt was shot for the 1932 documentary Igloo, while the 1974 film The White Dawn filmed a simulated stabbing of a trained bear for a scene. In the film The Big Show (1961), two characters are killed by a circus polar bear. The scenes were shot using animal trainers instead of the actors. In modern literature, polar bears have been characters in both children's fiction, like Hans Beer's Little Polar Bear and the Whales and Sakiasi Qaunaq's The Orphan and the Polar Bear, and fantasy novels, like Philip Pullman's His Dark Materials series. In radio, Mel Blanc provided the vocals for Jack Benny's pet polar bear Carmichael on The Jack Benny Program. [197] The polar bear is featured on flags and coats of arms, like the coat of arms of Greenland, and in many advertisements, notably for Coca-Cola since 1922.[198] As charismatic megafauna, polar bears have been used to raise awareness of the dangers of climate change. Aurora the polar bear is a giant marionette created by Greenpeace for climate protests. [199] The World Wide Fund for Nature has sold plush polar bears as part of its 'Arctic Home' campaign.[200] Photographs of polar bears have been featured in National Geographic and Time magazines, including ones of them standing on ice floes, while the climate change documentary and advocacy film An Inconvenient Truth (2006) includes an animated bear swimming.[199] Automobile manufacturer Nissan used a polar bear in one of its commercials, hugging a man for using an electric car. [201] To make a statement about global warming, in 2009 a Copenhagen ice statue of a polar bear with a bronze skeleton was purposely left to melt in the sun.[202]",
            },
        ]

snow_leopard_wiki = [
            {
                "role": "system",
                "content": "You are helping raise awareness for an endangered animal. You'll be given the Wikipedia article about the animal. Respond with 10 fun facts about interesting quirks of the specified animal. Write at a 5th grade level. Each fun fact should be 2-3 sentences long. Put a new line between each fun fact. Do not include any introduction, bullet points, or numbers.",
            },
            {
                "role": "user",
                "content": "The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), commonly known as the ounce, is a species of large cat in the genus Panthera of the family Felidae. The species is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List because the global population is estimated to number fewer than 10,000 mature individuals and is expected to decline about 10% by 2040. It is mainly threatened by poaching and habitat destruction following infrastructural developments. It inhabits alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of 3,000– 4,500 m (9,800–14,800 ft), ranging from eastern Afghanistan, the Himalayas and the Tibetan Plateau to southern Siberia, Mongolia and western China. In the northern part of its range, it also lives at lower elevations. Taxonomically, the snow leopard was long classified in the monotypic genus Uncia. Since phylogenetic studies revealed the relationships among Panthera species, it has since been considered a member of that genus. Two subspecies were described based on morphological differences, but genetic differences between the two have not yet been confirmed. It is therefore regarded as a monotypic species. The species is widely depicted in Kyrgyz culture. The Old French word once, which was intended to be used for the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx), is where the Latin name uncia and the English word ounce both originate. Once is believed to have originated from a previous form of the word lynx through a process known as false splitting. The word once was originally considered to be pronounced as l'once, where l' stands for the elided form of the word la ('the') in French. Once was then understood to be the name of the animal. [2] The word panther derives from the classical Latin panthēra, itself from the ancient Greek πάνθηρ pánthēr, which was used for spotted cats. [3] Felis uncia was the scientific name used by Johann Christian Daniel von Schreber in 1777 who described a snow leopard based on an earlier description by Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon, assuming that the cat occurred along the Barbary Coast, in Persia, East India and China. [4] The genus Naming and etymology Taxonomy and evolution Distribution of the snow leopard, 2017 [1] Synonyms Felis uncia Schreber, 1777 Felis irbis Ehrenberg, 1830 Felis uncioides Horsfield, 1855 Uncia uncia Pocock, 1930 Panthera baikalensis-romanii Medvedev, 2000 Illustration of an 'Ounce' Snow leopard skull in the collection of the Museum Wiesbaden name Uncia was proposed by John Edward Gray in 1854 for Asian cats with a long and thick tail. [5] Felis irbis, proposed by Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg in 1830, was a skin of a female snow leopard collected in the Altai Mountains. He also clarified that several leopard (P. pardus) skins were previously misidentified as snow leopard skins. [6] Felis uncioides proposed by Thomas Horsfield in 1855 was a snow leopard skin from Nepal in the collection of the Museum of the East India Company. [7] Uncia uncia was used by Reginald Innes Pocock in 1930 when he reviewed skins and skulls of Panthera species from Asia. He also described morphological differences between snow leopard and leopard skins. [8] Panthera baikalensis-romanii proposed by a Russian scientist in 2000 was a dark brown snow leopard skin from the Petrovsk-Zabaykalsky District in southern Transbaikal. [9] The snow leopard was long classified in the monotypic genus Uncia. [10] They were subordinated to the genus Panthera based on results of phylogenetic studies. [11][12][13][14] Until spring 2017, there was no evidence available for the recognition of subspecies. Results of a phylogeographic analysis indicate that three subspecies should be recognised:[15] P. u. uncia in the range countries of the Pamir Mountains P. u. irbis in Mongolia, and P. u. uncioides in the Himalayas and Qinghai. This view has been both contested and supported by different researchers. [16][17][18][19] Additionally, an extinct subspecies Panthera uncia pyrenaica was described in 2022 based on material found in France. [20] Based on the phylogenetic analysis of the DNA sequence sampled across the living Felidae, the snow leopard forms a sister group with the tiger (P. tigris). The genetic divergence time of this group is estimated at 4.62 to 1.82 million years ago. [11][21] The snow leopard and the tiger probably diverged between 3.7 to 2.7 million years ago. [12] Panthera originates most likely in northern Central Asia. Panthera blytheae excavated in western Tibet's Ngari Prefecture is the oldest known Panthera species and exhibits skull characteristics similar to the snow leopard.[23] Evolution Two cladograms proposed for Panthera. The upper cladogram is based on two studies published in 2006 and 2009, [11][21] the lower one is based on studies published in 2010 and 2011. [12][22] Showing canines Thickly furred tail The mitochondrial genomes of the snow leopard, the leopard and the lion (P. leo) are more similar to each other than their nuclear genomes, indicating that their ancestors hybridised at some point in their evolution. [24] The snow leopard's fur is whitish to grey with black spots on the head and neck, with larger rosettes on the back, flanks and bushy tail. Its muzzle is short, its forehead domed, and its nasal cavities are large. The fur is thick with hairs measuring 5 to 12 cm (2.0 to 4.7 in) in length, and its underbelly is whitish. They are stocky, shortlegged, and slightly smaller than other cats of the genus Panthera, reaching a shoulder height of 56 cm (22 in), and ranging in head to body size from 75 to 150 cm (30 to 59 in). Its tail is 80 to 105 cm (31 to 41 in) long.[25] Males average 45 to 55 kg (99 to 121 lb), and females 35 to 40 kg (77 to 88 lb). [26] Occasionally, large males reaching 75 kg (165 lb) have been recorded, and small females under 25 kg (55 lb). [27] Its canine teeth are 28.6 mm (1.13 in) long and are more slender than those of the other Panthera species. [28] In relation to the length of their skull and width of their palate, they have large nasal openings, which allow for increasing the volume of air inhaled with each breath, and at the same time for warming and humidifying cold dry air. [29] They are not especially adapted to high-altitude hypoxia. [30] The snow leopard shows several adaptations for living in a cold, mountainous environments. Its small rounded ears help to minimize heat loss. Their broad paws well distribute the body weight for walking on snow, and have fur on their undersides to enhance the grip on steep and unstable surfaces; they also help to minimize heat loss. Its long and flexible tail helps to balance the cat in the rocky terrain. The tail is very thick due to fat storage, and is covered in a thick layer of fur, which allows the cat to use it like a blanket to protect its face when asleep.[31][32] The snow leopard differs from the other Panthera species by a shorter muzzle, an elevated forehead, a vertical chin and a less developed posterior process of the lower jaw. [33] They cannot roar despite its partly ossified hyoid bone, as their 9 mm (0.35 in) short vocal folds provide little resistance to airflow. [34][35] The snow leopard is distributed from the west of Lake Baikal through southern Siberia, in the Kunlun Mountains, Altai Mountains, Sayan and Tannu-Ola Mountains, in the Tian Shan, through Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to the Hindu Kush in eastern Afghanistan, Karakoram in northern Pakistan, in the Pamir Mountains, the Tibetan Plateau and in the high elevations of the Himalayas in India, Nepal and Bhutan. In Mongolia, they inhabit the Mongolian and Gobi Characteristics Distribution and habitat Scent rubbing Walking on snow Altai Mountains and the Khangai Mountains. In Tibet, they occur up to the Altyn-Tagh in the north.[26][36] They inhabit alpine and subalpine zones at elevations of 3,000 to 4,500 m (9,800 to 14,800 ft), but also lives at lower elevations in the northern part of their range. [37] Potential snow leopard habitat in the Indian Himalayas is estimated at less than 90,000 km2 (35,000 sq mi) in Jammu and Kashmir, Ladakh, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Sikkim and Arunachal Pradesh, of which about 34,000 km2 (13,000 sq mi) is considered good habitat, and 14.4% is protected. In the beginning of the 1990s, the Indian snow leopard population was estimated at 200–600 individuals living across about 25 protected areas. [36] In summer, the snow leopard usually lives above the tree line on alpine meadows and in rocky regions at elevations of 2,700 to 6,000 m (8,900 to 19,700 ft). In winter, they descend to elevations around 1,200 to 2,000 m (3,900 to 6,600 ft). They prefer rocky, broken terrain, and can move in 85 cm (33 in) deep snow, but prefers to use existing trails made by other animals. [27] Snow leopards were recorded by camera traps at 16 locations in northeastern Afghanistan's isolated Wakhan Corridor. [38] The snow leopard's vocalizations include meowing, grunting, prusten and moaning. They can purr when exhaling.[25] It is solitary and mostly active at dawn till early morning, and again in afternoons and early evenings. They mostly rest near cliffs and ridges that provide vantage points and shade. In Nepal's Shey Phoksundo National Park, the home ranges of five adult radio-collared snow leopards largely overlapped, though they rarely met. Their individual home ranges ranged from 12 to 39 km2 (4.6 to 15.1 sq mi). Males moved between 0.5 and 5.45 km (0.31 and 3.39 mi) per day, and females between 0.2 and 2.25 km (0.12 and 1.40 mi), measured in straight lines between survey points. Since they often zigzagged in the precipitous terrain, they actually moved up to 7 km (4.3 mi) in a single night. [39] Up to 10 individuals inhabit an area of 100 km2 (40 sq mi); in habitats with sparse prey, an area of 1,000 km2 (400 sq mi) usually supports only five individuals. [40] A study in the Gobi Desert from 2008 to 2014 revealed that adult males used a mean home range of 144–270 km2 (56–104 sq mi), while adult females ranged in areas of 83–165 km2 (32–64 sq mi). Their home ranges overlapped less than 20%. These results indicate that about 40% of the 170 protected areas in their range countries are smaller than the home range of a single male snow leopard.[41] Snow leopards leave scent marks to indicate their territories and common travel routes. They scrape the ground with the hind feet before depositing urine or feces, but also spray urine onto rocks. [27] Their urine contains many characteristic low molecular weight compounds with diverse functional groups including pentanol, hexanol, heptanol, 3-octanone, nonanal and indole, which possibly play a role in chemical communication.[42] Behavior and ecology Hunting and diet Snow leopard with a gray marmot in Kyrgyzstan The snow leopard is a carnivore and actively hunts its prey. Its preferred wild prey species are Himalayan blue sheep (Pseudois nayaur), Himalayan tahr (Hemitragus jemlahicus), argali (Ovis ammon), markhor (Capra falconeri) and wild goat (C. aegagrus). They also prey on domestic livestock.[43][44] They prefer prey ranging in weight from 36 to 76 kg (79 to 168 lb), but also hunts smaller mammals such as Himalayan marmot (Marmota himalayana), pika and vole species. Its diet depends on prey availability and varies across its range and season. In the Himalayas, it preys mostly on Himalayan blue sheep, Siberian ibex (C. sibirica), white-bellied musk deer (Moschus leucogaster) and wild boar (Sus scrofa). In the Karakoram, Tian Shan, Altai and Mongolia's Tost Mountains, its main prey consists of Siberian ibex, Thorold's deer (Cervus albirostris), Siberian roe deer (Capreolus pygargus) and argali. [45][46] Snow leopard feces collected in northern Pakistan also contained remains of rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), masked palm civet (Paguma larvata), Cape hare (Lepus capensis), house mouse (Mus musculus), Kashmir field mouse (Apodemus rusiges), grey dwarf hamster (Cricetulus migratorius) and Turkestan rat (Rattus pyctoris). [47] In 2017, a snow leopard was photographed carrying a freshly killed woolly flying squirrel (Eupetaurus cinereus) near Gangotri National Park. [48] In Mongolia, domestic sheep comprises less than 20% of its diet, although wild prey has been reduced and interactions with people are common.[46] Snow leopards actively pursue prey down steep mountainsides, using the momentum of their initial leap to chase animals for up to 300 m (980 ft). They drag the prey to a safe location and consume all edible parts of the carcass. They can survive on a single Himalayan blue sheep for two weeks before hunting again, and one adult individual apparently needs 20–30 adult blue sheep per year. [1][27] Snow leopards have been recorded to hunt successfully in pairs, especially mating pairs. [49] The snow leopard is capable of killing most animals in its range, with the probable exception of the adult male yak. They also eat a significant amount of vegetation, including grass and twigs. They have not been reported to attack humans, and is easily driven away from livestock and readily abandons kills, often without defending themselves. [27] Snow leopards become sexually mature at two to three years, and normally live for 15–18 years in the wild. In captivity they can live for up to 25 years. Oestrus typically lasts five to eight days, and males tend not to seek out another partner after mating, probably because the short mating season does not allow sufficient time. Paired snow leopards mate in the usual felid posture, from 12 to 36 times a day. They are unusual among large cats in that they have a well-defined birth peak. They usually mate in late winter, marked by a noticeable increase in marking and calling. Females have a gestation period of 90–100 days, and the cubs are born between April and June. [27] A litter usually consists of two to three cubs, in exceptional cases there can be up to seven.[50] The female gives birth in a rocky den or crevice lined with fur shed from her underside. The cubs are born blind and helpless, although already with a thick coat of fur, and weigh 320 to 567 g (11.3 to 20.0 oz). Their eyes open at around seven days, and the cubs can walk at five weeks and are fully weaned by 10 weeks. The cubs leave the den when they are around two to four months of age. [27] Three radio-collared snow leopards in Mongolia's Tost Mountains gave birth between late April and late June. Two female cubs Reproduction and life cycle Cubs at the Cat Survival Trust in Welwyn Female with her cub in Zurich Zoo started to part from their mothers at the age of 20 to 21 months, but reunited with them several times for a few days over a period of 4–7 months. One male cub separated from its mother at the age of about 22 months, but stayed in her vicinity for a month and moved out of his natal range at 23 months of age. [51] The snow leopard has a generation length of eight years. [52] Major threats to the population include poaching and illegal trade of its skins and body parts. [1] Between 1999 and 2002, three live snow leopard cubs and 16 skins were confiscated, 330 traps were destroyed and 110 poachers were arrested in Kyrgyzstan. Undercover operations in the country revealed an illegal trade network with links to Russia and China via Kazakhstan. The major skin trade center in the region is the city of Kashgar in Xinjiang. [53] In Tibet and Mongolia, skins are used for traditional dresses, and meat in traditional Tibetan medicine to cure kidney problems; bones are used in traditional Chinese and Mongolian medicine for treating rheumatism, injuries and pain of human bones and tendons. Between 1996 and 2002, 37 skins were found in wildlife markets and tourist shops in Mongolia. [54] Between 2003 and 2016, 710 skins were traded, of which 288 skins were confiscated. In China, an estimated 103 to 236 animals are poached every year, in Mongolia between 34 and 53, in Pakistan between 23 and 53, in India from 21 to 45, and in Tajikistan 20 to 25. In 2016, a survey of Chinese websites revealed 15 advertisements for 44 snow leopard products; the dealers offered skins, canine teeth, claws and a tongue. [55] In September 2014, nine snow leopard skins were found during a market survey in Afghanistan.[56] Greenhouse gas emissions will likely cause a shift of the treeline in the Himalayas and a shrinking of the alpine zone, which may reduce snow leopard habitat by an estimated 30%. [57] Where snow leopards prey on domestic livestock, they are subject to human–wildlife conflict. [1] The loss of natural prey due to overgrazing by livestock, poaching, and defense of livestock are the major drivers for the ever decreasing snow leopard population.[27] Livestock also cause habitat degradation, which, alongside the increasing use of forests for fuel, reduces snow leopard habitat. [58] The snow leopard is listed in CITES Appendix I. [26] They have been listed as threatened with extinction in Schedule I of the Convention on the Conservation of Migratory Species of Wild Animals since 1985.[54] Hunting snow leopards has been prohibited in Kyrgyzstan since the 1950s. [53] In India, the snow leopard is granted the highest level of protection under the Wildlife Protection Act, 1972, and hunting is sentenced with imprisonment of 3–7 years. [62] In Nepal, they have been legally protected since 1973, with penalties of 5–15 years in prison and a fine for poaching and trading them. [71] Since 1978, they have been listed in the Soviet Union’s Red Book and is still inscribed today in the Red Data Book of the Russian Federation as threatened with extinction. Hunting snow leopards is only permitted for the purposes of conservation and monitoring, and to eliminate a threat to the life of humans and livestock. Smuggling of snow leopard body parts is punished with imprisonment and a fine. [72] Hunting snow leopards has been prohibited in Afghanistan since 1986.[56] In China, they have been protected by law since 1989; hunting and trading Threats Conservation Global snow leopard population Country Year Estimate Afghanistan 2016 50–200 [59] Bhutan 2016 79–112 [60] China 2016 4,500 [61] India 2016 516–524 [62] Kazakhstan 2016 100–120 [63] Kyrgyzstan 2016 300–400 [64] Mongolia 2016 1,000 [65] Nepal 2016 301–400 [66] Pakistan 2016 250-420 [67] Russia 2016 70–90 [68] Tajikistan 2016 250–280 [69] Uzbekistan 2016 30–120 [70] Snow leopard in the San Diego Zoo snow leopards or their body parts constitute a criminal offence that is punishable by the confiscation of property, a fine and a sentence of at least 10 years in prison.[73] They have been protected in Bhutan since 1995.[60] At the end of 2020, 35 cameras were installed on the outskirts of Almaty, Kazakhstan in hopes to catch footage of snow leopards. In November 2021, it was announced by the Russian World Wildlife Fund (WWF) that snow leopards were spotted 65 times on these cameras in the Trans-Ili Alatau mountains since the cameras were installed.[74][41][75][76][77] In 2013, government leaders and officials from all 12 countries encompassing the snow leopard's range (Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan) came together at the Global Snow Leopard Forum (GSLF) initiated by the then-President of Kyrgyzstan Almazbek Atambayev, and the State Agency on Environmental Protection and Forestry under the government of Kyrgyzstan. The meeting was held in Bishkek, and all countries agreed that the snow leopard and the high mountain habitat need trans-boundary support to ensure a viable future for snow leopard populations, and to safeguard its fragile environment. The event brought together many partners, including NGOs like the Snow Leopard Conservancy, the Snow Leopard Trust, and the Nature and Biodiversity Conservation Union. Also supporting the initiative were the Snow Leopard Network, the World Bank's Global Tiger Initiative, the United Nations Development Programme, the World Wild Fund for Nature, the United States Agency for International Development, and Global Environment Facility. [78] At the GSLF meeting, the 12 range countries signed the Bishkek Declaration, which stated: '[We] acknowledge that the snow leopard is an irreplaceable symbol of our nations' natural and cultural heritage and an indicator of the health and sustainability of mountain ecosystems; and we recognize that mountain ecosystems inhabited by snow leopards provide essential ecosystem services, including storing and releasing water from the origins of river systems benefitting one-third of the world’s human population; sustaining the pastoral and agricultural livelihoods of local communities which depend on biodiversity for food, fuel, fodder, and medicine; and offering inspiration, recreation, and economic opportunities.' The Moscow Zoo exhibited the first captive snow leopard in 1872 that had been caught in Turkestan. In Kyrgyzstan, 420 live snow leopards were caught between 1936 and 1988 and exported to zoos around the world. The Bronx Zoo housed a live snow leopard in 1903; this was the first ever specimen exhibited in a North American zoo.[79] The first captive bred snow leopard cubs were Global Snow Leopard Forum In captivity Snow leopard on the reverse of the old 10,000-Kazakhstani tenge banknote born in the 1990s in the Beijing Zoo. [53] The Snow Leopard Species Survival Plan was initiated in 1984; by 1986, American zoos held 234 individuals. [80][81] The snow leopard is widely used in heraldry and as an emblem in Central Asia. They have long been used as a political symbol, the Aq Bars ('White Leopard'), by Tatars, Kazakhs, and Bulgars. A snow leopard is depicted on the official seal of Almaty and on the former 10,000 Kazakhstani tenge banknote. A mythical winged Aq Bars is depicted on the national coat of arms of Tatarstan, the seal of the city of Samarqand, Uzbekistan and the old coat of arms of Astana. In Kyrgyzstan, they have been used in highly stylized form in the modern emblem of the capital Bishkek, and the same art has been integrated into the badge of the Kyrgyzstan Girl Scouts Association. They are also considered to be a sacred creature by the Kyrgyz people. A crowned snow leopard features in the arms of Shushensky District in Russia. It is the state animal of Ladakh and Himachal Pradesh in India. [82][83][84][85][86]",
            },
        ]