2008-04-27

U.S. Hunters Targeting Polar Bears While They Can. By Katherine O'Neill, TorontoG&M, April 26, 2008. "Since March, big-game hunters, mainly Americans, clad head to toe in caribou-skin outfits and riding dogsleds, have been on the hunt in Canada's Arctic for one of the most controversial animals on the planet: polar bears. In this male-dominated, high-priced world, where Inuit-guided hunts can run more than $40,000 (U.S.), bigger is better, right down to the animal's baculum, or penis bone. But this year, the stakes to bag the iconic predator before the annual season ends next month are at an all-time high because these hunters are also being hunted. Amid concerns that climate change is threatening Arctic sea ice - the polar bears' main habitat - a U.S. government agency is considering listing the bears as a threatened species under its Endangered Species Act. The decision, which was originally to be announced on Jan. 9, is imminent, according to a government spokesperson. If the recommendation is adopted, it would likely lead to a ban on the importation of polar bear trophies to the United States."

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