Polar bears under threat

Polar bears are in jeopardy and need stronger government protection because of melting Arctic sea ice related to global warming, the Bush administration says.

Greenland and Norway have the most polar bears. A further quarter of them live mainly in Alaska and travel to Canada and Russia.

US Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne proposed listing polar bears as “threatened” on the government list of imperilled species. The “endangered” category is reserved for species more likely to become extinct.