Wired.com had an article on their front page this week covering the debate over “assisted migrations,” and in particular a recent proposal to relocate polar bears to the South Pole.

If the most dire climate predictions come to pass, the Arctic ice cap will melt entirely, and polar bears could face extinction.

So why not pack a few off to Antarctica, where the sea ice will never run out?

It may seem like a preposterous question. But polar bears are just the tip of the “assisted colonization” iceberg. Other possibilities: moving African big game to the American Great Plains, or airlifting endangered species from one mountaintop to another as climate zones shrink.

For a quick bit of background, polar bears live near the North Pole…on the other side of the world!!!

So- why, you might ask, would anyone consider such a seemingly hair-brained idea as this?

Well, is an Antarctic polar bear colony better than no polar bears at all?

Maybe for a day or two, before they gobble up every penguin in their line of sight.

The broader question here is about the value of “assisted migration” - humans moving animals and plants from one place to another has had disastrous effects throughout our history, especially across oceans. Cane toads in Australia, “killer bees” from Africa, and species from Europe moved all over the world. It’s impossible to predict the effect that a new species will have on a foreign environment, and they can be straightforward, like eating or out competing local wildlife in the way cats and rats have, or as unanticipated as the seeds and bacteria stored in cattle stomachs wreaking havoc on local flora.

In an environment as delicate and highly specialized as Antarctica, a disruption would have even broader and more rapid consequences. In fact, in such an extreme environment, it should not be assumed that Polar Bears could even survive.

Source: “Last-Ditch Resort: Move Polar Bears to Antarctica?”- Wired.com

photo by photographergien

Related posts:

1. More polar bears becoming cannibals CNN released a new video today documenting the plight...
2. Polar bears are becoming cannibals while losing their homes The polar bears are eating themselves. ...to clarify, they're...
3. Polar Sharks       The polar trifecta is complete - another big news story...
4. Sarah Palin, McCain’s VP, loves oil drilling, not polar bears I don't have a full history of Palin's environmenal...
5. Bush vs. the polar bear    Does the Bush administration hate the polar bear?Rumors abound...

Related posts brought to you by Yet Another Related Posts Plugin.

If you enjoyed this post, why not or subscribe! for updates on more political and environmental coverage like this.