Pagophiles on Thin Ice
Tuesday, 27. October 2009, 08:54:24
Pagophile is Greek for lover of ice. And some arctic animals are so fond of ice that they collectively are termed pagophiles. One of these is the polar bear, which I treated separately in a post on Climate Change and Polar Bears. But there are others, like Harp Seal and Hooded Seal, and they are in deep trouble, or should I say within shortly in deep waters.
Their breeding and moulting take place on pack ice. Harp seals and hooded seals need the ice to give birth to their pups. They need a solid stable ice platform for three or four weeks, in order to give birth and to allow the pups to nurse enough to build up strength. If the ice isn't there when the mother seals are ready to give birth, they are forced to abort the pups in the water, where they drown instantly.
Higher temperatures in the Arctic have already lead to problems for the populations, and their situation is not improving.
πάγος = ice
φιλία = love
In Norwegian:
Their breeding and moulting take place on pack ice. Harp seals and hooded seals need the ice to give birth to their pups. They need a solid stable ice platform for three or four weeks, in order to give birth and to allow the pups to nurse enough to build up strength. If the ice isn't there when the mother seals are ready to give birth, they are forced to abort the pups in the water, where they drown instantly.
Higher temperatures in the Arctic have already lead to problems for the populations, and their situation is not improving.
πάγος = ice
φιλία = love
In Norwegian:
WIDGETIZE
hypocentre # 27. October 2009, 11:13
We don't turn a hair when thousands of species become extinct but somehow 'big and furry' seems to be an exception.
Perhaps I'm with Chris Packham and his pandas on this one. Animals that have gone down an evolutionary blind alley should be left to die out with dignity.
Ole Nielsen # 27. October 2009, 14:43
One of the things that worries me is, however, the pace with which climate change seems to be going on. Does it leave enough time for fauna and flora to adapt (as has usually been the case so far, with exemption of a few extinction events). There has been a lot of (probably inappropriate) focus on the Polar Bear - a.o. from the World Wildlife Fund. I wanted to stress that the Polar Bear is not alone, and happened to mention two other species that are also big and furry. Maybe I ought to have turned to some obscure poisonous insect or marine organism, as I think that any loss of biodiversity is worth worrying about.
So, no, I don’t think anything really special should be done for the Panda or the Polar Bear - or these two ice-loving seals for that matter - may they “die out with dignity”. But “thousands of species becoming extinct” does not leave me cold.
Thank you for your comment, and the link.
Ole