Here is a RESEARCH article in this regard:

1. While politicians argue, polar bears slowly starve.

http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/03.22/photos/09-mccarthy-450.jpg


http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2001/03.22/09-mccarthy.html

2. Russian bears are meant to hibernate in winter and wake up in March.

But the weather has been so mild this year that a black bear in St Petersburg zoo has not gone to sleep at all, and a brown bear has already woken up believing it is spring.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/climatechange/story/0,12374,1391050,00.html

Comments:
I will be angry if I didn't get sleep. Imagine a bear that was supposed to hibernate but didn't !
If this happened in the zoo, it must be happening in nature also. Lesser food, no sleep and uncomfortable heat = Angry Bear ! Not good at all.


3. Logan is the lead author of a recent scientific report that says an onslaught of the voracious, predatory insects could devastate whitebark pine trees, a species already suffering.

And if the whitebarks go, that will mean trouble for grizzly bears, which could translate into more dangerous encounters with people, a potential reversal of many years of grizzly conservation, and setting up some contentious legal and social battles.

The culprit, Logan's report says, is the world's changing weather. The climate is warming, which is invigorating the beetles, creatures that make a living by killing trees, Logan explained.

http://www.bozemanchronicle.com/articles/2005/03/27/news/01beetles.txt

:surprised

India to Get Dangerously Hot due to Global Warming
http://indiamonitor.com/news/readNews.jsp?ni=8601

:dizzy:

For Moderator(s):
Due to posting error this became a reply. Please make this reply post to be a separate topic. Thanks in advance.

I live in an area with ALOT of black bears. They are generally quite docile and don't attack humans.....but I see firsthand another one of the reasons that people could get attacked: we are rapidly developing their natural habitats. Around here, houses and subdivisions go up so fast that a bear goes to sleep in the forest in the late fall and wakes up in spring to find a bunch of houses around him!

The part I think is funny is that the bears turn it into an opportunity.....they just start foraging for food at the houses. We can't have birdfeeders in our yard in the spring and summer, because the bears will come and rip them down; not a week goes by that there isn't a picture in the local paper of a bear in someone's back yard tearing their birdfeeder to shreds. They know when garbage day is, and show up looking for treats. My husband runs a real estate company that manages lots of lake rentals.....they post signs in all the rental houses to put garbage in the bear-proof bins, but some city slicker always ignores it and we get a call from them freaking out because there are 5 fat bears outside the front door. They say, "What do we do?"......we tell them, "Nothing.....they'll leave when they're done, just enjoy the view!" LOL

It is illegal to hunt bear up here, big fine and jail time if you kill one......and some people complain about it, saying they should be able to keep the bears off their property. I say they were here first, so we can just damn well learn to deal with them. I love watching them. Of course, if it was a grizzly in my yard I might not be so blase about it....