Some 20,000 polar bears are left on Earth, their only planet, and most of them live in the Canadian Arctic. While the bears have been distracted by the melting away of polar ice and their entire habitat, humans at a meeting in Thailand have decided that's it's okay to continue killing the endangered animals to sell their parts on the international market for bits of endangered animals—bearskin rugs and claws and "other body parts."

The United States delegation proposed not hunting the polar bear to extinction. Although the ban had the backing of Russia, which also has a declining polar bear population in its arctic zone, the Convention [...]

Here you will find video of a bear taking a dip in a backyard pool. And here you will find video of a polar bear in repose. Bears!

"They seem to look alike — or maybe that's just wishful thinking. A half-sibling of Knut, the legendary Berlin polar bear who died last year, has just been born in a zoo in Wuppertal, western Germany, and photos of it and its mother Vilma were published on Wednesday."

Okay, I guess I've got to cancel my plans for tonight, because this looks amazing. [Via]

Damn. PETA is calling for the world's most famous polar bear to be castrated. Apparently, three-year-old Knut, star of the Berlin zoo has been getting very close to Giovanna, a female bear handlers brought to his pen last year while hers went under construction. Unfortunately, there's a snag. PETA's zoo expert and polar bear cock-blocker Frank Albrecht says that Knut and Giovanna should not be allowed to mate because they are cousins. As Discovery reports, "Any offspring would threaten the genetic diversity of the polar bear population in Germany and risk exposing the bear couple to a condition known as "incest depression…" I guess that makes sense. It would [...]

This British global warming awareness spot is VERY DISTURBING! Why are you people still flying planes? Think of the bears!

Did you forget to stay up late waiting for results from the U.N. climate talks in Doha? Well, you'll be happy to know global warming is solved thanks to a bold consensus decision to take aggressive international action on carbon emissions and sustainability. No, wait, that is not what happened. Here's a typically sunny reaction: "It’s very, very depressing. There is nothing [in the text] at all on finance, nothing about emissions reduction, it's all about workshops and talk shops. There is no commitment by [by rich countries] on anything."

Then again, "low expectations" were the only expectation at all. Sorry, polar bears and etc.

Photo [...]

OMG, this polar bear mom is all "COME ON ALREADY" and the polar bear cub is like "MOM I'M SO TIRED WHY CAN'T WE REST MY PAWS HURT!" They're just like people!

Apparently, December 8th is the annual cannibal polar bear photo day. I am not suggesting that you click through, because these pictures will make you sad.

Would you like to see pictures of an adorable baby polar bear? Is it Monday? Of course you would. Step this way, please.

"A polar bear cub is comforted by its mother as they drift TWELVE MILES out from shore on a rapidly shrinking iceberg after hopping on board to take a rest from hunting seals. The future looks bleak for the bears as they balance perilously on the ice that was bobbing around under their weight – but amazingly experts said the pair probably made it safely back to shore." Well, thank God for experts! Because I would much rather hear their assurances than the speculation from the man who was actually on the scene.

"A Canadian teenager has been rescued from an ice floe drifting in the Arctic sea, where he was reportedly stranded with two polar bears. Search and rescue teams… told the BBC he appeared to have shot and killed a mother polar bear in self-defence, orphaning her two cubs." Um, I have a couple of questions? But that is certainly some Life Of Pi shit right there.

These little polar bears are PLAYING WITH LITTLE POLAR BEAR STUFFED ANIMALS. Couldn't you die?

You've got to wait out the approximately 30 seconds of some guy who is apparently named Bamboo Bill doing Dutch exposition, but once you get past that, you get polar bear cubs and Wendy & Lisa. On balance, it's worth it. [Via]

I think this is just what we all need in the wake of the tragic passing of Knut. It's the circle of life! And it guides us all. Especially those of us who like bear videos.

An animal sanctuary in Canada is taunting polar bears by placing delicious, fun-size appetizers just out of their reach. Terrible.

"Some pictures need little introduction. They stop you in your tracks. These are exclusive pictures to Reuters of a Canadian polar bear eating a cub that it killed and cannibalized." These pictures are EXTREMELY DISTURBING, and this is one of those "can't unsee" situations where you should think twice before clicking. But definitely forward the link to all your climate change denialist friends.