Kingdom: Animalia > Phylum: Chordata > Class: Mammalia > Order: Carnivora > Family: Ursidae > Genus: Ursus > Species: Ursus maritimus

Polar bear - Ursus maritimus Phipps, 1774

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Quick facts

Threat status Europe	Vulnerable (IUCN)
Protected by	5 international agreements

Distribution

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Threat and conservation status

IUCN Red List status of threatened species

The IUCN Red List threat status assesses the risk of extinction.

World

Vulnerable

Europe

Vulnerable

Not evaluated

IUCN Red List Category

Not Evaluated	Near Threatened	Regionally Extinct
Not Applicable	Vulnerable	Extinct in the Wild
Data Deficient	Endangered	Extinct
Least Concern	Critically Endangered

Sources:

EU conservation status

The EU conservation status is assessed for species mentioned in the EU Habitats Directive annexes. The EU Habitats Directive does not cover this species.

Natura 2000 sites

Not available

Legal status

Mentioned in the following international legal instruments and agreements

Legal text	Annex	Conditions	More information
Convention on the conservation of European wildlife and natural habitats (Bern Convention)	Annex II: strictly protected fauna species (All species of Ursidae)		http://www.coe.int/t/dg4/cul.../bern/default_en.asp
	Revised Annex I of Resolution 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention listing the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures (year of revision 2011)		https://wcd.coe.int/ViewDoc....ckColorLogged=FDC864 Resolution No. 6 (1998) of the Bern Convention lists the species requiring specific habitat conservation measures [and the designation of Areas of Special Conservation Interest (ASCIs) forming for the Emerald network]
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES)	Annex II: (a) all species which, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival; and (b) other species which must be subject to regulation in order that trade in specimens of certain species referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph may be brought under effective control.	Synonym for this species is listed in CITES. See there for more details.	http://www.cites.org/eng
	Annex II: (a) all species which, although not necessarily now threatened with extinction, may become so unless trade in specimens of such species is subject to strict regulation in order to avoid utilization incompatible with their survival; and (b) other species which must be subject to regulation in order that trade in specimens of certain species referred to in sub-paragraph (a) of this paragraph may be brought under effective control.
Commission regulation (EU) No 1320/2014, of 1 December 2014, amending Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein (EU regulation of trade of fauna and flora)	Annex B includes: All other CITES Appendix II species, except where EU Member States have entered a reservation; Some CITES Appendix III species * Some non-CITES species		http://ec.europa.eu/environm...s/legislation_en.htm

Common names and synonyms

Common Name	Language	Reference
Äisbier	Luxemburgish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Ariu i bardhe	Albanian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Baltasis lokys	Lithuanian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Beli medved	Slovenian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Eisbär	German	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Hvítabjörn	Icelandic	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Ijsbeer	Dutch	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Isbjörn	Swedish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Isbjørn	Danish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Isbjørn	Norwegian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Jääkarhu	Finnish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Jääkaru	Estonian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Jegesmedve	Hungarian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Orso polare	Italian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Oso polar	Spanish	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Ours polaire	French	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Polar bear	English	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Polarni medvjed	Croatian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Urs-polar	Romanian	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.
Urso-polar	Portuguese	Mitchell-Jones, A.J. & al.

Synonym	Author
Thalarctos maritimus	(Phipps, 1774)
Ursus marinus	Pallas, 1776
Ursus polaris	Shaw, 1792
Thalassarctos spitzbergensis	Knotterus-Meyer, 1908
Thalassarctos jenaensis	Knotterus-Meyer, 1908
All species of Ursidae

Other resources

CoL (accepted name)	Catalogue of Life
EoL	Encyclopedia of Life
Fauna Europaea	Fauna Europaea
GBIF	Global Biodiversity Information Facility
ITIS (Valid name)	Interagency Taxonomic Information System
NCBI	National Center for Biotechnology Information
PESI (Accepted)	Pan-European Species directories Infrastructure
Species+	Species+ by UNEP-WCMC
Wikipedia	Wikipedia
WoRMS	World Register of Marine Species

External data

No external data sets available for this species

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