Polar bears and humans both evolved late in the Pleistocene Ice Age; the bears evolved from terrestrial species about 300,000 years ago while humans appeared in East Africa about 125,000 years ago. Prior to the evolution of these two mammals, millions of other animal species had evolved and become extinct, almost always in association with major upheavals in the climate, sea conditions or terrestrial environment.
Today, polar bears are threatened by a warming climate and, to a lesser degree, so is man. Most scientists believe that human activity is responsible, at least in part, for the accelerated global warming but this is at least the fourth major period of warming since the onset of the Pleistocene, 2 million years ago. And while the planet has undergone numerous cycles of cooling and warming over the past 4.6 billion years, this is the first time that man, with his intelligence and technology, has been around to observe the drama.
There is no doubt that humans have been responsible for decimating animal populations over the years. Over hunting, habitat destruction and pollution have all taken a toll and any efforts that we make toward wilderness protection, pollution reduction, hunting restrictions and human population control will help to sustain the diversity of this planet. Beyond these measures, we and the polar bears are at the mercy of events over which we have little control; whether humans will fare better than the polar bears is yet to be seen and, let's not forget, they have already out-lived us by 175,000 years!
