One of the most important things to consider when thinking about an endangered or vulnerable species is that we (plants, animals and humans) are all tied together. Our actions affect animals we’ll never meet thousands of miles away.
One great example of how our actions can affect animals we don’t see in our daily lives is the polar bear, the first animal in the new Hug This Animal series.
The polar bear was reclassified as a vulnerable species on the IUCN’s (World Conservation Union) Red List of Endangered Species in 2005. That means that polar bears face a high risk of extinction …read more

Since I can’t hug a real polar bear, that’s me hugging a polar bear statue at the Maryland Zoo. (A wonderful zoo by the way.)
I’m excited to let you know that each Friday I will post about an endangered or vulnerable animal sharing the planet with us.
I’ll write about animals everyone knows about, and some that may be a surprise to you.
The population estimates in the posts will be based on the best information from field research. It’s difficult to know precisely how many animals of a particular species may be left in the wild.
Some animals like to hide and …read more