Saving the bears

It's a "critical time" for polar bears and their survival now depends on Canadians, the country's environment minister says. "We are essentially the stewards of the polar bear population," Jim Prentice told the Toronto Star at the country's first polar bear summit in Winnipeg.

Canada is home to about two thirds of the world's polar bears, but scientists warn that the bear population is starting to decline because of melting sea ice, over-hunting by the Inuit and an increase of toxins in the food chain. The World Wildlife Fund says that 60 per cent of the world's polar bears could disappear within 50 years if something isn't done now.

Many Inuit, however, say they haven't seen a fall in the population and worry that hunting restrictions will be imposed by people who don't depend on polar bears for their livelihood.