Saving Arctic a 'bear' necessity

Towering at the top of the food chain, the polar bear need not worry about predators but nonetheless faces a daunting enemy: climate change, which is jeopardizing the very survival of the species.

To avoid relegating the majestic animal to the realm of museums, the five countries that ring the Arctic - Canada, Denmark (with Greenland), Norway, Russia and the United States - are set to meet in the northern Norwegian town of Tromsoe tomorrow to discuss how to safeguard the bear.

"No sea ice equates no polar bears. It's really that simple," Geoff York, a polar bear expert with environmental group WWF, said in Oslo.