Knowledge Capsule

US,Russia warm up for polar bears

With relations between Russia and the US increasingly frosty,the two countries have quietly joined forces to help polar bears. Two of the five countries where polar bears live,they are now the main allies pushing for greater protection for the bears under a global treaty on endangered species. The impetus may be the increasing danger to polar bears numbering now 20,000-25,000 and the return to presidency of Vladimir V Putin. As prime minister,Putin had travelled to the Arctic in April 2010 and in one of his highly publicised encounters,was photographed tagging a bear with a GPS collar. A US-Russian proposal would grant polar bears the highest level of protection by banning international commercial trade in skins,furs and other items made from bears. Canada and Denmark representing Greenland oppose such a ban. Norway,the fifth country where polar bears live,has not made its stand on the proposed ban public.