Bear Conservation - IUCN Red List

IUCN Red List

Of the world’s eight existing bear species, except for the Polar bear (Ursus maritimus) and the American black bear (U. americanus), the other six, that is,

• the Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)
• the Brown bear (U. arctos)
• the Spectacled bear (Tremarctos ornatus)
• the Asiatic black bear (U. thibetanus)
• the Sloth bear (Melursus ursinus)
• the Sun bear (Helarctos malayanus)

face varying degrees of vulnerability. The 2007 IUCN Red List, published on 12 September 2007, includes two species, the Giant panda and the Sun bear as threatened with extinction, and even "least concern" species such as the brown bear, although not considered to be at risk in North America and parts of Europe and the former Soviet Union, are at risk of extirpation in certain countries or regions.

The process of decline and/or extinction of the brown bear in Europe is well documented. Starting with their extinction in Denmark around 3000 B.C., in Great Britain during the 10th century, in eastern Germany in 1770, in Bavaria in 1836, in Switzerland in 1904, and in the French Alps in 1937.