Comprehensive study of the polar bear: their evolution, life history, behavior, how they are researched, and the current threat to their very existence.

Includes the text of The International Agreement on the Conservation of Polar Bears and Their Habitat (signed in Oslo, Norway, in 1973) (p. 321-322).

Present day distribution and abundance -- The origin of the polar bear -- Polar bears and humans -- How do you study a polar bear? -- What makes a polar bear tick? -- Reproduction -- Behaviour -- Hunters of the northern ice -- Life and death -- The polar bear capital of the world -- Some highlights of conservation, past and present -- Environmental concerns -- Climate warming : the game changer in polar bear conservation -- The future : concerns and hopes.