Russia and the the U.S. have joined their efforts to protect polar bears. An agreement has come into force aiming to preserve bears in Alaska and Chukotka. The polar bear is at risk of extinction as global warming is melting away its Arctic habitat.
A special commission will decide whether to allow bear hunting in the region. Hunters and poachers are adding to the decreasing number of the animals. Experts estimate around 2,000 polar bears now live in the Arctic. That is almost a third of the number there less than ten years ago.