Can zoos save polar bears from extinction?

International representatives from 126 countries rejected a U.S. proposal to ban the global trade of polar bear parts Thursday. Global warming is also putting polar bears’ natural environment in jeopardy. Some zoos say captivity could help them survive global warming’s assault.

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Record numbers of polar bear skins like these in Norway are being auctioned off at record high prices, triggering international debates about whether the trade is further imperiling the iconic animals already endangered by climate change. International representatives from 126 countries rejected a U.S. proposal to ban the global trade of polar bear parts on March 7, 2013.

Paul Shoul /

A polar bear cub inspects its reflection in the water at the edge of an ice floe in the Barents Sea.

Florian Schulz / Visions of the Wild

A polar bear lies on the rocky ground in Churchill in Manitoba, Canada.

Howard Buffett / World Wildlife Fund

A female polar bear and its cub walk atop sea ice on Baffin Island in Nunavut, Canada, in the Arctic. When scientists determined that the Baffin Bay bear population, which straddles Greenland and Nunavut, was declining, Greenland reduced its harvest, but Nunavut did not. The European Union banned imports of polar bear trophies from Baffin Bay as a result, and Nunavut reduced its hunting quotas in 2010. The E.U. import ban remains in place.

Staffan Widstrand / World Wildlife Fund

A polar bear walks on ice, trying to reach next ice floe in Spitsbergen in Svalbard, Norway.

Steven Morello / World Wildlife Fund

John Jackson during a polar bear hunt in 1996. “It is considered one of the roughest hunts in the world because of the sub-zero temperatures, pounding of the sled on the hard ice, having to hold your legs high in a sideways position on the sled, frostbite injuries and injuries from striking the ice with your hanging-over legs and fatigue,” Jackson said.

/ John Jackson

A 3-month-old polar bear cub born prematurely at the Toronto Zoo last year is introduced to the public in February. The male cub was one of three born Oct. 11, 2011, to Aurora, one of the zoo's two 10-year-old female polar bears. The new mother rejected the cubs shortly after birth, and two of them died. Zoo staff cared for the remaining cub.

Nathan Denette / AP

A mother polar bear plays with one of her cubs at the Moscow Zoo.

Andrey Smirnov / AFP/Getty Images

A mother bear plays with one of her cubs at the Moscow Zoo.

Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

Ida swims in her enclosure at the Central Park Zoo in New York.

Spencer Platt / Getty Images

One of three polar bear cubs born at the Moscow Zoo in November 2011 tries to hunt.The cubs have spent much of their time in a den and were only earlier this year revealed to the public.

Alexander Zemlianichenko / AP

The number of captive polar bears in the United States has declined since 1995, when there were about 200. The bears sometimes seem to seek out visitors, like the one here at the Toledo Zoo.

Andi Norman / Toledo Zoo

FEATURED PHOTO GALLERIES

A police forensics officer investigates a crime scene where one man was killed in Woolwich, southeast London May 22, 2013. British Prime Minister David Cameron has called a meeting of his government's emergency Cobra security committee after the killing of a man in south London, his office said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Stefan Wermuth (BRITAIN - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Terrorism cited in London cleaver attack

Two assailants hacked to death a man reported to be a British soldier on a busy East London street Wednesday afternoon before delivering an pparent...

LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: Statues on display on the Nong Nooch Tropical Botanical Garden in The Great Pavilion at the RHS Chelsea Flower Show on May 21, 2013 in London, England. The Chelsea Flower Show run by the RHS celebrates its 100th birthday this year. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

Photos of the day

Chelsea Flower Show, face transplant in Poland, Oklahoma residents cope with tornado aftermath and more.

ANNAPOLIS, MD - MAY 20: The Herndon Monument Climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the United States Naval Academy. The plebes climb to the top of the lard-covered 21 foot high monument and remove the 'dixie cup' hat at the top replacing it with an upperclassman's hat. After completing this, the freshmen are called 'fourth class midshipmen.' This class completed the task in 1 hour 32 minutes and 43 seconds. The hat was placed by Patrick Lien from Orlando. (Photo by Sarah L. Voisin/The Washington Post)

The Herndon Climb

The Herndon Monument climb is the traditional culmination of plebe year at the U.S. Naval Academy.

Lea Bessinger salvages a picture of Jesus as she and her son Josh Bessinger sort through the rubble of the elder Bessinger's tornado-ravaged home Tuesday, May 21, 2013, in Moore, Okla. A huge tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburb Monday, flattening an entire neighborhoods and destroying an elementary school with a direct blow as children and teachers huddled against winds. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Tornado near Oklahoma City causes more damage

Rescue workers are searching for survivors after a twister carved a long path of destruction in a suburb of Oklahoma City. It was part of the...

NEW YORK, NY - MAY 21: Ken Marino, Erica Oyama, Ben Stiller, Chris Harrison, and Mike Rosenstein aceept the Webby Award for 'Burning Love' at the 17th Annual Webby Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on May 21, 2013 in New York City. (Photo by Stephen Lovekin/Getty Images for The Webby Awards)

Eye on entertainment

Ben Stiller, Jerry Seinfeld, Emma Stone, 2 Chainz, Tyrese Gibson, Susan Boyle and more.

This combination of Associated Press photos shows left, a neighborhood in Moore, Okla., in ruins on Tuesday, May 4, 1999, after a tornado flattened many houses and buildings in central Oklahoma, and right, flattened houses in Moore on Monday, May 20, 2013. Monday's powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the region in May 1999. (AP Photo)

Okla. tornado loosely followed path of 1999 twister

Monday’s powerful tornado in suburban Oklahoma City loosely followed the path of a killer twister that slammed the area in May 1999.

A Burrowing owl tries to perch on a protective rope in a public park in Cooper City, Fla. Monday, May 20, 2013 as rain falls. (AP Photo/J Pat Carter)

Animal views

Fun and fascinating creatures around the world.

A man walks on sulphur and mineral salt formations near Dallol in the Danakil Depression, northern Ethiopia April 22, 2013. The Danakil Depression in Ethiopia is one of the hottest and harshest environments on earth, with an average annual temperature of 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.4 Celsius). For centuries, merchants have travelled there with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted and shaped into slabs, then loaded onto the animals before being transported back across the desert so that it can be sold around the country. Picture taken April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ETHIOPIA - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

ATTENTION EDITORS: PICTURE 2 OF 30 FOR PACKAGE 'ETHIOPIA'S ANCIENT SALT TRAIL'
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Ethiopia’s salt trail

For centuries, merchants have traveled to Ethiopia’s Danakil Depression with caravans of camels to collect salt from the surface of the vast desert basin. The mineral is extracted...

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