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Published online 14 May 2008 | Nature | doi:10.1038/news.2008.828

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Polar bears gain listing as threatened

US decision stops short of endangered status.

Polar bears will be listed as threatened under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), the secretary of the interior reluctantly announced today. But the listing will offer almost no new protections for the bears, which are threatened primarily by melting sea ice.

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