human
I've heard that the polar bear is endangered, what is going on?
assistant
The polar bear population has been decreasing rapidly over the past few decades due to climate change and human activities. There are now an estimated 20,000-25,000 polar bears remaining in the wild. Polar bears have traditionally relied on sea ice as a platform for hunting seals, but warming temperatures have caused the loss of sea ice, which has led to decreased habitat availability and increased competition with other predators.