Are polar bears an endangered species?

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No, polar bears are not an endangered species, but they are threatened. In 2015 the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Polar Bear Specialist Group designated polar bears as a vulnerable species. According to the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, the category of vulnerable, as distinct from the category of endangered, means that polar bears have a slightly lower risk of extinction than if they were endangered.