The World Conservation Union (IUCN) released the 2006 Red List of Threatened Species today revealing the ongoing decline of the status of plants and animals. On that list the polar bear has been moved to the threatened category and listed as Vulnerable, and defined as a species that is ?threatened with global extinction?. The Red List is an effective guide to show the net effects that continual habitat loss, over-exploitation, pollutants, climate change and the introduction of invasive plants and species into new areas are having on our planet.