Somewhere, Stephen Colbert is thrilled right now. But he's probably also pretty upset that the writers' strike is preventing him from covering the major bear news (none of it good for our ursine friends) that was published yesterday. The World Conservation Union released a report showing that 6 out of the world's 8 species of bears are vulnerable or endangered. The brown bear and the American black bear—both of which are found in North America—were the only two thought to have a low risk of extinction. Number one on the list was the Giant Panda, which is not technically a bear (rather, a "bearlike" mammal).

The bad news for the bearlike continued, with reports that the food supply for Giant Pandas in southwestern China is dwindling, forcing about 1,200 of the creatures (80 percent of the world's panda population) to migrate elsewhere in search of food.

World's Most Endangered Bears [Nat'l Geographic slideshow]
World Conservation Union Report
Panda Cam! [National Zoo]

Flickr photo of Tian Tian at the National Zoo by Scott Ableman