Nowadays, the sea ice is getting further and further from the shore, which means that the polar bears have to swim increasingly long distances to be able to reach the ice. And even then, the sea ice is above water that contains less prey. However, around Canada’s Hudson Bay, the sea ice does not even last throughout the summer. The polar bears spend all their time on the shore when the ice has melted and there is no way for them to hunt seals. This causes them to fast continuously for months. Oddly though, the polar bears in the Hudson Bay area were able to hunt enough seals to last them throughout the winter. However, this did not last long because of the climate change. The ice started to melt at an earlier time and forming at a later time, which left a short period to hunt, reduced average bear weight by fifteen percent, and increased cannibalism of cubs by the bears. The consequences of this short period of time for hunting are that the polar bears became scrawnier and much skinnier. They also have fewer cubs that have a low survival rate and often do not survive to adulthood. These patterns are beginning to occur more worldwide and the long swims cause the death of many polar bears and cubs.
Polar Bears and Possibility of Extinction
Yasmine Bazan