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Woes of the polar bears
14/Sep/2006: Polar bears in the arctic region are suffering the most from the loss of sea ice, as they are forced to spend more time in the land, unable to hunt seals, which happens to be their favorite meal.
This has made the bears thinner and the average weight of polar bears has dropped significantly in the past two decades. An average female bear weighed 650 pounds (295 Kg) in 1980’s but now an average female bear weighs only 510 pounds (230 Kg), which is a significant loss of weight and the females are unable to reproduce because of this weight loss.
Not being able to hunt down their natural food at sea, more and more polar bears have started to look for alternate food sources in land, including garbage near human settlements. Many polar bears have recently been spotted foraging garbage for food near human settlements and they are increasingly in contact with humans. If a bear, foraging for food near human settlements, attacks a person, it is legal to kill them and hence the situation is quite gloomy for the polar bears.
Many people in northern Canada are of the impression that the polar bear population is rising, with many polar bears venturing in to human settlements in recent years. But in reality their numbers have seen a 22% decline in the last fifteen years. With the Arctic sea ice melting to record levels this year more and more polar bears would be driven in to the land in search for foods and encounters with people will increase.
The arctic ice is breaking up a lot earlier due to climate change and this reduces the hunting and feeding time of polar bears by 8-10 days. The winter ice (perennial ice), which was stable for 25 years in the last 30-year record period, is loosing its ground gradually, retreating at a much faster rate in 2005 and 2006. If this trend continues, it could ring the death knell to many arctic mammal species.
Kesavan Siva
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