Polar bears losing weight as Arctic sea ice melts, Canadian study finds
Source: The Guardian
Polar bears losing weight as Arctic sea ice melts, Canadian study finds
Between 1984 and 2009 the weight of female bears in Ontario fell
by over 10% while climate change meant they had 30 fewer days
a year to hunt seal on ice
Ashifa Kassam in Toronto
Tuesday 5 April 2016 14.05 BST
Three decades of melting sea ice has led to significant weight loss among the world’s southernmost population of polar bears, new data from Canadian researchers suggests.
“It’s a red flag,” said Martyn Obbard, a scientist with the Ontario provincial government and co-author of a recently published study in the journal Arctic Science.
Researchers looked at a population of about 950 polar bears who live along the northern coast of Ontario, stretching from James Bay to the provincial border with Manitoba. As they live further south than any other population of polar bears, the group is particularly vulnerable to the effects of climate change.
Using data from 900 bear captures carried out at varying points between 1984 and 2009, researchers found the average weight of males had dropped by 45kg (99lb) and females by 31kg.
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Read more: http://www.theguardian.com/environment/2016/apr/05/polar-bears-losing-weight-arctic-sea-ice-melts-climate-change-canadian-study
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