Polar Bears: Melting Arctic Ice In Summer ‘Has Nothing To Do’ With The Animals’ Survival – Zoologist
Quadey Humile | | Jul 22, 2015 06:32 PM EDT |
(Photo : Youtube) Zoologist and polar bear expert Susan Crockford is blasting recently published articles claiming that melting summer ice in the Arctic due to global warming is causing polar bears to be deprived of food and to starve.
Zoologist and polar bear expert Susan Crockford is blasting recently published articles claiming that melting summer ice in the Arctic due to global warming is causing polar bears to be deprived of food and to starve.
The white-furred predators have actually been thriving since 1979 and are far from starving in contrast to recent claims. Furthermore, contrary to reports about the loss of Arctic sea ice due to climate change, there are plentiful sea ice in the Arctic that the bears walk on while hunting for food before summer comes, Examiner reported.
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"Polar bears are at their lowest weight in March and at their highest in June/July," Crockford said. She went to explain that no other mammals have the same unique eating pattern with polar bears since no other carnivores live on the surface of the sea ice.
According to Perfect Science, a recent study found that polar bears' survival is threatened by the shrinking Arctic summer ice and they are not capable of "walking hibernation" or they are unable to reduce their metabolism to levels similar to hibernation.
Crockford however noted, that the bears do not really need large amounts of energy since the animals won't be moving around much.
"Summer is warm across the Arctic" Crockford wrote. "It's the perfect time for Polar bears to fast, as little energy is needed for keeping them warm, especially if they don't swim around."
She also emphasized that spring sea ice habitat for polar bears worldwide has been excellent this year.
In addition, a good crop of cubs this spring was reported by Norwegian polar bear researchers due to excellent conditions for pregnant females around Svalbard.
The amount of Arctic sea ice on July 18, 2015 was just the same on a similar date in 2006. And there was even more sea ice on July 19 than there was on the same date in 2006.
Basically, summer ice melt has not interfered with the bears' spring feeding period. And even in Chukchi Sea, the only polar bear region with below-average sea ice extent for the last five years, the bears are doing just fine with no summer ice and their eating habits are not affected.
Meanwhile, Empire State Tribune has learned that a new policy paper in Conservation Letters, "Rapid ecosystem change and polar bear conservation," has proposed several schemes to preserve the animals including relocation and feeding programs.
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