Polar Bear SOS

A study published in the journal Science states that rising global temperatures may cause polar bear to disappear from the face of the earth. The study conducted by university, federal and private researchers over a period of three years states that polar bears do not have special ability to minimise energy loss during warm period.

The study rejects an idea suggested in the 1970s that polar bears are capable of minimising energy loss by ‘walking hibernation’, a condition very similar to that of brown and black bears who minimise energy loss during harsh winters. During summers, many polar bears fast for an extensive period and in some cases this fasting can last up to eight months.

Polar bears’ hunting period is mostly between April and July when seals use sea ice for rearing pups and molting. Soon after this, seals retreat to seas and polar bears to land where hunting opportunity is limited. Earlier, a 2012 study stated that polar bear populations along the southern Beaufort Sea dwindled by 40 percent between 2001 and 2010. Both the studies point towards one direction – reduce green house gas emissions and save our planet.

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