Fish for dinner? Not likely for polar bears.
With rising temperatures, polar bears are standing on thin ice (literally) when it comes to hunting for their food. Without their natural sources of food to rely on, researchers believed bears would adapt to a diet supplemented by berries and bird eggs foraged from on land.
A study led by conservation organizations in Manitoba and the University of Alberta observed the weight of bears who are held in the Polar Bear Holding Facility (for bears who wander into the city) in Churchill, Manitoba.
To avoid domestication and becoming used to being fed, bears are not fed whilst they are in the facility. Even more shocking: these bears lost the same amount of weight as bears who were free in the wild.
Food is scarce, and polar bears are becoming increasingly so as well.
Read more about the polar bear’s worrying food security situation in Canadian Wildlife magazine, Nov + Dec 2016 edition.
Feature photo by Fabrice Simon, a photo contest submission.