A group of biologists that have been studying polar bears off the coast of Alaska have determined that polar bear cubs are drowning, due to loss of sea ice. They are being forced to make longer swims than normal just to find land or stable ice sheets.
The study confirms the dangers of ice loss to Alaska’s polar bear population. It’s been widely theorized that adult polar bears have been forced to cross ever-longer stretches of open ocean as the polar regions heat up. The new work, by U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center researchers, confirms that theory. It also reveals that these open-water swims have a dramatic effect on young cubs, which are forced to follow their mothers in search of food and solid ground.
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