A new study in the journal Nature Climate Change has found that global warming is starving polar bears and pushing them into extinction. In some regions, they are already caught in a vicious downward spiral, as vanishing sea ice increases their annual fasts beyond their limits.
As per the study, the polar bears have less food available, their body weight and mass stop their chances of surviving harsh Arctic winters without adequate food which is their main source of sustenance, if sea ice loss persists, a few of the 19 sub population of polar bears could be wiped out by 2100. For each of the 19 bear groups, scientists combined estimates of the extent of sea ice for their part of the Arctic with how much energy bears need daily and how fat they were before each fasting season to build an “energy budget” computer model. This projected how long they will be able to keep reproducing and surviving.
“The bears face an ever longer fasting period before the ice refreezes and they can head back out to feed,” said Steven Amstrup, who conceived the study and is chief scientist of Polar Bears International. A polar bear weighs up to 1,600 pounds and needs plenty of food to survive but large regions in the Arctic turn completely ice-free during summer months and the dwindling body weights of polar bears is testimony to their ongoing struggle. “Showing how imminent the threat is for different polar bear populations is another reminder that we must act now to head off the worst of future problems faced by us all,” said Dr Amstrup.
The scientists asserted that by 2040, the bears will be unable to reproduce, which will cause sporadic local extinctions in colonies. The study also warned that polar bears may be immediately affected by the consequences of climate change but other species in the animal kingdom may also soon follow.
