Climate change causes polar bears to lose weight: research
Posted Oct 3, 2014 7:36 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Global warming is causing polar bears to slim down.
The Globe and Mail reports, female bears are now 140 pounds lighter than they were in 1980 and their skull size has also been reduced.
Wildlife experts say early breakup of sea ice, and longer periods of open water have affected the animals’ search for food.
Ice-cover in the Arctic Ocean has decreased from 75 per cent in the 1980’s to 45 per cent in 2011.
Professor Ian Stirling at the University of Alberta tells the paper, if the trend continues, they will have to watch the population of polar bears very closely.
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