Entry 3: 29/6/08

Earlier breakup of the Arctic sea ice, caused by global warming, shortens the spring hunting season for female polar bars in Western Hudson Bay. It is also believed to be responsible for the fall in the average weight of these bears. As female polar bears become lighter, their ability to reproduce and the survival of their cubs decline. As the bears grow thinner, they are more likely to wander into human territory for food, increasing the chances of them having collisions with man. The reduction in sea ice cover in areas where there are known polar bear populations and the early breakup of the ice in these areas are a cause for concern.

Global warming is having a negative and significant effect on these majestic creatures. Polar bears spend most of their lives on the sea ice, which is vital for their survival, at least in terms of their lifestyles. The sea ice surface is the platform that provides them with a place to hunt seals and other marine animals from. Sea ice is the most scarce during the summer months, causing the polar bears to retreat to land and survive on their storage of fat reserves until the sea ice comes back in the autumn. If the length of the sea ice season continues to decrease, then polar bears will have lesser time on the ice to feed. Their stored fat from life on the ice will not provide enough nourishment for their time on land, posing a danger to their health, and to their species in the long run.

If the climate continues to warm as projected by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, and the ice continues to break up earlier, it is likely that in 20 to 30 years, polar bear reproduction in western Hudson Bay will be significantly limited.

Sources:
NASA/Goddard Space Flight Center (2006, September 14). Warming Climate May Put Chill On Arctic Polar Bear Population. ScienceDaily. Retrieved June 29, 2008, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2006/09/060913191415.htm