Climate change diet: Arctic sea ice thins, so do polar bears

SCI-TECH

Climate change diet: Arctic sea ice thins, so do polar bears

Seth Borenstein and Mark Thiessen The Associated Press
Published Thursday, February 1, 2018 2:14PM EST

A male polar bear eats a piece of whale meat as it walks along the shore of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Man., on August 23, 2010. (Sean Kilpatrick/THE CANADIAN PRESS)

Text:

ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- A new study shows some polar bears in the Arctic are shedding pounds during the time they should be beefing up.

Scientists blame climate change for shrinking the ice cover on the Arctic Ocean that the polar bears need for hunting.

Each spring, polar bears go out on the sea ice that grows in the winter to hunt for seals. Government biologist Anthony Pagano says the bears are having a harder time catching seals because the ice is melting and thinning more and earlier.

For the , nine females were equipped with tracking collars with video cameras and the bear equivalent of a Fitbit. Their blood was monitored and they were weighed. Five of the bears lost weight. Four lost 3 to 5 pounds per day.