A group of polar bears in Greenland offer hope about climate adaptability
An isolated group of polar bears living in southeast Greenland has surprised scientists with its ability to survive in a habitat with relatively little sea ice.
An isolated group of polar bears living in southeast Greenland has surprised scientists with its ability to survive in a habitat with relatively little sea ice. The bears’ success has left scientists with new questions about the species’ future in a warming world.
Polar bears, which typically rely on sea ice for habitat and as platforms for hunting seals, are predicted to suffer population declines as the Arctic warms and ice becomes less plentiful.
But scientists discovered that bears in southeast Greenland — which they are proposing to classify as a distinct subpopulation — have found the means to survive stretches of about 250 days each year without sea ice. Bears typically can’t fast longer than 180 days.
“They have this very short sea ice season,” said Kristin Laidre, a biologist and associate professor at the University of Washington. “Well then, the question is how do they live there?”
The answer — that they’ve adapted to a unique glacial habitat — offers a sliver of new hope for polar bears in a fast-warming world being reshaped by climate change.
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