Climate change is melting the ice in the Arctic, forcing polar bears to slowly lose their habitat. A new study predicts global warming will likely push these wild animals to spend more time on land and eventually settle near humans.
The Huffington Post reports a comparative study about the behavior of female polar bears in the Chukchi Sea region between the summer months of 1986-1995 and 2008-2013 was conducted using satellite radio collars. Scientists explained only the females were studied because male polar bears' necks are wider than their heads --- making it easy for them to slip off the collars.
According to results, current data shows there were fewer days of sea ice in the region between Russia and Alaska by the end of summer. Ice retreated 20 to 40 days earlier in the north and 15 days earlier in the south than it did from 1986 to 1995.
The proportion of polar bears spending more than seven days on shores between August to October had increased from 20% in 1986-1995 to 38.9% in 2008-2013. On the latter period, the average amount of time these bears spent on land was extended to 30 days.
Experts concluded that polar bears could stay longer and prey on unusual resources in Russia's Wrangel and Herald islands than hunt for seals on ice.
"Several studies in areas where bears are coming onshore earlier and spending more time on shore have documented localized but intense nest predation of sea birds and geese," the study explains. "On Wrangel Island, Russia, polar bear predation resulted in the death of at least 226 walruses ... between 1989 and 2006, of which 81% died as a result of stampedes caused by polar bears."
However, it's not only walruses that could possibly be in danger.
"Increases in terrestrial habitat use can lead to increased interactions with humans that may result in safety concerns for humans or in disturbance or death for polar bears," the study adds. "In light of increased human activity in the Arctic, [this] will likely require proactive management to maintain terrestrial habitats for polar bears and mitigate human-polar bear interactions."
Although the study only focused on one of the 19 polar bear populations worldwide, this climate change issue has already been a growing problem across the Arctic.
