More polar bears birthing on land
More pregnant polar bears in Alaska are digging snow dens on land instead of sea ice -- a phenomenon that researchers say is probably related to global warming.
From 1985 to 1994, 62% of the bears studied dug dens on sea ice. From 1998 to 2004, just 37% gave birth on sea ice, according to the study by three U.S. Geological Survey researchers. Bears that continued to den on ice moved east in the Beaufort Sea off Alaska’s northern coast, away from ice that was thinner or unstable.
The findings were discussed at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium this week.
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