SUMMARY:
Many scientists
merely assumed
that polar bear
habitats were
threatened by
declining sea ice.
Anyone who
disagreed with
the declining
-sea-ice-
threatens
-polar-bears
narrative
was called
a “denier”,
by scientists
who were
clueless about
the actual life
of polar bears.
(Harvey et al., 2018).
It's a false claim
that reduced
sea ice limits
polar bear
seal hunting
opportunities.
DETAILS:
The first problem
with the claim is that
Arctic sea ice extent
has remained stable
since 2006.
The second problem
with the claim is that
polar bears thrive
during melt season.
There are no trends
in reduced seal
consumption by
polar bears in the
21st century.
From the
1880s to 1940s,
the Arctic’s
Beaufort Sea
was up to
+3°C warmer
than the 2000s
(Durantou et al., 2012).
During this
warmer period,
the region’s sea ice
coverage endured
over a month less
than it does today.
Yet the region’s
polar bears
managed
to survive
with warmer
temperatures,
and less sea ice.
A new study
Bourque et al., 2020:
shows no change
in the seal diet
of Beaufort Sea
polar bears
from 2004
to 2016.
About 65% of the
Beaufort Sea
polar bear diet
consists of ringed
and bearded seals.
Further,
“the effect
for
melt season
was not
significant
for any
individual prey
(p > .10)”.
Polar bears
continue to
feast on seals,
when sea ice
is less available
in the late summer.
Inuit hunters
have observed
polar bears
capturing seals
on “really thin” ice
(Wong et al., 2017).
Polar bears’
best body
condition is in
August-October,
AFTER the sea ice
breakup occurs.
Polar bears’
are thinnest
during months
of the year,
when sea ice
is THICKEST:
April and May.
Scientists
acknowledge
the “increase
in body condition
after ( the ice )
break-up date
was somewhat
unexpected”
(Galicia et al., 2020).