Arctic Sea Ice Meltdown Threatens Canadian Polar Bears

According to a team of wildlife experts, Arctic sea ice meltdown threatens Canadian polar bears, Canada’s largest predator animal species. As they reported in a recent study, the researchers figured out that “it is clear we will need to keep a close eye on this species,” as Graham Forbes, co-chair of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) said. “Significant change is coming to its entire range,” he added.

According to Graham Forbes, Canadian polar bears use “sea ice and the same sit-and-wait techniques familiar to ice fishers to hunt seals for food,” reports Phys.Org.

Global warming is affecting Arctic sea ice by melting it down to a faster pace than the researchers expected. The thawing of ice glaciers in the Arctic region is triggering harmful changes in the ecosystems of the animals relying on the sea ice for hunting for food or nesting.

Arctic Sea Ice Meltdown Threatens Canadian Polar Bears

Canadian polar bears are more endangered than ever by the Arctic sea ice meltdown, according to a new study carried out by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC). “While not currently threatened with extinction, the species faces an uncertain future,” the COSEWIC’s report reads.

COSEWIC rated this global warming-related situation as “Special Concern,” meaning that the scientists are quite sure that the current condition of the Arctic sea ice will soon endanger Canadian polar bears, along with other animals that live in the Arctic ecosystem. As for the polar bear populations, Canada is housing about 66% of the world’s polar bear specimens.

Salmon stocks, according to the recent study conducted by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, are also affected by Arctic sea ice meltdown, particularly along the Pacific coast and Black Ash, especially since the Emerald Ash Borer beetles killed two billion of the trees in the Great Lakes area.