Footage shot in the Arctic by scientists shows a polar bear feasting on a seal atop a drifting slab of sea ice. In another video, a female bear crosses a vast, frozen expanse, trailed by her two cubs. Elsewhere, a male bear roams through the snow. These mammals appear healthy – far from the images of emaciated bears that have sparked concern in recent years.
In the far north, Svalbard, the Norwegian archipelago, is a paradox. Climate change has warmed the region faster than anywhere else on Earth, and its sea ice is shrinking more rapidly than in any other ice-bound area. Yet, the physical condition of adult polar bears has not worsened over the past 25 years. In fact, it improved after 2000, according to a study published on Thursday, January 29, in Scientific Reports, based on long-term monitoring in the Barents Sea. This may be only a respite before an expected decline.
Researchers analyzed the physical condition of 770 adult polar bears during 1,188 captures conducted each spring from 1992 to 2019, in this region located about 1,000 kilometers from the geographic North Pole. In some parts of Svalbard, temperatures rose by 2 degrees Celsius per decade, and the ice-free season lengthened by three months over the study period. Logically, this should have led to thinner bears, followed by a drop in both reproduction and population.
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