Research from the years 1984 to 2004 shows that the population of the bears in Churchill had declined from 1,194 to 935. The trends of that study reveals that by 2011, …show more content…
I determined this because it in the article it states that in the late 1970’s, the population of polar bears was 900. Today, this population has increased to 2 100 bears. Compared to other poplar bear populations in Hudson Bay, this population increase was the smallest.
One challenge that occurs when counting the polar bear population is that they can range across international boundaries. They also range across hundreds of kilometres over huge chunks of ice and large bodies of freezing water. Another challenge is that they can dig into dens or even camouflage themselves in snowfields. The third challenge is that drugging bears is dangerous for both the animals and the researchers. This is because drugging/tranquillizing bears stresses the animals and puts them in a difficult situation.
Scientists are still worried about the polar bear populations because scientists are noticing declines in the polar bears body conditions. Researchers have noticed that the warmer the climate gets, the skinnier the polar bears become. A study predicted that 40% to 73% of pregnant females polar bears could fail to deliver healthy cubs if ice breakup happens one month earlier than in the …show more content…
They have white-yellow fur that help them camouflage into the snow and ice in order to help them catch their prey. Polar bears live in the Arctic region. They live on the ice, the coast and islands of the Arctic region.
I think climate change and overhunting are most likely to influence the future of the polar bears. I believe climate change is a factor because it causes the loss of ice habitat for the polar bears. This is unhealthy because the bears use the ice to hunt for food. If the ice melts sooner than it should, the bears will have to spend longer periods without food which will weaken them. Unhealthy bears can lead to lower reproduction rates. I believe overhunting is another factor because the more bears that are hunted, the more likely that the population of bears will drastically decrease.
I think the most important factor to study is climate change. This is because climate change is the main reason why polar bears are going extinct. If the government funds more money for research about how climate change affects polar bears, scientists may be able to find a way in the future to help polar bears survive through this change. Scientists may be able to develop survival mechanisms for the bears to use so they can better cope with the warmer weather and the melting of the