Polar bears may be turning to cannibalism

Polar bears may be turning to cannibalism

ANCHORAGE, Alaska - Polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea may be turning to cannibalism because longer seasons without ice keep them from getting to their natural food, a new study by American and Canadian scientists has found.

The study reviewed three examples of polar bears preying on each other from January to April 2004 north of Alaska and western Canada, including the first-ever reported killing of a female in a den shortly after it gave birth.

Polar bears feed primarily on ringed seals and use sea ice for feeding, mating and giving birth.

Polar bears kill each other for population regulation, dominance, and reproductive advantage, the study said. Killing for food seems to be less common, said the study's principal author, Steven Amstrup of the U.S. Geological Survey Alaska Science Center.

"During 24 years of research on polar bears in the southern Beaufort Sea region of northern Alaska and 34 years in northwestern Canada, we have not seen o

More...

See also:

Polar bears could be extinct...is it happening anywhere else?
Polar Bears Face New Toxic Threat: Flame Retardants

Good story Loam,
I am afraid that soon, in our lifetime the polar bear will cease to exist. Crying shame. Some will probably hang on for a while as garbage dump eaters, but when they become a nusiance something will have to be done. The only place one could possibly see a polar bear would be a zoo. This situation is another red flag that the enviroment is changing.

[edit on 12-6-2006 by valkeryie]