Polar Bears ‘Healthier’ Despite Melting Arctic Ice

Polar bears in Norway’s Svalbard archipelago are healthier now than they were two decades ago, scientists say. According to new research published in Scientific Reports, polar bears appear to be thriving despite a sharp decline in sea ice.

The study tracked hundreds of bears between 1992 and 2019 and found that body condition improved from the year 2000 onwards, even as the region lost about 100 days of sea ice. The population is stable or growing.

“I was surprised,” said Jon Aars, lead author and scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute. “I would have predicted that body condition would decline. We see the opposite.”

Experts say the findings challenge the usual image of polar bears as a climate warning. In other regions, including Canada’s Western Hudson Bay, melting ice has been linked to falling survival rates and shrinking populations.

“People often hear a message of total doom,” said Kristin Laidre, a polar bear researcher at the University of Washington. “That’s not true. There’s variability in how bears are responding. This [research] adds to the variability story.”

Scientists believe the Svalbard bears are finding food on land, eating reindeer or scavenging walrus, as well as hunting seals. While climate change remains the biggest threat to polar bears, the study shows that polar bears’ survival is more flexible and complicated than previously thought.