Zahid Mahmood, reporting in CNN.
Report highlights:
A study published in journal Science found that the polar bears are suffering from food shortage and could be extinct faster than preciously thought possible. Researchers fixed collars on nine bears and recorded their activity levels for up to 11 days.
Because of the climate change and excessive melting of ice in Arctic the bears now have to travel longer distances and use more energy to find food.
"I'm not surprised to have seen this," said Liz Greengrass, a director at UK animal conservation charity Born Free Foundation. "Polar bears are reliant on seals for food and seals rely on sea ice. Global warming is melting the ice so it has a chain reaction on how polar bears can survive."
Polar bears have been listed as endangered species by the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the protection program repeatedly emphasizes the importance of climate change.
"Without decisive action to address Arctic warming, the long-term fate of this species is uncertain," Greg Siekaniec, Alaska regional director of the wildlife agency, told CNN last year.
Content and image source credit: https://edition.cnn.com/2018/02/02/world/polar-bears-extinction-intl/index.html