Environment

Global Warming: Polar Bears Cannibalize In Churchill, Manitoba

by amyellensoden | December 9, 2009 at 04:57 pm

899 views | 10 Recommendations | 6 comments

Due to global warming conditions, polar bears in the Churchill area of Manitoba have begun to cannibalize. Polar bears in the Arctic region have an increasingly smaller hunting space and less ice to hunt from due to the thinning ice caused by global warming.

The polar bears use large slabs of ice to move out of the Hudson Bay area and hunt seals, but they are unable to do so this year as it isn't cold enough for the ice to thicken. The ice hasn't frozen yet so the polar bears are unable to access one of their main sources of food: seals. This overall thinning of the ice has caused grown polar bears to cannibalize the younger cubs in particular. Scientist Andy Derocher offers some insights on the process that has lead the polar bears to cannibalize:

"The cannibalism events are really just a manifestation of the effects of global warming on the bears," Derocher said. "It's an act of desperation; it's what they do when they can't find something else to eat.

"The rub here is that they've now been forced to sit on land for an extra month . . . The animals are winding down on the stored body fat that they have."

While Polar bears do have a history of killing their young in the springtime during mating season, it is unusual for them to kill their own in the winter. These cases of polar bear cannibalism that are currently taking place are definitely unrelated to their springtime habits. Scientists believe they are simply hungry and have no other food source.

This new behavior is thought to be less instinctual, and more a drive to keep food in their bellies during a mild winter where long-distance swimming and hunting difficulties have made it tough for the bears to survive

At this point there are four confirmed cases of polar bears that have cannibalized in the Churchill, Manitoba region. Unfortunately, there are more possible cases that still need to be investigated and the number of cannibalizing bears will likely increase with no change of conditions in the Arctic region.

The polar bears would normally use multi-layered ice to move around and hunt, but they are now restricted to small patches of this ice surrounded by thin patches that connot hold their weight.

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Amy Judd

at 18:52 on December 9th, 2009

This makes me really sad.

Uwe Paschen

at 05:26 on December 10th, 2009

KGB (not verified)

at 09:19 on December 10th, 2009

I travel extensively in the North. There's no dire shortage of polar bears just yet, despite what the climate cultists would have you believe. Not to say that nothing is changing. They've now been seen much farther inland seeking different prey. I think they are more adaptable than we give them credit for. And you've only to visit the developing countries to realize that an attempt to alter man's contribution to climate change is just going to be a very expensive fool's errand.

alia_d

at 22:13 on December 13th, 2009

This is so sad.

Moniks (not verified)

at 10:30 on December 18th, 2009

This is criminal....what humans have done to cause this dire situation for all other living creatures on this planet.Spotting many polar bears does in no way indicate that they are in no trouble. I was in Churchill end of Oct '09, and saw over 35 polar bears. For a solitary creature, the fact that there are so many in so small an area indicates there is not enough food for all.Plus who are we humans to determine what is the right number of polar bears. Do we ask that about us humans who have so over populated the earth so as to put all other life at peril! Humans need to change their thinking..... the earth is not here for our taking!

Donald Skjold (not verified)

at 08:31 on January 2nd, 2010

I wouldn't get too carried away. This is nothing new. Male Polar bears have long been documented to, at times, kill young cubs, and not always for food. A 1999 article by Derocher and Wiig describes the killing of three cubs in Norway in 1996, only one of which was partially consumed. Besides, Polar bears can fast for months at a time, if necessary.