Scientists "quite surprised" to find one polar bear population thriving: "A fat bear is a healthy bear"
CBSN
Scientists have reported some rare good news from the Arctic. As the climate changes and the ice melts, in one region at least, polar bears are thriving — finding new ways to survive, and even packing on the pounds. In:
Scientists have reported some rare good news from the Arctic. As the climate changes and the ice melts, in one region at least, polar bears are thriving — finding new ways to survive, and even packing on the pounds.
"A fat bear is a healthy bear," Jon Aars, a senior scientist with the Norwegian Polar Institute, told CBS News on Thursday.
He's been tracking polar bears on the remote, Arctic Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard for more than 20 years. He led a team of researchers who meticulously tracked the weight and size of nearly 800 bears between 1992 and 2019.
They found the polar giants to be in good shape, able to survive and to continue raising new cubs.
"I was quite surprised," Aars admitted, "because we have lost so much sea ice since I started."
