This polar bear population is thriving despite some of the most drastic sea ice loss in the Arctic
ABC News
Not all polar bear populations are declining as a result of sea ice loss, according to new research.
Not all polar bear populations are declining as a result of sea ice loss, according to new research.
Polar bears that live along the Barents Sea near Svalbard -- the archipelago between Norway and the North Pole -- appear to be thriving, despite the region experiencing some of the most drastic sea ice loss in the Arctic, according to a study published Thursday in Scientific Reports.
The body conditions of these bears have actually improved amid the sea ice loss -- a stark difference from previous observations of declines in polar bear populations that coincide with global warming, the researchers found.
Every spring, researchers in Norway capture polar bears to study them, Jon Aars, senior scientist at the Norwegian Polar Institute and lead author of the paper, told ABC News. From a helicopter, they immobilize the bears and then take samples and measurements -- including their body weight and length of an animal, so they can determine how much fat the bears have on them.
"The more fat, the more healthy you can say the bear is," Aars said.
