2024-02-14 16:47:52
Polar bear on land in the western Hudson Bay region. David McGeachy
Blocked for longer and longer by the retreat of the ice floe, the predators try to change their habits, without much success…
When summer comes, when the pack ice melts and the sea has once again become an expanse of liquid water, in Hudson Bay, in the north of Canada, the polar bears stay on dry land. They wander, waiting for the cold to return, for the ice to reform so they can go seal hunting. During this period of land wandering, not all bears choose the same strategy. A team of scientists led by Anthony Pagano, a biologist at the United States Geological Survey (USGS) based in Anchorage, Alaska, achieved the feat of following the actions of twenty ursids for around twenty days by equipping them with GPS collars transmitting their position. They monitored their daily energy expenditure, changes in body mass, diet, behavior and movements of each individual in an effort to find out if the bears can extend their fasting period on land.
They publish their results in the journal Nature Communications
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