Oxford University Press, Oxford, Nowak, R.M. Dorling Kindersley, London., Kastelein, R.A. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, Rome., Burnie, D. Academic Press, London.,CITES (June, 2009) , Jefferson, T.A., Leatherwood, S. IUCN Red List (June, 2009) , Kastelein, R. Retrieved November 23, 2014, from World Wildlife Foundation website: Retrieved November 23, 2014, from Polar Bears International website: Their findings are published in the journal Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment.Hunting and diet. This research was conducted by scientists at the USGS, Washington State University, and Polar Bears International. One current study includes the examination of what polar bears are eating, how they are behaving, and the rate at which their health and numbers are declining. The USGS is leading numerous investigations into the polar bear response to sea ice loss through its Changing Arctic Ecosystems Initiative. Also, catching a seal in open water is far more difficult than catching on the ice. Food found on land, such as berries and eggs, lack the high fat content and calories of the bears’ preferred prey. Polar bears that are forced to live on land due to melting ice face lean times in most of the Arctic.The bears may travel hundreds of miles to stay near their primary food source. In summer, when ice floes retreat, the bears follow the ice and the seals that live on it.This is likely due to the protective quality of the omega-3 fatty acids found in seal blubber. Scientists have found that when the bears dine exclusively on seal fat, their cholesterol levels drop lower than those of fasting bears.Other bears, foxes, and birds devour the rest of the carcass. When there are plenty of seals to be had, a healthy polar bear will eat only the seal’s blubber and skin, but the rest of the seal does not go to waste.Polar Bears International brings us more information about the polar bear diet: These bears also stalk ringed seals that are napping on the ice. The seals use their sharp claws to cut holes in the ice through which they can breathe, and the bears wait nearby in the hope of catching a meal. Seal blubber is a rich food source, and an adult polar bear can eat 100 pounds of it in one sitting. The polar bear’s main food is the ringed seal. RELATED: CLIMATE CHANGE THREATENS CALIFORNIA PIKAS Polar bears are not physiologically suited to the digestion of plants, and it would be difficult for them to consume the volumes required to support their large body size. Foods found on land, however, are dominated by high- protein, low-fat animals and vegetation. “Grizzly bears and polar bears are likely to increasingly interact and potentially compete for terrestrial resources.”įew foods are as rich in energy as marine mammals, such as seals, and studies suggest that polar bears consume the highest lipid diet of any species. “The smaller size and low population density of grizzly bears in the Arctic provides a clear indication of the nutritional limitations of onshore habitats for supporting large bodied polar bears in meaningful numbers,” says Rode. The scientists found that as the polar bears are forced off of the melting sea ice and onto land, they have to compete with the local grizzly bears for the available food. However, there isn’t a lot of land-based food to be found in the Arctic.
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