A new study shows that polar bears aren’t getting a sufficient amount of dietary nutrients from terrestrial food sources during their fasting season.
The Physiological and Biochemical Zoology journal released a study on Monday revealing an unsafe rate of body mass loss for polar bears relying on land-based foods during the ice-free season.
Manitoba Sustainable Development, the University of Alberta, and Environment and Climate Change Canada combined for the study, holding polar bears in the Polar Bear Holding Facility in Churchill, Manitoba, Canada during the ice-free season from 2009 to 2014.
The polar bears were not fed while in captivity and lost an average of 2.2 pounds of mass per day, which is equivalent to the weight loss seen by wild polar bears with land-based food opportunities.
Researchers also found that subadult male polar bears are more likely to starve before adult males due to biological and environmental shortcomings.
“Subadult polar bears have lower fat stores, and added energy demands associated with growth,” said Nicholas Pilfold, Ph. D., lead author of the study and a postdoctoral associate in Applied Animal Ecology at San Diego Zoo Global. “Future reductions to on-ice hunting opportunities due to sea ice loss will affect the younger polar bears first, especially given that these bears are less-experienced hunters.”
Experts estimate that there are approximately 26,000 wild polar bears living in the Arctic. According to San Diego Zoo Global, the population of bears in the Western Hudson Bay is currently stable, but extended ice-free seasons in the past have caused declines population and higher mortality rates for subadults.
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Currently, polar bears at the San Diego Zoo wear accelerometer collars that track their movements and report the data back to the United States Geological Survey in Alaska. The data is used to study the bears’ daily behaviors, energy demand, and how they adapt to climate change.
