Heading Toward a Record Year

Ice went out earlier and is lower in cover overall this year in Hudson Bay.

As we reported yesterday, Hudson Bay polar bears are eagerly awaiting the sea ice to freeze up so they can break their fast, return to the ice and start hunting for seals, their primary food source. Historically, Hudson Bay should have ice by now and the bears should be long gone. However, climate change is causing dramatic declines in sea ice. As a result, these bears are stuck on land, living off their fat reserves, and waiting. For some, the longer wait could mean starvation and death.

When my plane departed Churchill yesterday, there was still no ice to be seen on the Bay. We could see a new record set this year if things do not improve soon. According to a bulletin issued by Environment Canada today, “the progression of freeze-up is 2 weeks late in western Hudson Bay and only a very narrow fringe of new ice is evident along the western and southern shores at this time.” Check out the above graph to see how low sea ice cover has been in Hudson Bay this year.

How Long Could you Go?

For some, two weeks may not seem like a big deal. But try to imagine what it must be like to eat next-to-nothing for four months, only to find out at the end of your fast that you have to wait two or maybe three more weeks before eating anything of substance. It’s hard to imagine, right? Most people will never know what it feels like to go 2 days, forget months, without food. That’s where the analogy comes in.

As a runner, one comparison that comes to mind has more to do with endurance than food. Say you decide to train for a marathon. For months and months, you train hard, eat right and build up your miles. Come race day, you know you have it in you to make it the full 26.2 miles. Then, on your last half mile, when you can see the finish line, they suddenly announce that you have to run an extra 5 miles. Would you be able to do it?

A polar bear roams the shores of Hudson Bay, waiting for the sea ice to form.

A Harbinger of Things to Come

Many runners would have no problem going the extra distance, but others would not be able to. The same is true for the bears. For some, the late freeze up will not be an issue. I saw plenty of healthy bears out on the tundra this past week.

The problem is that the decline in ice will spell doom for some.

If climate change continues unabated, all it will take is one really bad year from which these bears will not be able to recover.  Eventually, other populations of polar bears, including those in Alaska, will face the problems we are seeing today in Canada.

Ways to Help

Polar Bears International has a ton of useful information about polar bears, and is also monitoring the situation from Churchill. To learn more about energy saving actions, check out myActions.org where you can  pledge to enter your energy saving actions for 3 weeks to increase your awareness and increase your actions.

You can also help NWF defend polar bears against big polluters by taking action.

One of the greatest thrills a person can experience is interacting with animals in the wild. The polar bear is one of the earth’s most magnificent animals, and today we saw many of them here on the banks of Hudson Bay near Churchill, Manitoba.

A Churchill polar bear

Every year the polar bears in this area are forced to abandon their habitat, sea ice, and retreat to a land refuge where there is next to nothing for them to eat.

The bears roam along the shore and, in the fall, begin to congregate around Churchill where the ice begins to form up again.

Sea Ice = Food

Once the ice forms, the bears abandon their summer-long fast and eagerly return to their natural habitat, the cold frozen ice.

From this ice platform, polar bears begin their hunt for seals.  Indeed, polar bears are adapted to feed almost exclusively on seals.  Unlike the grizzly or brown bears that eat a wide variety of foods, polar bears cannot survive without seals.

Longer and Longer Fasts for Hudson Bay Polar Bears

The polar bears in Hudson Bay are different from polar bears further north in that the ice is completely gone here in the summer and the bears have no option but to fast.

If this fast lasts too long, it impacts their ability to gain enough fat during their winter feast of seals to recuperate from their long summer fast.

Hudson Bay should be covered in ice by now and bears should be heading out to start hunting

In the 1970s, this fast typically lasted about 120 days for most bears.  However, this fast has been extending for longer and longer periods as the ice from which they hunt their prey has been breaking up earlier in the spring and forming up later in the fall.

We could be looking at a full five months of fasting for these bears if conditions do not improve quickly.

This year was close to a record for early breakup (July 9) and it appears that it will be closer to or set a new record for ice formation in the fall. 

As a result, some of the polar bears the Canadian researchers are seeing are in worse condition than normal. 

If the ice doesn’t form up soon, some of these bears will die.

How to Help Polar Bears

The driving force behind this change in ice is the greenhouse gas accumulation in the earth’s environment that is causing the earth to warm everywhere and is more accelerated in the far north than in more temperate zones.

If you love the polar bears and want to preserve the opportunity for you and your children to someday see these magnificent creatures as we did today, it is essential to curb our addiction to fossil fuels the burning of which is causing the earth’s climate to change.

Time’s a-wasting for us, and especially for the polar bears.