Overview
- A peer-reviewed Scientific Reports paper published January 29 finds adult polar bears around Svalbard have improved body condition since about 2000 despite rapid regional warming.
- The analysis draws on 1,188 capture-and-measure records from 770 adult bears collected between 1992 and 2019.
- Across the study period, the Barents Sea lost roughly 100 days of seasonal ice as ice-free days increased by about four per year and parts of the region warmed by up to 2°C per decade.
- Authors suggest bears have compensated by feeding on reindeer, walrus carcasses, and coastal seals, and by taking advantage of seals concentrating on remaining ice.
- Experts stress that body condition is only one indicator, warn of a likely threshold beyond which survival and reproduction will suffer, and caution against generalizing these findings to other polar bear populations.