According to a government report released this week, Canada’s Western Hudson Bay polar bear population has declined 27% in just five years, indicating that climate change is affecting the animals.
Every autumn, bears residing near the Bay’s western side pass through the sub-Arctic tourist town of Churchill, Manitoba, on their way back to the sea ice. This has made the population not only the best researched, but also the most famous in the world, with the local bear-viewing business estimated at C$7.2 million ($5.30 million) every year.
However, according to the Government of Nunavut’s assessment, just 618 bears will be left in 2021, a roughly 50% decrease from the 1980s.
:It’s really stunning in some ways,’ said John Whiteman, principal research scientist at the conservation non-profit Polar Bears International. ‘What’s really distressing is that these kinds of decreases are anticipated to eventually trigger… extinction unless sea ice loss is stopped.’
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