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Scientists were left in shock after seeing results when attaching camera to group of polar bears

Home> News> Animals

Published 12:41 14 Dec 2024 GMT

Scientists were left in shock after seeing results when attaching camera to group of polar bears

Researchers said they were 'amazed' by the 115 hours of footage which also yielded a heartbreaking discovery

Olivia Burke

Olivia Burke

If you've ever wondered what the world looks like from a polar bear's perspective, this incredible footage can give you a good insight.

Scientists said they were left 'amazed' after examining the 115 hours of video they captured while strapping cameras to the animals as they roamed around Canada.

As well as giving us a deeper understanding of what it's like to move around on all fours, the clips also highlighted how clever these creatures really are.

The thing is, this species have been hit hard by the effects of climate change over the last few years and are now considered as 'vulnerable' by the IUCN Polar Bear Specialist Group.

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Vast amounts of sea ice are melting due to global warming, which poses quite the problem to polar bears, as they use the frozen sheets as stepping stones to score some lunch.

Due to the fact the animals' primary food source is seals, the lack of sea ice really throws a spanner in the works when it comes to their survival.

According to the WWF, polar bears also use sea ice to 'rest, breed, and store energy for the summer and autumn, when food can be scarce'.

It's now melting earlier in the spring and forming later in the autumn in the bears' southern range, the organisation warned, in spots such as Hudson Bay and James Bay in Canada.

And the impact of this is worrying, to say the least.

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The incredible footage gave us an insight into the life of a polar bear from their perspective (USGS/Washington State University)
The incredible footage gave us an insight into the life of a polar bear from their perspective (USGS/Washington State University)

"For every week earlier that the ice breaks up in Hudson Bay, bears come ashore roughly 22 pounds lighter and in poorer condition," the WWF said.

Polar bears are being forced to spend more time on land as a result of the melting sea ice, but food high in calories is hard to come by for the animals - hence their dramatic weight loss.

So, to get to the bottom of how the polar bears were dealing with this life-and-death dilemma, scientists strapped cameras to 20 of them who were wandering around Hudson Bay.

The team scoured through more than 100 hours of footage captured over a three-year period, which showed the creatures eating, sleeping, hunting and having fun.

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They were seen feeding on bird carcasses, chowing down on berries and grass, feasting on marine animals, as well as play-fighting with each other in the water and chewing on antlers.

Anthony Pagano, wildlife biologist at the US Geological Survey (USGS) and leader of the study, previously told Vox about the findings: "We were amazed by the video footage.

"The video footage really highlighted how intelligent these animals are by using different behaviour strategies to survive their time on land while without access to their primary prey."

Before the study, scientists presumed that polar bears might be coping with prolonged periods on land by resting to save energy, or filling up on other prey such as plants and seabirds.

The animals are being forced to forage for food on land due to the melting sea ice (OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images)
The animals are being forced to forage for food on land due to the melting sea ice (OLIVIER MORIN/AFP via Getty Images)

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The footage and other data collected by boffins - such as the amount of energy burned and measurements of movement - suggests that the predators actually did both, with some heading out in search for food and others opting to have a little lie down instead.

Despite the split in approaches among the polar bears, sadly neither was successful - and all but one of the 20 subjects lost weight.

Alarmingly, one even lost nearly 80 pounds.

Scientists also found that polar bears were taking longer swims in search of food, which is 'unexpected for this time of year', according to polar expert at the University of Alberta Andrew Derocher.

Derocher further explained: "These are possibly acts of desperation. Hungry and skinny bears take more risks than fat bears."

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Essentially, eating berries and smaller prey isn't enough to tide a polar bear over.

"This study really brings home the message that there’s no salvation from terrestrial feeding to help polar bears through the ice-free period," Derocher added.

The polar bear population in this area is estimated to have fallen 30 percent since 1987, and this study appears to prove that global warming will continue to make it even harder for the species to survive.

Featured Image Credit: USGS/Washington State University

Topics: Animals, Science, Global Warming, World News, Environment

Olivia Burke
Olivia Burke

Olivia is a journalist at LADbible Group with more than five years of experience and has worked for a number of top publishers, including News UK. She also enjoys writing food reviews (as well as the eating part). She is a stereotypical reality TV addict, but still finds time for a serious documentary.

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@livburke_

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