Polar bears turn cannibalistic as climate change depletes arctic food supply

mentalfloss

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Polar bears turn cannibalistic as climate change depletes arctic food supply

Dwindling Arctic Sea ice is cutting off polar bears’ food supply, forcing the starving animals to devour their own kind.

While cannibalism among polar bears isn’t unheard of, experts say the behavior is becoming increasingly common.

“There are increasing numbers of observations of it occurring,” photojournalist Jenny Ross told BBC News. “Particularly on land where polar bears are trapped ashore, completely food-deprived for extended periods of time due to the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change.”

Ross explained how the higher temperatures melt ice more quickly, leaving the bears less time to fuel up on ice-dependent seals, the animals’ main source of food.

“Weights of adults are decreasing, litters are smaller, fewer young bears are surviving, and the overall population size is shrinking,” she said.

Ross, whose research was published in the January 2012 edition of Ocean Geographic Magazine, described watching a bear guard its kill, a cub.

“As soon as the adult male became aware that a boat was approaching him, he basically stood to my attention — he straddled the young bear’s body, asserting control over it and conveying ‘this is my food,’” she recalled to BBC News.

“He then picked up the bear in his jaws and, just using the power of his jaws and his neck, transported it from one floe to another.

“And eventually, when he was a considerable distance away, he stopped and fed on the carcass.”
 

#juan

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What a load of bull.

Next they'll be saying the seal hunt has depleted the bears food supply.

Over the years one of the biggest dangers facing Polar bear cubs has always been adult male bears. Anything that adds stress
to the situation, like climate change, is bound to make it worse, but adult males have always been opportunistic cannibals.
 

Tonington

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While some of the claims Ross makes have been peer reviewed in other publications and by other researchers, I don't think increasing prevalence of cannibalism is one of them. It's definitely a plausible relationship, but I'd like to see how she deals with an alleged increase in prevalence when there has likely been an increased observation effort at the same time. If there has been increased observations, then she would have to account for this possible confoundment.
 

mentalfloss

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While some of the claims Ross makes have been peer reviewed in other publications and by other researchers, I don't think increasing prevalence of cannibalism is one of them. It's definitely a plausible relationship, but I'd like to see how she deals with an alleged increase in prevalence when there has likely been an increased observation effort at the same time. If there has been increased observations, then she would have to account for this possible confoundment.

Yea, it could be that she's simply injecting her own experience of the matter but more research needs to be done to show direct causation between the warming and polar bear cannibalism.
 

Tonington

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Yea, it could be that she's simply injecting her own experience of the matter but more research needs to be done to show direct causation between the warming and polar bear cannibalism.

It wouldn't actually be direct causation. The causal diagram would have climate change reducing sea ice, which reduces opportunities to feed, which leads to cannibalism. There is another intervening variable, that is that the lack of food leads to malnourishment, which is what actually causes the polar bears to theoretically turn to cannibalism. If they were properly nourished, they would be far less likely to kill and consume another polar bear when the opportunity arises.
 

mentalfloss

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It wouldn't actually be direct causation. The causal diagram would have climate change reducing sea ice, which reduces opportunities to feed, which leads to cannibalism. There is another intervening variable, that is that the lack of food leads to malnourishment, which is what actually causes the polar bears to theoretically turn to cannibalism. If they were properly nourished, they would be far less likely to kill and consume another polar bear when the opportunity arises.

Okay okay.. how about proximate cause then? :)
 

Tonington

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Sure, that's fine. :D Her findings may in fact be true, hell they may even be in the peer reviewed lit somewhere, I just don't recall hearing about that.
 

Kakato

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What a load of crap! Arctic fox will also eat others,pups,even their own offspring.
Thats something that happens in the animal kingdom the world over but if a photo journalist says it's so then it must be true.

Some of these "researchers" should actually talk to the people who have lived amongst these animals all their life instead of relying what they can gleen off the net.
Next thing you know they will say they are drowning because the sea ice is melting.

With these claims if you follow the money you will see someones usually getting a grant to post this kind of crap.
 

Kakato

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Maybe. Without evidence you're the other side of the same coin, hasty to jump to conclusions.


No,I dont waste my time with this crap anymore,I spent enough years in the arctic,had dinner many times with Canada's govt. polar bear experts when they did their research which was all the time and hooked them up with what ever they needed along the way to do their studys that I can tell **** from shinola when I see it.
Most of these grant suckers dont make it past Churchill and rarely leave their hotel room because they can do their research right from the net,it's about the biggest scam I have ever seen and its getting worse because so many people gobble it up.

Living in tha arctic is pure survival for man or beast,even humans have resorted to cannibalism up their to survive,this is not something that just happened.

The arctic is not complicated,go live a year on the barrenlands and you will also ask yourself where are all the scientists?Why dont they continue on with me past thompson or churchill?
Now maybe if they had the nuts to go spend 7 weeks on Devon island they would have some credibility on their research.
I've spent my whole working life in the bush,animals eat each other,all the time,live with it.
 

Tonington

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No,I dont waste my time with this crap anymore,I spent enough years in the arctic,had dinner many times with Canada's govt. polar bear experts when they did their research which was all the time and hooked them up with what ever they needed along the way to do their studys that I can tell **** from shinola when I see it.

So, I guess with this tacit knowledge you accumulated while there, you could tell us what the prevalence of cannibalism was when you first arrived, compared to today. It must be grand to know everything about everything, just by living somewhere. You should travel the world.

Now maybe if they had the nuts to go spend 7 weeks on Devon island they would have some credibility on their research.

Why? You think that a scientists research credibility is correlated to their nuts?

You're nuts.
 

Kakato

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So, I guess with this tacit knowledge you accumulated while there, you could tell us what the prevalence of cannibalism was when you first arrived, compared to today. It must be grand to know everything about everything, just by living somewhere. You should travel the world.



Why? You think that a scientists research credibility is correlated to their nuts?

You're nuts.

Well I think haveing lived in their environment for many years I know a bit more then the person sucking a grant out of the paranoid people who eat this crap up and then go for extra helpings.
There is no differance,bears like other animals will eat their own and even their young and anyone who has spent any time in the bush knows this from experience.
Canada's top govt. polar bear researchers that do most of these studys also think these environuts do more harm then good with their outlandish claims.These real researchers came to our camps many times for a meal,some jetA and a place to stay during a ground blizzard.
In any Arctic camp the real researchers,bioligists and other experienced experts make fun out of these environuts sucking money out of the taxpayers,it's a standing joke that most will never set foot on the barrenlands.

Like I said,the arctic isnt complicated,anyone who has spent time there will know what I mean.
Real research comes when you have your feet on the ground,not what you can get off the net.
 

Tonington

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Well I think haveing lived in their environment for many years I know a bit more then the person sucking a grant out of the paranoid people who eat this crap up and then go for extra helpings.

Yeah, that's exactly the problem. Some of these researchers work up there every year for multiple years recording what they see. You post pictures from a digital camera for example, of a seal that isn't even the same species as the thread topic.

How expert of you...

There is no differance,bears like other animals will eat their own and even their young and anyone who has spent any time in the bush knows this from experience.
It's a well known fact, they even mentioned it in the article if you bothered to read it, instead of jumping to conclusions. The issue is whether or not this occurrence is increasing in prevalence. Jesus try reading before jumping in next time.
 

Kakato

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Yeah, that's exactly the problem. Some of these researchers work up there every year for multiple years recording what they see. You post pictures from a digital camera for example, of a seal that isn't even the same species as the thread topic.

How expert of you...

It's a well known fact, they even mentioned it in the article if you bothered to read it, instead of jumping to conclusions. The issue is whether or not this occurrence is increasing in prevalence. Jesus try reading before jumping in next time.

The article kind of lost any merit in the first paragraph.
“There are increasing numbers of observations of it occurring,” photojournalist Jenny Ross told BBC News. “Particularly on land where polar bears are trapped ashore, completely food-deprived for extended periods of time due to the loss of sea ice as a result of climate change.”
http://www.nydailynews.com/topics/Jenny+Ross

You do realize that polar bears live on both land and ice?
You do realize the sea ice melts every year and the Churchill polars follow the ice as it melts and they do it on land? They go where the food is,if it's plentifull in one area and lots of belugas are washing up on shore they will be content to stay right there.
You also realize polar bears are equally as happy on land as on the ice?
I think even one single trip past churchill would open your eyes but hey....you read it on the net and a photo journalist says it's true so it must be. Sheeeesh.