A group from the US Minerals Management Service was conducting marine surveys in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas in advance of potential offshore oil development. They discovered at least 9 polar bears swimming 60 miles out at sea in search of food and habitat.
The US Department of Interior listed polar bears as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. However, the state of Alaska has opposed the listing and has sued the federal government over its decision to list the bear.
What is apparent here is that Polar Bears require sea ice and with the disturbing rate of melting of global ice caps, the bear’s habitat is quickly disappearing.
For any people who are still non-believers in global warming and the impacts it is having in the Arctic, this should answer their doubts once and for all.
