E-mail updates
Follow on Twitter
Subscribe to RSSA recent voyage by the National Geographic Explorer ship to the Arctic captured a female polar bear fighting a male for food. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports on the trip, which allowed experts to evaluate the environmental changes in the Arctic.
Wildlife biologist Ian Bullock is a seasoned visitor to the Arctic, but even he was surprised by what he saw last month: a thin female polar bear, shadowed by her cub, trying to challenge a much bigger, stronger male for food.
It wasn't much of a challenge, but it showed just how desperate she was, Bullock told NBC News on returning from his 10th straight summer cruise to the Arctic.
That desperation, he feels, stems from the fact that the Arctic's summer sea ice — which polar bears using as floating stations from which to hunt seals — has been shrinking over the last few decades due to a warming Arctic, forcing polar bears into smaller areas and more intense competition.
"She was the thinnest female with cub I have ever seen," he said. "She had a single cub which implies she has already lost one other cub this year.
"If she cannot feed, she cannot suckle her cub; with a hungry cub it is even harder for her to hunt effectively, so from what I saw her last cub is at risk and ultimately so is she," he added. "This is why she was challenging a big male with food. She was hungry enough to take a big risk."
In a video filmed during the National Geographic Explorer cruise to the Arctic's Svalbard region, Bullock said it looks like that reduced ice is "really putting the bears under stress."
"The worst thing is when we've encountered bears, we've found them really packed in tight, in the last little areas of fast ice attached to land, or the last little patches of pack ice at sea," said Bullock, who served as a guide on the cruise ship. "And there they've been in competition."
Polar bears are listed as "vulnerable" and in decline by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which estimates the population at no more than 25,000 across the Arctic.
The U.S., which has two Arctic regions where polar bears live, in 2008 listed its population as "threatened".
Last year, researchers cited three incidents where polar bears might even have resorted to cannibalism due to warming and reduced sea ice.
The diminished sea ice also got the attention of the National Geographic Explorer's skipper.
Captain Leif Skog told NBC News that he had e-mailed his boss, Sven Lindblad of Lindblad Expeditions, to describe "a shocking escalation of the reduction of sea ice."
One data graph he monitored daily, showing the total volume of Arctic sea ice, "could be called the death spiral of the Arctic sea ice," he said in his e-mail to Lindblad.
Because of the reduced sea ice, he added, the cruise was able to visit northeast Greenland "a month earlier than what was normal in the past."
"We expected to face some sea ice but everything was gone in the fjords upon our arrival," he added. "The sea water temperature in the fjords was also unbelievably high."
Another expert on the cruise called the outside temperature "surprisingly warm."
"It was T-shirt weather," Paul Berkman, an environmental science professor at the University of California Santa Barbara, told NBC News. Berkman noted two other major Arctic developments over the summer:
- The amount of summer sea ice reached its lowest point in 30 years of records.
- Nearly the entire surface of Greenland's ice cap saw some melting in July, a phenomenon not seen in 150 years of ice records.
Berkman said the polar regions, and the Arctic in particular, show an "amplified response" to a warming climate ahead of other parts of the globe.
That response is twofold, he adds: Arctic temperatures have warmed 3-6 degrees F above the global average, and reduced ice removes huge amounts of reflective white from the sea and reveals a dark sea that absorbs heat.
The sea ice is like "a giant mirror on Earth's surface" he said. "Without summer Arctic sea ice, more heat from the sun is absorbed into the Earth system, which is a feedback that further accelerates warming of our climate."
More world stories from NBC News:
- Protesters storm US Embassy in Yemeni capital
- Libya pledges to help US catch American officials' killers
- US won't rule out Islamist link in killing of US ambassador to Libya
- US Ambassador Chris Stevens was 'courageous and exemplary,' Obama says
- Despite dark past, young Israelis seek new lives in German capital
- No Obama-Netanyahu meeting as rift over Iran widens
Leave a Comment:
We can refreeze the water if we have the will to do it. Environmentalists lean toward eliminating humans as a solution, but I don't see the greenies volunteering to be eliminated. Take dry ice and override the warming seas. Have a dry ice making ship or two start at the top of the world and work their way south.
Humans have been screwing things up since creation. So, what's new? But cutting back on greenhouse gases is a good idea, even if they are not contributing to global warming.
EVERY species screws things up. A warm wet summer will cause grazing land area to explode, which causes grazing animal populations to explode, which causes predator populations to explode. The next year or two when grazing land returns to normal, it is overgrazed, grazing animals and predators die off. This is a well known phenomenon and happens all the time.
Global warming phooey, they took core samples out of the artic and so many thousands of years it heats up, its a natural occurance, nothing more, the polar bears will be just fine, they lasted thousands and thousands of years, and out of the core samples they found the artic used to be tropical, so stick that in your hat tree huggers, watch the discovery channel and learn instead of listening to a scientists ramblings, how can they predict mother nature???? not only that underwater volcanos and fissures put more co2 into the air than man, another natural occurance.
Human industry produces over 100 times the amount of CO2 as volcanoes.
jocko, where did you pull THAT number from?
There have been a couple of studies on it. I could look it up, but then so could you.
The almighty 'bright' oh-so-caring pinheads, know as the Left, who caaaaare oh-how-they-care about freaking polar bears, are the same DUNCES who have single handedly caused the DEATHS EACH YEAR of about one million mostly children in Africa from malaria, once CONTROLLED by ddt, a chemical that does once saved lives and NEVER ruined these Leftist's oh-so-helpless freaking environment!
the Left weeps and moans about the polar bear but YES THEY ALONE ALLOWED tens of millions of mostly children to suffer and die when that WAS NEVER NECESSARY!!
and all you idiots know it!
Oh really ?? Well, named one republican politician that goes to africa to help ?? NONE !! They spend their time playing golf and hunting !
All politicians that goes to africa to do volunteer work are DEMOCRATS !!! BILL CLINTON, Jimmy Carter.. etc..
As well as my nephew that graduated from standford university as a design engineer He spent 2 year in mali digging water wells in poor villages, plus 3 yearS in kenya working for a non profit organization !! ALL DEMOCRATS !
Only democrats care for life and for the most unfortunates !
What have you done for those poor in africa, MORON ?? NOTHING !
barock- Your nephew is exponentially contributing to global warming then. He flew to Mali, I'm sure it was not on a solar powered jumbo jet, to help them become more like us. He is helping the Mali's to become more healthy and affluent (one well at a time), and before you know it, they will all be driving gas guzzling SUV's and living in McMansions and having electricity consuming flat screen TVs. It might not take a year for it to happen, but it will happen. Then how will your nephew feel about his contribution to global warming?
Don't start blaming the poor african, you moron !!!
they are the ones, suffering the consequances of your crazy lifestyle !!! and my nephew was riding a bicycle to get to the first town, 20 km away !
Water wells allows them to grow their own food so they dont rely on anyone !!! and that saves gas !
Sorry barock, but all of the people I know that go on mission in Africa are Staunch Conservatives. They are mostly Republicans but not all. Just because a politician goes over to Africa does not mean they went for pure reasons but generally to make a political point, Bill Clinton is a prime example.
I went to Tanzania to hunt about 4 years ago and I took over $250 worth of pencils, paper tablets, tooth paste, tooth brushes, soap, shampoo etc. to give to the natives in the villages we were so poor. Conservatives are people that actually do things not just talk about them and show up for a photo opp.
Republicans actually care and find real solutions for problems, not just feel good sound bites.
Oh really.. NO they go there to brainwash them with their damn religion !!
I cannot imagine any republicans helping anyone, they can't even help their own people !!!!
More pathetic liberal lies. Mormons in particular do sabaticals around the world to HELP, my neighbors son went to Africa. They do not go there to preach, they go to help; it is part of their character building exercise.
And conservatives as a group give far more to charities that liberals, this has been well documented. Since liberals want to spend OTHER peoples money, not their own, it's only common sense.
And by the way, how many solar panels are on your roof barock? What is in your drive way? Are you a player or a poser?
I'm guessing poser.
barock,
you have no clue as to what happens in the real world do you. Are you still living in mom's basement?
There are far more people on mission from religious groups than any government programs. Most of the money sent by our government to Africa to fight Aids is stolen by the local dictator so he can live comfortably. 90% of the reported Aids deaths are from Malaria but that doesn't get them any American green backs so they are reported as Aids deaths.......Malaria kills MILLIONS of people every year. It is the #1 killer of humans on the planet.
The one person that has done more to fight Aids in Africa is President George W Bush. There are many Christian Churches and other charities from the USA doing work in Africa and around the world. Please do not try to inject politics into charity because Democrats are by far the stingiest and least caring. Liberal Democrats don't personally give to charity or care about people they think that is the governments role while conservatives believe that is the individuals role.
I got a bridge for sale for all you who believe this. LOL
They should dye their fur black and move to the forest with the other bears.
Tragic. Some people will trade everything for more money.
Some people will resort to fascism to spend other peoples money.
Wake up libbies. This article is written to pull at your heart strings so you will think that all the Polar bears are going to die. Polar Bear populations have been growing for the last 40 years. This particular bear is probably very old.
This is just like at the vets when your 17 year old cat is in renal failure and the vet says "You can give it subcutaneous (Under the skin) saline injections and keep him alive for a long time" ......."of course you can buy all your supplies right here" all designed to work on your emotions and not anything practical.
All you libbies want to save every bear but if you talk with the Eskimos or other people that have to live with these bears you would hear a different tune. They know how deadly these bears are.
You know, the problem isn't really the polar bears. It is hard to predict how they will come out of all this, and even harder to study it. It is a symptom.
Take a good long look at those pictures. Notice the huge expanse of ice? So in all those square miles, these three bears can't spread out a little? This whole piece is pure propaganda, period.
I think this is beyond funny! Wasn't it just last year that they found out that the data about the disappearing polar bears was a big lie and that there are more polar bears than anyone knew. The reason for their disappearance was due to man-made global warming and their hunting grounds were dwindling. NOW we find out that they are STILL starving (even though there is obviously enough food to keep the population thriving - see last years population study) but man-made global warming is STILL reeking havoc among them because now they are starving... wait... I'm confusing myself with their facts. Seems to me that if there is an abundance of polar bears, wouldn't it be more kind to open a hunting season to thin the population than to let them starve. Isn't that what any good DNR policy would promote?
T-shirt weather is 80 degrees.
This is just to sad for words. People do not understand that first it will be these guys then it will be us. What ever happened to the saying reused reduce and recycle when I was a kid growing up. It's not a political thing to do that very thing. It's cost effective and keeps things cleaned up. It's just sad. I never imagined I would see the extenction of several types of animals in my lifetime. it's very disturbing.
You are such a Utopian! Touchy-feely, do-gooder people like you make me laugh. Are you saying that there has never been an animal species that went extinct prior to mans evolution/creation? Do you not read about recent new found, never before discovered animal and plant species. Those bears will adapt, they always have and always will. If they get hungry enough, hopefully they will discover the touchy-feely cares more than anyone else dumbass with the camera taking their pictures and fill their bellies.
Cruel as it may sound, this is called adapting to the environment. Do you think the bears
moved to the ice caps because they like the ice and cold weather? The bears have adapted to the cold and hot many times over throughout time.
All of you right wing morons should shut the hell up !! YOU ARE NOT SCIENTISTS, you have no clue and certainly not the intellect to know what you're talking about !!!
WE are destroying our climat !! cutting rain forest, polluting our seas, things that aborbe CO2 !!!!
You are a bunch of stupid, dumb idiots !
You are not coming across as much better.
jock,
I admire you for pointing out the obvious even when it's someone on your side. When I saw the "aborbe CO2", I said what?
Thanks RW; I always prefer honest and informed debate to insults. Plus I am really only in the "side" of science, which people on all sides of the debate can get wrong.
Barock1957 do you have a degree in climatology? Do you have a degree in ecology? Do you have a degree or even a high school diploma? Do you even know the definition of moron and how the word came into use? You cannot even use the spell check to correct your many spelling errors. Your lack of any critical evidence and resorting to personal attack all point to an arrogant and ignorant narrow minded intolerant liberal. Prove me wrong.
Why is this writer of this article so concerned about the bears, and nothing is said about all the hungry kids in third world countries that are starving.
Perhaps it is because this article is not about hungry kids in the third world. But yes they are going to be harmed by global warming as well.
The fact that 1/2 of the American population does not possess the mental capacity to understand that dumping car-tank, after car-tank, after car-tank of gasoline into the atmosphere will change it; is embarrassing.
The rest of the world doesn't think we are idiots; they know we are.
So many idiot liberal talking points, so little time.
First it's nice to see liberals finally admitting our liberal union controlled school system is such a failure, or was that not your intent.
Second, we are not dumping tank cars of gas into the atmosphere, we are burning it and releasing the resultant gasses into the air.
Third, as a real scientist, I've studied the raw data, it does NOT support all the fear mongering.
Fourth, it is people like you that create skeptics with your outrageous claims. If liberals were honest about GW people would be much more amenable to change their beliefs. When you tell big fat lies, people will tend to ignore anything you have to say.
This is really tragic.
We need to think seriously about culling human population !
Humans have become a pest for all other species !
I am willing to let you become the first human we cull.
barock, I think the noble thing for you to do is volunteer to be the first culled human. I'm sure others will follow your lead. Maybe we can start by sending you with some meat in hand to feed these poor bears personally............
By all means, lead by example. Proof yet again, liberals are closet fascists.
People like Barock1957 are why I have come to believe that government paid birth control and government paid abortion under any circumstance is the right way to solve many of the worlds problems. It would be mostly liberals who would utilize these options and thus reducing the world population of pomp ass liberals. Liberals have polluted the gene pool for far to long and the government expense would be well worth the cost. So I support the liberal Democrat self genocide programs.
I often hear people say it is car emission how about air traffic and each time we send a rocket through the ozone some damage has to be done and then nuclear testing by different countries developing the bomb sure as hell doesn't help. It seems it always comes back to the public living their every day life but the politians and scientist never speak of decisions they make with rocketry and nuclear testing.
The latest joke has been cow farts. Yeah right!
So let me get this straight...some "researcher" sees two bears fighting and makes the assumption that they must be starving; now that is absurd!
News Flash people...BEARS FIGHT, over food, territory, sexual mates and numerous other things. This global warming crap is a giant hoax to get more of your tax dollars. Hell just a little over 30 years ago this same group of "intellectuals" were telling us we were headed for the next global ice age but why should I expect a bunch of kool-aid drinkers to remember history or even use their brain God so graciously gave you.
yeah; all those tree-huggers are raking in the dough; while the poor oil companies are just scraping by.
YOU ARE CONNED (or bought)
There is not one word in my comments about oil companies. My comments are directed to you idiots buying into the global warming hoax.
Scott, the amusing thing is that it is quite obviously not a hoax. If you have some scientific evidence to refute it, then by all means let's have a scientific debate, but science is not helped by polemics.
your post referred to someone making money off of this;
only one group does
Well that's apathetic lie. There is money to be made on all sides. A Gore pushed cap and trade since he was heavily invested in the Chicago climate exchange. Once it was voted down, he bailed. If you want a grant from Obama's government, you'd better get the results he wants. I've witnessed this personally.
Idiot liberals contrast solar panels with big oil, pathetically stupid. Big oil could care less about solar, BP even made panels until China undercut everyone. It is nuclear, coal, and nat gas that is in competition with solar and wind.
As a conservative, I am a strong believer in solar and wind as long is we don't go bankrupt forcing technology before it is viable. Solar was patently absurd in Carters day. Only in the last decade or so has it been remotely viable. Now, thanks to China and no thanks to Obama, it is the cheapest form of energy if you DIY it. I have 10KW on my roof and am considering 10WK more, not because I want to stave off GW, but because it's a great "tax cut for the rich".
The really funny thing is, solar is highly regressive, my utility is getting less than 10% of what I used to pay. Guess who is making up the difference, all those who can't afford to buy panels or are renting! Talk about weath transfer from poor to rich, solar credits are just that!
By the way they are credits, not rebates. You only get the 30% if you pay federal taxes, that cuts out half the population. Liberals are too funny when it comes to economics.
This is so sad to me. What I would like to know is how come National Geographic does not bring food on these voyages, knowing what is transpiring with their ability to get adequate food? How do we help them? Are there any agencies that are in the Arctic that can help? That concerned individuals can donate to? We caused this and we need to do something!
Because they are not starving.
tell us that you are not truly that deluded that you think we should send expeditions to feed polar bears? lets just open up hunting season on seals (their primary food) and allow hunters to shoot as many seals as they like and leave the bodies for the bears. Maybe we should kill the seals on the beaches in California and transport them up to the bears.
Some are starving, but it is not clear if it is more than usual. But it is a pretty safe predcition that it WILL increase. Unfortunately in the case of the polar bears there is not much we can do about; but we can still limit the damage in other areas.
The polar bears may be starving because there is an over population of polar bears. Some recent studies have shown their population has been growing so they may be reaching their carrying capacity.
This article is just a tourist observation and wild speculation. There is nothing scientific in this article, it is just an emotional observation.
It would be nice to get some accurate information to make a good theorical estimate. When I hear experts say from the information they have, that sends up a red flag in my mind. We know lots of the info is somewhat bogus. If my answer affected my income, I might lean toward the side that is signing my pay check, most people would. These math models are not always as accurate as we would like to believe.
There is tons of accurate information out there, but there is also quite a bit of bad information, so it is understandable if people get confused by it all. But people need to go to respected scientific sources like the National Academy of Sciences or the American Geophysicists Union for the most reliable information. ALL such organizations are quite clear that anthropgenic global warming is real and would be happy to guide people through the evidence.
I'm with reaj. This just breaks my heart and I am fighting back tears while I'm typing this. We are responsible for the desperate situation these animals are in. They have absolutely no control over their environment and we have ruined it. Both the female bear in the video as well as her cub, and probably even the male bear will likely be dead very soon, if they haven't died already.
No actually after they met the bears decided that they loved each other and decided to set up house and the father bear adopted the baby bear and raised him as his own. They lived happily ever after.
Holy sh*t. Wake the f*ck up you! I am crying over your stupidity.
Spread this stuff on your garden and grow gigantic tomatoes !
...yep...were about half way there...to destroying every living thing on this planet...that is our purpose...
Maybe Barack Obama can go lecture that male bear about spreading the wealth (seal chunks) and espouse the virtues of sharing. Do it for the cub!