The rapid melting of sea ice in the Arctic poses a serious threat to the survival of polar bears, which use it as a platform to catch seals. However, scientists have discovered a new population of polar bears in south-eastern Greenland, which uses ice fragments from freshwater glaciers in the region. Their discovery is described in a study published in the prestigious journal on Thursday Science:raises the possibility that at least a few members of this species can survive for a century, knowing that the Arctic ice sheet will eventually disappear completely by summer.
«One big question is where the polar bears will be able to stayChristine Leider, a scientist at the University of Washington’s Institute for Natural Resources in Greenland, told AFP. «I think bears that roam such a place can tell us a lot about where they can be.He and his colleagues initially spent two years interviewing hunter-gatherers. Then they started their field work, which was carried out from 2015 to 2021, in an unexplored region due to unpredictable weather, heavy snow and mountains.
This is the population of the most genetically isolated polar bears on the planet
Beth Shapiro, co-author of Genetic Research
Each year, the researchers spent a month there, in the spring, staying as close as possible to the habitat of these polar bears, two hours away by helicopter. This population has several hundred a priori individuals. The bears were fitted with satellite tracking devices, and DNA samples were collected, either by catching some of them or by using darts to take biopsies.
«This is the population of the most genetically isolated polar bears on the planetAccording to study co-author Կր Santa Cruz University of California geneticist Beth Shapiro. «We know that this population lived for at least a few hundred years apart from other polar bears.»
Unlike their cousins, these polar bears are more domestic and do not go far hunting. Their isolation stems from the geography of their residence. A complex fjord landscape at the southern tip of Greenland, well below the Arctic. Impressive mountains to the west, and the waters of the Strait of Denmark to the east, with rapid currents along the coast, in a southerly direction. «When they find that they have been driven by this current, they jump off the ice and go back to their fjords.“- Christine Leidre explained. According to researchers, some bears had to travel more than 150 kilometers to return home.
Climate refugees.
Although sea ice (sea water) is a hunting ground for most of the Arctic’s 26,000 polar bears, polar bears can only enter southern Greenland for four months, from February to late May. For the remaining eight months, they rely on pieces of freshwater ice that break off glaciers and end up directly in the sea.
«Fjordner’s high ice production համ The combination of a large reservoir of ice from the Greenland glacier is what currently provides a continuous supply of ice from the glaciers.“- Twila Moon, co-author of the study, explained in a press release. Much remains to be learned about polar bears in this part of Greenland. Measurements show that adult females are slightly smaller than average, and appear to be less young. But in the absence of long-term data, it is difficult to draw conclusions.
Christine Leider warns that we should be wary of relying too much on this study. Polar bears, symbolic animals in their own right, but also a valuable resource for the people of the region, will not be saved without urgent action to combat climate change. But this population may have a better chance of survival than others. In other parts of Greenland, there are glaciers that end directly at sea, which in the future may become small climatic sanctuaries.
In the video, the Arctic reached its record temperature
Source: Le Figaro
