'It's like a death watch'

Environmentalists say Canada is dithering despite clear evidence showing many species in decline

By Ed Struzik, Edmonton Journal | January 10, 2010

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Scientists who have been studying polar bears in the region, however, believe that this event, and seven other acts of cannibalism recorded in the area this fall, are more signs that climate change is taking its toll on the bears of western Hudson Bay.

"I've been studying polar bears in this region for 35 years, and prior to this fall, I personally knew of only one cub, and two other adults that were victims of cannibalism in that time," says Ian Stirling, retired from the Canadian Wildlife Service and now an adjunct professor at the University of Alberta.

"To get eight in one year is really dramatic, especially when the bears came off the ice this year in fairly good shape. Breakup was later this year than it has been for a few years, so they had the extra time to hunt seals and put on weight before the ice went out. But it apparently wasn't enough to sustain all of them until freeze-up, which was particularly late this year."

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According to research conducted by scientist Andrew Derocher and his team at the University of Alberta, nearly three-quarters of the western Hudson Bay polar bear management zone should have been covered by ice during the first week of December. But this year, only 21 per cent of the area was frozen by that time.

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