Polar bears swim huge distances to find food

   Now, polar bears are facing a more serious test; with the melting of the sea ice, polar bears are forced to swim longer distances, which can jeopardize their lives and cubs’ health (“Polar Biology”). Expert testimony shows that “Remaining ice is farther from shore, making polar bear less accessible. The larger gap of open water between the ice and land also contributes to rougher wave conditions, making the bears’ swim from shore to sea ice more hazardous” (qtd. in “Global warming and polar bears”). There already have been several reports indicating that polar bears have drowned and died due to the long distance swim. In 2004, biologists found 4 drowned polar bears in the Beaufort Sea. They spend too much energy swimming in order to find floating sea ice to take a rest. Even though polar bears are quite good at swimming, the longer distances tax them too heavily, and they become too exhausted, famished, and weak to face the rougher waves (“Global Warming and Polar Bears”). More evidence found in the Beaufort Sea shows that polar bears are finding it hard to find food on the ice caps as well. In August 2008, researchers tracked a polar bear’s hunting activities for two months. One of the researchers, George, says that the bear made a continous swim of total 687 kilometers over 9 days in the cold water, and intermittently swam and walked on the sea ice surface an additional 1,800 km. Researchers indicate that this polar bear paid the extraordinary high cost for this epic journey. Dorena, another researcher, says that in these two months, the bear’s body fat was reduced by 22%, and tragically lost her one years old cub as well (16-17). In these twenty years, as the arctic ice broke up constantly, the polar bears that died through drowning and starvation have significantly increased. If the arctic ice further melts in the future, then polar bears deaths will increase as well.