A new study out of Canada has revealed a link between climate change and polar bear lactation and raising future questions about the long-term impacts on cubs. But as climate warming in the North reduces the sea ice extent, bears are spending more time on land. To do the study, scientists from the University of Toronto, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Polar Bears International looked at polar bear milk samples dating from 1989 and 1994 that had been collected in Canada’s western Hudson Bay. Sacrificing for cubs at lower body conditionPolar bear cubs have two age classifications: cubs-of-the-year that are less than a year old; and yearlings, cubs one to two years old. It also means they’re experiencing the effects of climate warming and sea ice loss at sharper rates than populations elsewhere.
