Advanced Search Close Search
In the gateway to the Arctic, fat, ice and polar bears are crucial. All three are in trouble
World

In the gateway to the Arctic, fat, ice and polar bears are crucial. All three are in trouble

  • BY SETH BORENSTEIN AP Science Writer

In the gateway to the Arctic, fat and sea ice are crucial, intertwined and dwindling. And scientists say because of that polar bears are in trouble. In Churchill, Canada, the polar bear capital of the world, scientists say there are now about half the polar bears as there were 40 years ago. Polar bears are losing sea ice that they use as a base for seal hunting, so they are going hungry longer in the summer. Even tiny plankton, the base of the food web, is going low fat. And that's bad for the region because fat is crucial for survival here.

Mother, 1-year-old son killed in Alaska polar bear attack
National

Mother, 1-year-old son killed in Alaska polar bear attack

  • By MARK THIESSEN and PATRICK WHITTLE Associated Press

Alaska State Troopers said in a statement that a 24-year-old woman and her 1-year-old son were identified Wednesday as the victims of a fatal polar bear attack in an isolated Alaska Native village. The fatal mauling happened near the school in Wales, where poor weather, and a lack of runway lights at the gravel air strip prevented troopers and wildlife officials from arriving Tuesday. Attempts were being made again Wednesday. Like many far-flung Alaskan villages, the predominantly Inupiaq community of roughly 150 people organizes patrols when the bears are expected in town, from July through early November.