Climate Change Effects Polar Bears

Question

The claim made by earth.org creates a major statement for the readers to comprehend, "Polar bears rely on sea ice to hunt for food, however, with sea ice melting as a result of global warming, polar bears are more likely to go hungry due to lack of hunting ground availability." For centuries global warming has effected earth negatively and especially the animals in every environment. Since this topic gets talked about so often, it could be considered as a generalization, but it the greenhouse gases are effecting every polar bear that exists today in Svalbard, Norway, Canada, and Alaska.

Answer 1

The claim is accurate, supported by other reliable sources. 

Polar bears need sea ice to hunt seals. When the ice melts earlier and forms later because of climate change, polar bears lose the main platform they rely on to catch food. This means they have to spend more time on land, where they cannot hunt seals and quickly lose body weight. According to a 2025 report from Polar Bears International, a study of the Western Hudson Bay polar bear population (1979-2021) found a 50% decline over those decades. Researchers link this decline to the loss of sea ice, which gives the bears less time to hunt and causes them to become weaker, have fewer cubs, and struggle to survive. 

https://polarbearsinternational.org/news-media/articles/new-study-quantifies-link-between-sea-ice-and-polar-bears

The BBC News article explains that when sea ice melts earlier and freezes later, polar bear are stuck on land longer. On land, they cannot hunt their main food, so they try to eat things like berries and other plants, but it isn’t enough. As a result, they lose a lot of weight (up to 11% of their body mass). This makes starvation more likely, especially for mothers and cubs, and puts polar bear populations in danger as sea ice loss continues. 

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-68253819

Overall, the evidence clearly shows that melting sea ice is directly harming polar bears and threatening their survival.