Wildlife

Polar Bear Welfare and Climate Change

Polar bears face existential threats from Arctic ice loss, with welfare implications including starvation and increased human conflict.

Key Facts

Sea ice loss reduces hunting season by 3 weeks per decade
Polar bears are fasting for longer periods each year
Starving bears increasingly enter human settlements
Polar bear numbers have declined in 8 of 19 subpopulations

Welfare Considerations

Climate-driven sea ice loss forces polar bears to fast for longer periods, causing nutritional stress, body condition loss, and reduced cub survival. Desperation leads to human-wildlife conflict where bears are killed. Captive populations may not be able to compensate for wild losses.

What You Can Do

Support strong climate action policies
Donate to polar bear research and monitoring
Back Arctic habitat protection initiatives
Reduce personal carbon footprint