Polar bear tracker update: Something is missing in the East

Visit our polar bear tracker to view the ice flow image in the bottom right corner of the map.
The sea-ice is lower in this region than at any time since satellite records began over 30 years ago. Climate change very much at work here and fast in this part of the Arctic.
What will this mean for polar bears and other ice-dependent species? Hudson Strait is normally a very important productive wintering area for polar bears and breeding area for ringed seals, but is currently devoid of ice. So there probably aren’t very many polar bears there, period. Habitat loss of a major order. And that’s really what unprecedented rapid climate change is bringing – fundamental shifts, starting in the south, from sea-ice driven systems to pelagic ecosystems. If you’re a pelagic predator species (like killer whales), then this is quite good news. If you’re a sea-ice dependent species (like polar bears), then this is very bad news.

(c) WWF-Canada