More Polar bears attack human as more glaciers melt

More Polar bears attack human as more glaciers melt

As the sea ice around the Arctic decreases, polar bears desperately seeking food can attack more people.

In a recent issue of the journal Wild Life, a study found that glaciers, which are shrinking due to global warming, are insufficient to feed polar bears, and hungry polar bears are more likely to attack humans.

A multinational team of biologists from the United States, Canada, Norway and Russia surveyed 73 polar bear attacks identified in 1870-2014. Polar bears attacked 20 people and wounded 63 people during this period.

From 1960 to 2009, the average number of Polar bears attack is 9 per decade, but 15 attacks occurred during 5 years from 2010, when the sea ice area reached its record low.

As sea ice decreased, the number of major food species such as seals plunged. In particular, polar bears attacked humans mainly in the summer when sea ice is melting and they are searching for food on all sides.

The researchers found that 59% of Polar bears attacked humans as a predatory attack to catch people.

In addition, the researchers explained that more and more people are going camping or traveling in the area where polar bears appear, which may have stimulated polar bear attacks.

In fact, more than half of the victims of Polar Bear attacks were campers or travelers. On the other hand, the attacks occured in human town where Polar bears come into lesser than a third of the total.

Jeff York, a researcher at Polar Bear International, a polar bear conservation group, said the decline in sea ice and increased travel to polar bears have created conditions necessary for polar bears to attack.