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due to the ice breaking up earlier and earlier, the polar bears are left with significantly reduced times to hunt and are returning to land in poorer condition. Their weight conditions are affected by this. These bears have now turned to rubbish tips and camp sites for food - bears that are well insulated and designed for Arctic environment now find themselves on dry land, having to hunt for food because of the erosion of their natural home environment by global warming. A recent study of the Polar bears in Western Hudson Bay has drawn attention to the increasing numbers of hungry bears wandering into the northern Canadian community of Churchill, Manitoba. To add further credence to this, researchers from the Minerals Management Service found a striking shift in the bears' habits. From 1979 to 1991, 87% of the bears spotted were found mostly on sea ice. From 1992 to 2004, the percentage dropped to 33%. Most of the remaining bears have been found either in the ocean or on beaches, congregating around carcasses of whales killed by hunters.

Global warming has caused a reduction in the sea ice season by up to three weeks, over the cause of the last 20 years. This has been reported in the Arctic Journal, based on a study conducted by Ian Stirling alongside colleagues of his from the Canadian Wildlife Service.

Climatic change should not be viewed as a futuristic occurrence, as we can see from the erosion of the homes of these vulnerable creatures. The sooner world governments take meaningful steps to cut green house gas emissions while at the same time, switching to the usage of renewable energy as opposed to fossil fuels, the less endangered would be this specie of bears.

Another onslaught of the effects of the erosion of the Arctic sea ice plus the need for travelling long distances to find food is the incidents of drowning. According to researchers from the U.S. Minerals Management Service, lone polar bears were typically spotted swimming in the ocean far from ice about once every two years. This was before the year 2004. However, in September 2004, this occurrence had changed for the worse. By this time, the polar ice cap had retreated a record 160 miles north of the northern coast of Alaska and researchers counted 10 polar bears swimming as far as 60 miles offshore. Only a few days after a fierce storm they found four dead bears floating in the water, the most probable cause of which was drowning. Indeed, these Polar bears can swim long distances and have adapted

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