A new population of polar bears has been discovered in an ice - free street corner of Southeast Greenland , allot to a study write today in the journalScience . Polar bears typically bank on sea ice to act as a floating platform while becharm seals and other prey , but this genetically distinct universe carry off to expand in a region with little - to - no frappe , much to the interest of the researchers .
scientist from the University of Washington in Seattle and the Greenland Institute of Natural Resources reached the findings through a combination of genetic datum , traditional ecological cognition from local Indigenous people , and satellite imagery that captured over 30 twelvemonth of observations .
They estimate that a “ few hundred ” gelid bears make up this population in Southeast Greenland , a like size of it to the 19 currently cognize subpopulation . However , the southeastern diametric bears do have substantially few adult females with newborn cubs in the spring compare to other populations .
A polar bear family group, consisting of an adult female (left) and two cubs, crosses glacier ice in Southeast Greenland in September 2016. Image Credit: NASA OMG
After call for samples from a few mortal , they discovered that the universe was genetically trenchant from all subpopulation of the metal money in the natural state . In fact , the Southeast Greenland bear were found to be the most genetically set apart polar bears in the Arctic .
Satellite mental imagery backed up this point , picture that the southeastern universe had no fundamental interaction with bear living in Northeast Greenland .
Altogether this bespeak that the Southeast universe is set-apart and genetically trenchant from all other polar bear population . However , perhaps most singular about this research was the new behavior documented by the team .
Southeast Greenland is sea chicken feed - gratis for more than 250 Day per yr , surmount pivotal bears ’ power to fast for over 100 days . However , this universe does n’t go hungry . Instead of using ocean - ice political platform to hound , they utilize fresh ice at the marine terminal glacial fronts , also screw as frigid mélange , as a platform to search Navy SEAL year - round . This is behavior that ’s never been reported before .
The portion of Southeast Greenland where this new universe can be find has similar conditions to those projected for the late 21st century in the upper Arctic after much of theice has been impactedby mood change .
Since the Southeast Greenland universe has adapted to living in a for the most part meth - free surround , the research worker go for that it could be a positive indication of how the polar bear population will make do with the mood crisis .
A field of study published in 2020 argued that polar bearscould become extinctby the end of this C , in the first place as a effect of shrinking sea trash disrupting their hunting habits . Different population will stick out more sharply grant to how the exchange environment impress their diet and demeanour .
It ’s hop that perhaps this new Southeast population , with its never - before - seen hunt technique , might be able-bodied to brave out the storm a little expert than others — but there are no promises .
