Some Greenland polar bears adapt to hunt without sea ice

Image source, Reuters

Global warming's damaging impact on the natural world has made polar bears a symbol.

The bears rely on the sea ice to hunt seals.

In a rare piece of good news for the ice bears, scientists say hundreds of them have been able to hunt using freshwater platforms.

The animals used ice that broke off glaciers.

The study's lead author said that they survive in fjords that are sea ice-free more than eight months of the year because they have access to glacier.

A research team at the University of Washington has found that pockets of the species may be able to survive in hotter climates.

There are a lot of questions about where polar bears will hang on. Bears in a place like this can teach us a lot.

Inuit hunters were the subject of a two year research project.

They flew to the remote region and tagged the bears with satellite tracking devices.

The most genetically isolated population of polar bears was observed by the researchers.

She said that the population has been separate from other polar bears for hundreds of years.

The bears are not thriving and are smaller in size.

It's difficult to know if the sub-population are surviving because of genetic adaptation or a different response to a very different climate.

There are a large number of polar bears left.

The polar bears are in danger. If we can't slow the rate of global warming, polar bears are going to be extinct. We will be able to help the species survive the next 50 to 100 years by learning more about them.

It was published in the journal Science.