Climate change drives polar bears to feed on dolphins

For the first time polar bears have been seen feeding on dolphins in the Arctic, something that could be a direct consequence of climate change, scientists said.

During research in the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard (Spitzberg), the results of which have just been published in Polar Research magazine, Jon Aars, a polar bear expert at the Norwegian Polar Institute, observed and photographed in April 2014 a bear feeding on white-nosed dolphins. . These cetaceans are not normally part of the feeding of polar bears, which usually feed mainly on seals.

"It is possible that new species may appear in bears' feed as a result of climate change as new species begin to move north, " Aars told AFP.

Although this species of dolphin frequents these northern waters during the summer when sea ice crumbles, it is rare to see in winter or spring, when the sea is usually covered with ice.

However, according to Norwegian researchers, the progressive thawing during the winter in the region in recent years may have attracted dolphins, trapped by the sudden appearance of ice in April.

According to Aars, the bear probably captured the dolphins when they surfaced to breathe through a small hole in the ice. "Even if they saw the bear, dolphins had no other option, " he adds.

The bear, a visibly hungry old male, devoured one of the cetaceans and buried another under the snow, another phenomenon rarely seen.

"We believe he tried to cover the snow dolphin with the hope that other bears, foxes or birds would not find him, so he could eat it a day or two later, after digesting the first one, " Aars said.

After these first observations, five more cases of dolphins were caught or caught and eaten by polar bears, he added.

"I don't think it's revealing or a radical change" in the carnivore's diet, the scientist estimated. "It's just that the polar bear is coming into contact with species that until now had not been in the habit of eating."

At the top of the food chain, the polar bear is an opportunistic predator that can also feed on small whales such as the white whale or narwhal, depending on the occasion.

Oslo, Norway

Via In Summary.