Polar bears drowning because the ice is melting.

[raccoon]

My question is, could they survive in a somewhat warmer climate? Such as in Canada but not quite as far north? (That's assuming they weren't shot or trapped.)

[TallahasseeGrannie]

1. They need snow because they are white

and they can't be successful predators against a dark environment.

[ramapo]

2. Sad

What else can you say? These are majestic creatures who have no hope of adapting to the rapid changes underway.

[RufusEarl]

3. Polar bears go where the natural food source lives,

thats the problem. They can live in any cold climate see them rummaging through garbage dumps all the time, but they feed on seal and that's in the far north country.

[wtbymark]

4. of course they could, But, their pattern of behavior,

which through evolution has turned into instict, tells them to hunt on the ice. They would have to adapt and re-evolve their hunting insticts to that of dry land - and they would probably lose their white coats.

[Occulus]

7. and the problem is, that takes TIME

time they don't have.

That's what irks me the most about the antievolution creationists: they seem to be completely unable to conceive of the idea that evolution is the perfect tool for change over time a deity would use if It wanted Its creation to operate independently. Evolution of fully developed mammalian species is slow, by necessity.

They just must limit their idea of God to something they know they can understand, instead of recognising that that same concept of God is wholly beyond their or any human's full or even appreciably partial understanding, by their own fracking definition!!

My brain just cracked in half. seriously.

[hlthe2b]

5. heart breaking..... truly

they herald what is about to devastate multiple animals, including man.

[freethought]

6. Polar Bears are so well evolved to the cold and ice

that they can acutally be at handicap on land. Other large land carnivores, like Grizzly bears, would be at an advantage. Their skin, fur, and body are meant for the Artic ice pack. Not only that, Polar bears are pure carnivores. Seals, walrus, and whatever they can catch. Land bears are omnivorous and oppurtunistic, eating just about anything available be it plant or animal. I would not be very likely the polar bear could change its instincts so quickly.
If the polar ice cap was to completely melt, polar bear would likely seek some sort of refuge on land, but I beleive over a longer term their population would dwindle.

[Meldread]

8. Sad...

...it's truly sad to see this happen.

On the bright side, though, this rapid change in climate might give us some details into how evolution works on a sudden and rapid climate change. By studying the Polar Bears as the climate warms, and they begin to die out, we can try and observe which ones (and there will be some that do) begin to adapt to the changing circumstances.

There have been sudden and dramatic climate shifts in the past, and while extinctions do happen, there are usually sudden evolutionary leaps made during those times to animals (and including people) adapting to the changing circumstances.

Personally, though, I am not so much worried about the temporary warming of the weather as much as I am worried about the possibility of a sudden Ice Age as a result. That would be truly devastating and will change the world as we know it. We may be able to adapt better in a warmer environment than in one that is much colder.

In the end, the Polar Bear might get the last laugh.

[raccoon]

9. If that occurs, the Inuit will have the last laugh too.

Let's hope they've kept their ancestors' skills and knowledge.