Polar Bears Adapt
A mother polar bear and cub search through whale bone remnants near Kaktovik, Alaska. The October image shows how these apex predators adapt as Arctic sea ice diminishes. The bears increasingly scavenge from subsistence whale harvests, supplementing their traditional seal-hunting diet. Scientists track these behavioral changes as climate change forces polar bears to spend more time on land. Researchers estimate Arctic sea ice is declining at 13% per decade.