A one-of-its-kind research has unveiled that polar bears cannot hold off starvation associated with loss of sea ice. The journal Science-published research has also rejected the idea that polar bears are able to avoid sharp decline in body condition.

The findings are based on the study of southern Beaufort Sea polar bears, which was conducted for more than three years. “We found that polar bears appear unable to meaningfully prolong their reliance on stored energy, confirming their vulnerability to lost hunting opportunities on the sea ice”, said study’s lead researcher John Whiteman from the University of Wyoming.

Loss of sea ice in the Arctic has raised concerns with regard to the future of polar bears, which has been listed as a globally threatened species under the US Endangered Species Act in 2008. John said that they were surprised to notice that polar bears reduce their metabolism significantly in summers.

Many animals fast, in the case of polar bears, they can fast for eight months. Their favorite prey is ringed seals. The bears depend on hunting seals on the surface of ice over the continental shelf and its period lasts from April to July.

Due to long period of sea ice retreat from shelf waters, opportunities to hunt seals can lead to decline in bear nutritional condition. The researchers have captured more than two dozen polar bears and implanted them with temperature loggers and tracked their movements on shore and ice in the Arctic Ocean's Beaufort Sea, north of Alaska and Canada.