New Study Reveals Link Between Climate Change and Polar Bear Lactation

A new Canadian study reveals a link between climate change and polar bear lactation. This raises concern about the long-term impact on cubs. 

“What was an interesting result of the study for myself and co-authors was we didn’t really know how important milk was during the fasting period for cubs and that it actually has a negative impact on cubs if their mum reduces the energy in her milk or stops lactating altogether," Louise Archer, report author and Polar Bears International Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Toronto Scarborough told Eye on the Arctic.

Polar bears use sea ice as a platform for hunting seals. As a consequence of the ice melting, bears spend more time on land fasting, which makes their physical state decline, and they provide milk with lower energy content or even stop lactating altogether.

The study was conducted by scientists from the University of Toronto, the U.S. Geological Survey, and Polar Bears International by looking at polar bear milk samples from 1989 and 1994 collected in Canada’s western Hudson Bay.