Seals Risk Death by Polar Bear for a Varied Meal, Study Finds

Seals risk death by polar bear for a varied meal, study finds

As climate change reshapes Arctic food webs, ringed seals will swim into risky polar bear territory if the menu is varied enough. This is the central finding of a new study published in Ecology Letters. UBC researchers tracked 26 ringed seals and 39 polar bears in eastern Hudson Bay, using GPS and dive information to analyze how the animals found, and avoided becoming, food.

Seals risk death by polar bear for a varied meal, UBC study finds

Arctic tracking shows ringed seals trade safety for food variety—evidence that conservation plans must factor in both food and fear.