A reindeer chased by swimming and killed by a polar bear.

This is the first time such a hunting scene has been filmed, testifying that with the melting sea ice, the Arctic predator may be changing its eating habits.

The scene took place on August 21, 2020 on the Svalbard archipelago (Norway).

The sea ice had receded, and with it the seals the bears usually feed on.

A young bear then chased a male reindeer through the freezing water, caught up with it, drowned and brought it back to land to devour it.

Stunned, the crew from a nearby Polish science station filmed the scene.

Sign of the Times.

Polar bears are changing their diet due to the #climatecrisis.

They used to eat seals now it's reindeers.

@Gidi_Traffic via @euronews pic.twitter.com/hTGauEFM8o

- All the News (@FELASTORY) November 29, 2021

More reindeer for a century

“It looked like a documentary,” says Izabela Kulaszewicz, a biologist at the University of Gdansk.

“You could almost hear the voice of the narrator in the background saying that you absolutely have to watch this event because we'll probably never see anything like it again.

"

According to an article published by the researchers, the polar bear would fall back more frequently on terrestrial prey to overcome the difficulty of finding seals.

In Svalbard, a territory located about a thousand kilometers from the North Pole, some 300 sedentary bears live alongside about 20,000 reindeer and signs of predation between the two species have increased in recent decades.

Two factors may explain this: the retreat of the pack ice which keeps bears on land for a longer time, and the multiplication of the number of reindeer in Svalbard since the hunting ban in 1925. This predation, apparently new, should not however, not be overinterpreted, the researchers warn.

An occasional snack only

Although seals are their favorite food, bears are opportunists who have also been observed to feed on young birds or rodents.

Reaching 90 kg in adulthood, the reindeer would represent a good food supplement in summer, a period of “lean cows” which tends to lengthen with warming.

"Reindeer can be important, at least for some bears, when they have to stay on the ground for long periods of time," says Norwegian expert Jon Aars, co-author of the article, specifying however that this will not save the predator.

A skilled swimmer, the polar bear cannot however compete with the reindeer over long distances on land, under penalty of overheating.

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