The rapid melting of sea ice in the Arctic poses a serious threat to the survival of polar bears.

But scientists have recently identified a new population of bears in southeast Greenland, which use the loose ice floes to navigate.

Their discovery is described in a study published Thursday in the journal

Science

.

It opens up the possibility that at least a few representatives of this species may survive into the 21st century, knowing that the Arctic sea ice will eventually completely disappear in summer.

Seven years in the field

“One of the big questions is knowing where polar bears will be able to stay,” explains Kristin Laidre, co-author of the study.

“I think bears in a place like this can tell us a lot about where that might be.

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The researchers carried out fieldwork between 2015 and 2021 after interviewing Inuit hunters.

Each year, they spent a month in Greenland, in the spring, staying as close as possible to the place of life of this population of polar bears, which a priori numbers several hundred individuals.

An isolated bear population

Bears were fitted with satellite tracking devices, and DNA samples were collected.

This is the "most genetically isolated population on the planet", according to Beth Shapiro, co-author of the study.

“We know that this population lived separately from other polar bears for at least several hundred years.

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Their isolation stems from the geography of where they live: a complex landscape of fjords on the southern tip of Greenland, surrounded by towering mountains and the waters of the Denmark Strait, with nowhere to go.

When they are carried away by the current of the strait, "they jump off the ice and walk back to their fjords", explains Kristin Laidre.

Some bears have already had to travel more than 150 km to return home.

An endangered species

If the pack ice provides a hunting platform for some 26,000 polar bears in the Arctic, they only have access to it four months a year because of global warming.

The rest of the year, they rely on chunks of ice breaking off from glaciers and ending up directly in the sea.

Much remains to be studied in the polar bears of this part of Greenland.

Adult females there are a little smaller than average, and they seem to have fewer young, but long-term data are needed.

It is also important not to place too many hopes in this study.

Polar bears will not be saved without urgent action to combat climate change.

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  • Polar bear

  • Arctic

  • pack ice

  • Greenland

  • Bear

  • Global warming

  • Planet