@mongabay

With sea ice melting, glacial ice could be a lifeline for polar bears. Scientists recently discovered a new subpopulation of polar bears living in southeast Greenland that is genetically and behaviorally distinct. While most polar bears depend upon sea ice for survival, the polar bears in Southeast Greenland use pieces of glacial ice as habitat and hunting platforms. Large numbers of polar bears are expected to decline as climate change accelerates, but small populations may persist in places like this, where the pace of melting is expected to be slower, experts say. Read about it via the link in our bio. Photo by Brocken Inaglory / Wikimedia Commons. #animals #wildlife #polarbears #icemelting #climatechange #conservation #wildlifeconservation #environment #glacialice #bears #greenland #animalbehavior