Melting Ice Caps Forces Polar Bears To Swim More

Among the most majestic creatures in living in Arctic regions are polar bears -- massive animals with excellent swimming skills. Their paws are designed especially for propelling themselves in the icy waters. Being natural land dwellers, however, it still takes a lot of energy for them to swim, which is why they still try to avoid it as much as they can.

Hope this guy still has a home in years to come. Sea ice is imperative for polar bear survival. #EarthDay pic.twitter.com/gzvtxqGCyO

— Intrepid Travel (@Intrepid_Travel) April 22, 2016

Unfortunately for them, it seems that climate change is leading them to swim more and more -- because there has been lesser ice for them to rest on. A study from the University of Alberta and Environment and Climate Change Canada found that bears now take 115 swims longer than 20 miles in length, 100 of them in the Beaufort sea, where there is a more varied climate.

Discovery News noted that in 2012, when the summer in the Arctic sea hit a record low, 69 percent of tracked adult females n the Beaufort Sea swam 31 miles more or less at least once, and the single longest swim that any of these bears took was by a subadult female who swam over 349 miles in nine days.

Ice has retreated in the Arctic since the 1980s, which is why it is becoming a more challenging place for the bears to live in. The study's co-author Andrew Derocher from the University of Alberta said that despite their swimming capabilities, not all bears are equipped to stay in the water for long distances -- the youngest, oldest, and skinniest bears, for instance, are more vulnerable to drowning than the more able ones.

For bears to survive, The Washington Post pointed out that the best case scenario will have them travel south hunt on land during the summers, but these will still depend on their ability to adapt to the environment.