Polar Bears’ diets are changing and Reindeer are now on the menu

Originally seen in Fish’n Canada’s Week in Review

Our second story this week is far from Canadian, but what better time to cover a Reindeer story than in December.

Perhaps slightly different than the traditional Reindeer stories that are told this time of year, this story from Svalbard (a Norwegian island just 1,000km from the North Pole) suggests that these festive animals may be becoming part of the Polar Bears’ regular diet.

Although these animals are often linked together due to their northern climates, the two crossing paths is actually rather rare. According to Phys.Org, however, this is now beginning to change.

The reason for this change can be linked to two factors – climate change and a lack of hunting pressure.

Starting with climate change, melting sea ice is the primary factor as Polar Bears are now stranded on land for much longer periods of time. This has forced them to add land mammals to their typically seal-heavy diets. Coinciding with a growing Reindeer population due to a recent hunting ban, these animals may make for the perfect seal replacement if climate trends continue and bears continue to be forced further inland.

Here in Canada, this push inland has had a much different effect, leading to an interesting hybrid species known as the Pizzly Bear.

The Pizzly Bear

For more in this story, follow the link below:

https://dev2.fishncanada.com/week-in-review-pizzly-bears-and-goby-invasions/


This excerpt was taken from Fish’n Canada’s Week in Review, our weekly recap of all things relevant to the Canadian outdoorsman. For more stories like this, check out the full article below and tune back in every Friday to catch up on everything you missed!