Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up'

Polar bears 'thriving as the Arctic warms up'
Animal stranded on shrinking iceberg has become defining image of global warming

Pictures of a polar bear floating precariously on a tiny iceberg have become the defining image of global warming but is misleading, according to a new study.

A survey of the animals' numbers in Canada's eastern Arctic has revealed that they are thriving, not declining.

In the Davis Strait area, a 140,000-square kilometre region, the polar bear population has grown from 850 in the mid-1980s to 2,100 today.

"There aren't just a few more bears. There are ... a lot more bears," said Mitch Taylor, a polar bear biologist who has spent 20 years studying the animals.

His findings back the claims of Inuit hunters who have long claimed that they were seeing more bears.

"Scientific knowledge has demonstrated that Inuit knowledge was right," said Mr Taylor.

Contrary to concern over a celebrated photograph of a bear and its cub floating on a tiny iceberg, the animals often travel in that way. Bears will often hang out on glacier ice or large pieces of multi-year ice.

The state of Alaska yesterday questioned the scientific justification for proposals to add polar bears to the US endangered species list.

Tina Cunnings, a biologist attached to the Alaskan government, questioned whether they needed sea ice to survive, saying they could adapt to hunt on land and find alternative food sources to seals.

Polar Bears have been known to adapt quite well to various diets.