Racing extinction: Can science act fast enough to save large, endangered mammals? (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38301002/)

These scientists wanted to find out how far polar bears can swim. This is important because it could help us understand how they are affected by global warming and changes in their environment. Polar bears are big and strong, but there are still many things we don't know about them. For example, we don't know how well they can control their body temperature or how far they can swim in the cold Arctic waters. We also don't know if they can survive on land by eating berries and scavenging if there is less sea ice for them to live on.

So, the scientists decided to study these things. They wanted to see if polar bears can adapt to the changes happening in their environment. They wanted to understand how strong and resilient these bears are. They wanted to make sure that polar bears can survive even when humans are causing problems for them.

To find out all this information, the scientists did a lot of research. They studied the behavior and biology of polar bears. They looked at how they live, what they eat, and how they move. They also looked at how polar bears are affected by changes in the environment, like melting sea ice.

They collected data from different sources, like studying bears in the wild and using special devices to track their movements. They also used computer models to simulate different scenarios and understand how polar bears might respond to changes in their habitat.

By doing all this research, the scientists hope to learn more about polar bears and how they can survive in a changing world. This knowledge can help us protect polar bears and other animals from the effects of global warming. It can also help us make better decisions to take care of our planet.

Williams TM. Racing extinction: Can science act fast enough to save large, endangered mammals? Science. 2024 Feb 2;383(6682):eadn9607. doi: 10.1126/science.adn9607. Epub 2024 Feb 1.