Polar bears west of Hudson Bay in northern Canada are rapidly disappearing, a government study is alarming, reports AFP.

Researchers counted 194 polar bears from the end of August to the beginning of September 2021 after flying over the Churchill region, located at the “door” of the Arctic, in the Canadian province of Manitoba, which has declared itself the “polar bear capital”, reports news.ro.

According to this census, there were 618 polar bears in the region.

A previous study, dating back to 2016, estimated that there were 842 polar bears in the region.

“A comparison of 2011 and 2016 aerial survey estimates suggests that populations west of Hudson Bay may be declining,” the study concluded.

Researchers note that female polar bears and cubs are particularly affected by this decline.

They state that they cannot confirm exactly the reasons for this decrease.

Among the possible factors, they mention the movement of the animal to neighboring regions or hunting.

“The observed declines are consistent with old predictions about the demographic consequences of climate change for polar bears,” they note.

Polar bears depend on the ice to feed on seals, travel and reproduce.

The habitat of the polar bear is melting

But according to recent research, global warming is happening four times faster in the Arctic than anywhere else in the world.

The ice shelf – the habitat of the polar bear – is gradually disappearing.

According to the National Snow and Ice Data Center, ice cover has decreased by nearly 50 percent during the summer since the 1980s.

A report published in Nature Climate Change in 2020 suggests that this could mean the near extinction of this iconic animal.

In the 1980s, there were 1,200 polar bears in the region.