Polar Bear Spotted Wandering in Quebec; Is This a Sign of the Animal Species’ Looming Extinction?

A polar bear was recently seen in Canada's Quebec region, prompting wildlife officials to caution residents of a small village shocked by this very unusual appearance.

A Phys.org report specified that the bear, whose species has turned into a symbol of hazards of global warming, was spotted in the morning in the Madeleine-Center in the Gaspesia region, a peninsula along Saint Lawrence River's south bank, according to witnesses.

As of Saturday afternoon, officials in the area were still trying to locate the animal. Sophie Bonneville, who is a resident of the town of 2,000 people located 800 kilometers east of Montreal said, the dog was barking and she heard her partner yell. She recalled her partner yelling, "There's a bear! There's a bear!"

Quebec provincial police posted on Twitter, telling people about the bear sighting and encouraging them to remain indoors.

Polar Bear
Climate change could result in polar bears’ extinction as global warming is causing the gradual melting of the Arctic Ice pack. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images


'Clueless'

Bonneville also said that nobody in town had ever spotted a polar bear so far south, not even officials at the wildlife.

She added, that people were thinking it was a joke. The resident expressed cluelessness about a bear could "cross the ice pack, swim, and make it here?" Even those on the north bank, she continued, have not seen such a thing.

The authorities patrolled the region where hiking is very popular. According to Stephane Tremblay, Quebec provincial police spokesman, they went door to door to tell residents to remain indoors.

He also said that he had never seen a polar bear in the region either. With climate change, added Bonneville, "anything is possible." The resident managed to snap a few photos of the bear before it wandered off into a wooded area.

What's even more alarming, she mused, is the reason it came in the area if it is global warming, or simply "a mistake of nature."

Polar Bears at Risk of Extinction

Bobbi Stevens, a resident in a town on the northern tip of Newfoundland, didn't have any idea she would make national news this month, when a unique visitor, a polar bear, not just came to her house, but made its way to her roof, as well, CBC Radio-Canada reported.

Essentially, Newfoundland is not far from Labrador, as well as the sea ice that the north Atlantic is serving up around this time of year.

The local explained, that her roof is not that strong and she only has one door on the house. One less nail and he might have come through.

Stevens discovered the bear from the barks of her dog and got a shock when she opened the door. She looked up on the bank on top of her steps and the popular bear was looking at her in the face.

She had no idea that the bear had been on top of her head until this resident found out that the security camera of a neighbor had recorded the explorations of the animal.

As indicated in a similar VOA report, in Canada. A study published in 2020, in the journal, Nature Climate Change specified that climate change could result in polar bears' extinction as global warming is causing the gradual melting of the Arctic Ice pack.

Furthermore, these animal species have been stressed by the loss of ice, with some scientists expressing concerns for years now about the possibility of extinction.

Related information about polar bears is shown on DownieLive's YouTube video below:

Check out more news and information on Global Warming and Climate Change in Science Times.

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