A polar bear spotted in a Quebec community was shot and killed by police a day after its sighting. The Canadian police did it as part of necessary standard practice. Experts warn that there could be more similar incidents in the future as climate change continues to worsen, which affects their habitat and food sources.
A Polar Bear walks on the edge of Hudson Bay ahead of the full freeze-over 14 November 2007 outside Churchill, Mantioba, Canada.
The Polar Bear's Inevitable Fate
The provincial police service Sûreté du Québec said that the polar bear arrived last weekend near the town of Madeleine-Center. It was the first time a polar bear was spotted in the village, hundreds of kilometers south of its typical habitat, Science Times previously reported. Experts said that the polar bear could have wandered from sea ice north of the community or perhaps swam across the St. Lawrence River to reach the northern part of the Gaspé Peninsula.
Regardless of how it arrived in the Quebec village, the white bear was shot dead Sunday morning. Experts explained it was inevitable after the apex predator suddenly appeared in a territory it was not supposed to be in, CTV News reported.
Professor Andrew Derocher from the University of Alberta said that the moment he heard of the bear, he immediately thought it would not be alive for long because it might cause a problem in a place where it should not be.
Officials have deployed drones and helicopters to locate the animal. Sylvain Marois, a district commander at Quebec's Wildlife Department, said it was the first time they had dealt with a polar bear. Since they do not have the proper equipment or the tranquilizers needed to handle a 650-pound animal, the bear was killed to ensure public safety.
Polar bear expert Ian Sterling, a professor at the Department of Biological Sciences at the University of Alberta, said that the large size of the bear suggests that it had been feeding off the southern Labrador Sea where it is abundant in food sources.
Polar Bears Are Now Going to Unusual Places
Polar bears rely on the vast expanse of ice for their winter and spring feeding. However, sea ice levels across the Arctic are increasingly erratic and unpredictable, significantly affecting polar bears.
Polar Bears International (PBI) senior director Geoff York said that more bears are reportedly spending more time on land now and in areas where they have not been seen before. It is as if the deck has been shuffled for them due to climate change.
York explains that these bears could have hitched a ride on sea ice and drifted south as the ice broke in the north. According to the Take action for Wildlife website, the unusual and fast ice loss each year has displaced polar bears from their natural habitat where they could freely hunt for food.
PBI noted that only a fewer regions had sustained sea ice. It is not good for the polar bears because that means fewer hunting opportunities, decreased body condition, and has negative impacts on their reproduction and overall health, especially the old and young ones. The lesser the ice is in the Arctic region, the more difficult it will be for polar bears to survive.
RELATED ARTICLE: Polar Bear Spotted Wandering in Quebec; Is This a Sign of the Animal Species' Looming Extinction?
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