SOURCE: New Scientist
DATE: May 12, 2017
SNIP: Polar bears are ditching seafood in favour of scrambled eggs, as the heat rises in the Arctic melting the sea ice. A changing coastline has made it harder for the predators to catch the seals they favour and is pushing them towards poaching goose eggs.
“It takes on average 30 seconds to locate a nest and 60 seconds to eat the eggs,” he says. Previous research found that affected bird populations can slump by up to 90 per cent.
As the bears move on to eating bird eggs for sustenance, what will happen to the geese population in the future?
“If numbers decline – which is to be expected – this will have an impact on the whole terrestrial ecosystem,” says Prop. “For example, Arctic foxes depend on young geese as food; reindeer food intake is facilitated by geese grazing the tundra.”