![Click to enlarge Image](/image/s1/30360/pod/Polar_bear_657197a.jpg)
A polar bear with a cub it has killed and partly eaten
The gory photos of male polar bears devouring cubs, dragging shredded carcasses around and creating a bloody mess on the white snow of Canada's North have caused a stir on the Internet and in reports that link the activity to climate change.
But cannibalism among the species is a natural occurrence, says one expert, disputing what is just the latest story to put the polar bear in the debate over man-made global warming.
"Both Inuit and scientific knowledge show that cannibalism in polar bears happens, and it probably always has," said Steve Pinksen, director of policy and legislation for Nunavut's Department of Environment.
The concern over cannibalism comes after a tourist group witnessed adult male bears attacking cubs for food. There have been at least eight reports of similar sights from Churchill, Man. The photos accompanying stories on the issue show bright-red remains strewn across blankets of snow.
Mr. Pinksen, however, called the incidents an "act of nature," and said the public reaction has been taken out of proportion.
"Maybe if you're sitting in an armchair in the city somewhere these pictures would be a shock, but people up here see these things all the time," he said, adding residents that are out hunting animals for food, clothing and income have seen evidence of these attacks in the past.
"A bear eating a bear is not a pretty picture, but nature is not really a pretty thing all the time," Mr. Pinksen said.
However, Dr. Ian Stirling, research scientist emeritus with the Canadian Wildlife Service, said the number of cannibalism incidents among polar bears is a result of warmer global temperatures. He said all species of bears experience cannibalism, but rates among polar bears have increased due to environmental changes.
"When we get a later-than-expected freeze up, that's when the bears get hungry," he said, adding the bears would usually be hunting seals and building up fat stores by now. Without a source of fat, the adult males target the vulnerable cubs, which are about 50% fat at six months old.
"If there was ice, the mothers would try to keep the cubs away from the males, for sure, but hundreds are waiting in the same general area for ice to form," Dr. Stirling said.
With the bears landlocked, Dr. Stirling said the number of infanticides has increased dramatically from the previous one every two or three years.
"This is a situation aggravated and made worse by the steady warming of the climate and loss of sea ice. If it continues, in 50 years there won't be many cubs left in Canada and the Hudson's Bay region," he said. "There's not really anything we can do to protect the cubs in nature. The only thing to do is to curb the affects of global warming."
Polar bears have often been part of the climate change debate, whether in iconic photos of bears on ice floes used to illustrate stories about the reduction of Arctic ice, or in the debate about listing them as an endangered species. Some groups have sought that protected status for the bears, arguing they are in danger because of climate change, but local organizations say the bear numbers are steady - and that the "endangered" status would only hinder traditional hunts.
Mr. Pinksen, meanwhile, said more attacks on cubs are likely witnessed in Churchill because the polar bear population is dense due to ice not forming on Hudson's Bay, leaving more chance of tourists seeing bear cannibalism. But that doesn't necessarily mean more attacks are happening, According to a media release by Polar Bears International, the Churchill bears usually wait for Hudson's Bay to freeze, then walk the ice to hunt seals. The lack of ice so far this season has left bears with little recourse for food sources, resulting in cannibalism, said the release. It links the late freeze to global warming.
Mr. Pinksen said there is no evidence to connect the cannibalism to climate change.
"It's nice to see people paying attention to climate change, but we're hoping people can keep a cooler head regarding arctic resource management," he said.
In most species of animals we see dominant males routinely kill the offspring of other males. We see this in our own species as some, not all, men will not raise another man's child. It is a biological driver and has always been there. It goes back to Dawin's "survival of the fittest" natural selection theories. In a weird way, it maintains a good stock of genetics for the next generation. It actually promotes healthy populations and ensures that the species survives another generation. We have become so cut-off from nature in our industrialized societies that we fail to see the balance that Mother Nature always provides. It may seem brutal to people who have never been exposed to true wild animals, but it is to quote a Disney movie, "the circle of life".