Melting ice is pushing polar bears to get creative on land

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For years scientists have raised the alarm that shrinking sea ice cover could put polar bears at risk, as they use the ice as a platform from which to hunt for seals.

"Some of us would predict that they should be in trouble already," Aars said.

But what his team has found suggests the bears are adapting to smaller ice patches, and it may even be helping them hunt more efficiently as their prey, which also relies on the ice, is concentrated in smaller areas.

"I think what this shows is they need less sea ice than we thought," Aars told CBS News.

His team's research also found that the melting ice is pushing polar bears to get creative on land — where they're increasingly feasting on other prey, such as reindeer and walruses.

"Some of them would be on land as much as 90% of the time now, which is a lot," he said.