[cogitator]

I would love to see the fat vs. body mass stats kept during the last 100 years. But my guess is a few researches spot a few thin looking bears and jump to a conclusion.

This link sheds some light on that.

The Shrinking Polar Bears

Quotes:

"Eighty per cent of the adult bears in the Churchill area have been tranquillized, handled, tagged, tattooed, weighed and measured, had blood drawn, teeth checked, their behaviour and life history recorded, many more than once."

...

"The scientists have found that for every week the ice breaks up earlier the bears come ashore 10 kilos lighter."

This article also notes that the Manitoba/Hudson Bay population is the best-studied polar bear population anywhere.

[VRWC_minion]

Were talking 18 years a few bears and no alternatives considered like the body fat changes with the severity of winters, family traits, type of food eaten etc. How do we know his first sample weren't from a particulary fat family that could not run very fast and his initial sample was just ones that moved slower ?

Too many factors other than global warming.

[DrDavid]

"Eighty per cent of the adult bears in the Churchill area have been tranquillized, handled, tagged, tattooed, weighed and measured, had blood drawn, teeth checked, their behaviour and life history recorded, many more than once."

Perhaps this tranquillizing and handling has hurt the bears health? You can't make measurements without effecting what is being measured.

[Kevin Curry]

"Eighty per cent of the adult bears in the Churchill area have been tranquillized, handled, tagged, tattooed, weighed and measured, had blood drawn, teeth checked, their behaviour and life history recorded, many more than once."

Being subjected to that kind of stress would cause any organism to lose weight.

[TC Rider]

"Eighty per cent of the adult bears in the Churchill area have been tranquillized, handled, tagged, tattooed, weighed and measured, had blood drawn, teeth checked, their behaviour and life history recorded, many more than once."

Do you think the bears share 'alien abduction' stories? These bears are probably depressed, demoralized, and disenchanted after being messed with so much.

From all the Cokes these bears drink, you'd think they would put on a few pounds.