The shrinking Arctic ice sheet is forcing more bears to live on land over the summer, where they are having more encounters with humans as they scavenge for new food sources.

IFAW researcher Nikita Ovsyanikov warns that about 100 polar bears are being killed in Russia each year, despite their protected status, to meet the increasing demand for their fur.

In an Oct. 28 campaign interview, U.S. Republican vice presidential candidate and Alaska Governor Sarah Palin claimed that thanks to strict adherence to the Marine Mammals Protection Act, the number of polar bears across the Bering Strait in her state was actually increasing. 

Polar bears are not marine mammals, and that Nixon-era act does not mention them nor provide them with any protection.

The governor has repeatedly stated that polar bears will be able to adapt to climate change and do not need the protection provided by their recent listing as a threatened species.

A report this summer by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service contradicts Palin’s claims with estimates that both of Alaska’s two distinct polar bear populations are in decline.

Photo: Alistair Rae/Flickr