Federal wildlife monitors spotted nine polar bears in one day swimming in open ocean off Alaska's northwest coast, and environmental groups say the event is a strong signal that diminished sea ice brought on by warming has put U.S. bears at risk of drowning or dying from effects of fatigue.
In a 2003 photo, a polar bear roams its territory in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The polar bear has been listed as a threatened species, largely because global warming is causing its habitat to deteriorate.
The number spotted Saturday on long-distance swims in the Chukchi Sea was higher than has been seen in similar surveys.
Conditions last weekend, Siegel said, were similar to those that preceded drownings in September 2004. Four polar bear carcasses were spotted in the Beaufort Sea after a storm, and federal scientists extrapolated that others probably died.
The bears ranged from 15 to 65 miles off shore. Many were swimming north
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