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Bearly Any Ice Data Chart
| Year |
# of Rounds in Year |
# of Hula Hoops |
# of Adult Polar Bears at Beginning of Round |
# of Surviving Adult Polar Bears |
# of Cubs at beginning of round |
# of Surviving Cubs |
# of Cubs Born |
# of Seals at Beginning of Round |
# of Seals at End of Round |
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| 10 |
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| 11 |
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| 12 |
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| 13 |
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| 14 |
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Bearly Any Ice – Question and Answer Key
- How did the length of each round affect the polar bears’ chances of catching enough seals to survive?
Answer: The shorter the round, the more difficult
it was to catch the number of seals required.
- What change in the ecosystem does a shorter round represent?
Answer: The shorter round is equivalent to a shorter
season of annual ice. This shorter season reduces the time for
polar bears to acquire the food they need for survival.
- How did the number of hula-hoops affect the polar bears’ chances
to catch the required amount of seals in order to survive?
Answer: The more hula-hoops, the more safety
zones become available for the seals (i.e. open water), therefore
increasing the seals’ chance of survival and increasing the
difficulty for the polar bears to find the food needed for
survival.
- What change in the ecosystem does increased numbers of hula-hoops
represent?
Answer: More hula-hoops reflect greater amounts
of open water for the seals to take protection from the polar
bears.
- If the sea ice continues to vanish, what may be the ultimate fate
for the polar bear?
Answer: The polar bear could become extinct
or at least extirpated from their southern range.
- Could the polar bears adapt in order to survive?
Answer: The bears could find other sources of
food or methods of hunting. However, adaptation usually takes a
very long time and the changes brought on by global warming have
been relatively fast compared with rates of adaptation.
- What economic and cultural impact would the loss of the polar bear
have for northerners?
Answer: Many communities have active sport
hunting and eco-tourism businesses that depend on world interest
in the polar bear. The polar bear is also of great cultural
importance to Inuit including: legends, hunting skills development,
clothing and food sources, as well as traditional rites of
passage into adulthood.
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