If it disappears, so will they. This is scant surprise to the environmentalists. Duchin, who visits the area every year, says each time it gets harder to find the animals. The ice is much further from the shore and it is directly affecting wildlife. As the floes retreat north, animals find it harder to breed and raise their young.
Warm snaps melt bear and walrus ice dens, crushing the suckling mothers and their cubs.
Even if the young do survive, adult animals cannot always feed them because the further the ice retreats, the deeper the water and the harder it is to dive to the bottom where shellfish and Arctic cod live. Some animals can even find themselves trapped on land because the ice has retreated so far they can no longer swim to it. Have your say Mail the editor It is not just marine wildlife which is at risk. On land, grizzly bears, caribou, Arctic foxes and wolves have finely tuned their migration habits over millions of years to coincide with the growing season of grass, moss and lichen so that they can mate and feed their young. But as spring arrives earlier and the tundra dries out, herds are finding it difficult to travel from wintering areas in time to feed.