Land-based food not nutritionally sufficient for wild polar bears, according to new study

A study, by San Diego Zoo Global conservationists, released this week (Sept. 12, 2016) is shedding new light on how scientists evaluate polar bear diet and weight loss during their fasting season. On average, a polar bear loses up to 30 percent of its total body mass while fasting during the open-water season. Although some scientists previously believed land-based foods could supplement the bears' nutritional needs until the sea ice returns, a new study published in the scientific journal Physiological and Biochemical Zoology has revealed that access to terrestrial food is not sufficient to reduce the rate of body mass loss for fasting polar bears.

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