A study in 'Nature Climate Change' concluded that 12 of 13 polar bear sub-populations will be decimated within the next 80 years. "Since the Arctic is warming three times as fast as the planet as a whole, polar bears have less time to hunt seals. The bears face an ever longer fasting period before the ice refreezes and they can head back out to feed," said Steven Amstrup, to AFP.
If polar bears do not eat enough to meet their normal body weight before fasting begins, they will not have enough energy stored to sustain themselves. There are approximately only 25,000 polar bears remaining in the wild today.