The bears weren't able to get onto the ice to hunt seals until late November this year, which observers say is becoming the norm.
David Barber, one of the world's top Arctic researchers, said Hudson Bay polar bears have lost six weeks of hunting time on the ice due to climate change.
The bay often doesn't freeze up until early December now and thaws earlier in the spring, he said, leaving polar bears with less time to bulk up on fatty seal meat. ...
"The weaker individuals, the ones who are less proficient at hunting, they were in poorer condition and it was visible this year," said [Peter Ewins, director of species conservation at World Wildlife Fund Canada]. "It's just an indicator that those less fit, poorer quality bears were really up against the wall already."
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