Warm Arctic weather threatens Alaska's caribou, Dall sheep

Biologists are watching the weather, just like everyone else, wondering how recent, mid-winter warming events in Alaska and across the Arctic will impact the region's native animal populations -- Western Arctic caribou and Dall sheep, specifically -- which aren't well-adapted to chipping through a layer of ice in order to reach the food source beneath. Are mid-winter ice events a new phenomenon? Or is icing an old one that's newly attracted attention? As the Earth is propelled through space and our climate changes, some animals will lose out while others benefit. It's nature's law. Societal perceptions of the "importance" of attempting to protect or save specific species will be shaped by humans and their value judgements. Few are likely to complain if climate change leads to the deaths of massive numbers of rats, or reduces Alaska's moquito population, but if the victims are polar bears or caribou or Dall sheep? Read the full story.