Wednesday, April 1, 2015 | 10:14 a.m.
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A paper published Wednesday says polar bears forced onto land because of melting ice are unlikely to find enough food to replace their diet of seals.
U.S. Geological Survey research biologist Karyn Rode says only small numbers of polar bears are using food found on land and may burn more calories foraging than they take in eating berries, eggs or birds.
The paper is a review of current research and is aimed at studies that suggest land food is becoming more important for polar bears.
Population biologist Robert Rockwell has conducted research at western Hudson Bay for 47 years and disagrees with the paper.
He says he's watched polar bears change their behavior to eat eggs and caribou calves and finds it hard to believe they're getting nothing from it.
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