In a recent interview with the Toronto Star, polar bear specialist Ian Stirling commented on the unlikely survival of polar bears in the Hudson Bay and Manitoba area in the next 20 to 30 years. According to satellite images, the Arctic ice in this Canadian region has melted at a rate of 10 percent per decade since 1979 - which, Stirling explains, is faster than the predictions of most scientific models.

The lack of ice floes has prevented polar bears from hunting for ringed seals on the icy platforms. While some larger bears are able to catch walruses on land, most polar bears are unable to survive without the seal. Unlike some smaller Arctic animals that surrender and ultimately die of starvation, polar bears hunt for an alternate source of food and can become a danger to human-populated areas.

Canada is the habitat for over 60 percent of the world's polar bears, making the awareness of the hazardous situation of the species a hot topic for the nation. Stirling, an adjunct professor of biology at the University of Alberta, has published a condensed compilation of his studies in Polar Bears: The Natural History of a Threatened Species, and speaks on the threats of global warming regularly as part of the Polar Bears International lecture series.

Residents and visitors of Canada may want to consider visiting Manitoba to witness polar bears in action since the Arctic mammal's time surviving in its natural habitat could quickly reach an end.