When many of us imagine the visual impacts of climate change, we conjure up an image of an emaciated polar bear on a small floating iceberg. It makes sense; these bears rely on arctic sea ice to live, mate, and hunt — and their habitats are rapidly disappearing as the planet warms.
But in Svalbard, a Norwegian archipelago in the Barents Sea, a particular population of polar bears is adapting in surprising ways to the changing climate.
In a recent study, researchers took 1,000 body measurements from 770 polar bears over 24 years around Svalbard, noting an acute decline in sea ice over the years.
Polar bears maintained fair body composition amid habitat loss. Photo by Kim Holmén / Norwegian Polar Institute
During this time, the ice melted rapidly, but the bears showed no decline in their body condition — a stark contrast to what researchers had anticipated.
The polar bears were not entirely unaffected by the drop in sea ice, as some relocated den areas or shifted their habitats to follow the receding ice. The findings also aren’t a blanket finding that suddenly protects all polar bears from the real and imminent threat of habitat loss.
In fact, Svalbard has strengthened polar bear protections in recent years. The animals have been protected by international law since 1973, with hunting banned entirely on Svalbard since the same year.
The Svalbard Environmental Act also prohibits disturbing, attracting, or pursuing polar bears unnecessarily. As of 2025, new distance requirements have taken effect, and all humans must keep at least 300 meters away from a polar bear year-round, with the requirement jumping to 500 feet of distance during mating seasons.
As ice continues to melt, however, hunting and close proximity aren’t the biggest threats to the species. But in Svalbard, less ice might mean better hunting conditions for the bears.
A polar bear with its cub in Svalbard, Norway. Photo by Jon Aars / Norwegian Polar Institute
While scientists haven’t figured out exactly why Svalbard’s bears are firing decently well amid habitat loss, they think it may be associated with changes to the bears’ diet.
With less ice, seals “aggregate” on the ice and become easier to hunt. The bears may also be relying more on walrus carcasses or reindeer for food, Jon Aars, a senior researcher at the Norwegian Polar Institute, relayed to Scientific American.
“We have observed that although they spend a lot more time on land (because they have no sea ice for much of the year), they are not in worse condition,” Aars told the World Wildlife Fund. “If they survive the first few difficult years of their lives, they still grow up, have cubs, and grow old.”
“They have a shorter season for hunting ringed seals on the ice, but they make up for this by consuming more eggs and birds,” Aars continued. “In some areas, harbor seals are now more common and serve as prey. We also see more bears taking reindeer than we once did.”
It is increasingly common to see polar bears seeking out bird nesting areas in their search for food. This photo shows a female and young on a bird islet near Ny-Ålesund in Svalbard. Photo by Geir Wing Gabrielsen / Norwegian Polar Institute
And these results echo separate observations of another group of bears in the Chukchi Sea between Alaska and Russia, which also seemed to maintain health amid “substantial” sea ice decline.
That’s not to say that the bears are faring better than they would without rising temperatures, but for now, they are still okay.
“With continued monitoring of these and other subpopulations, we will likely learn more about the capabilities of polar bears as a species,” Lori Quakenbush, a researcher at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Arctic Marine Mammal Program, told Scientific American.
The researchers assert we must continue to fight against a changing climate, as the next five, 10, or 20 years could still result in polar bears’ larger decline.
“But the good news,” Quakenbush said, “is that we are not there yet.”
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A version of this article was originally published in The 2026 Environment Edition of the Goodnewspaper.
Header image courtesy of Jon Aars/Norwegian Polar Institute
