Polar bears hunt seals from the Arctic Circle sea-ice, but they are being forced onto land longer by a decline in ice. They are now looking for new prey to eat.
Biologists at the Polish Polar Station, located on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, released the first footage of a polar bear hunting and eating a reindeer.
The August 2020 deadly hunt took place began when an adult female polar bear went after an adult reindeer that attempted to escape the predator by swimming in the Isbjørnhamna bay.
It took the polar bear just over a minute to catch up to the prey, kill it, and then drag it to shore, where it ripped it apart for dinner.
The team believes this behavior is not only due to a loss of sea-ice, but the Arctic has seen an uptick in reindeer population over the past three decades and they are more accessible to the endangered predators.
The 1973 federal protection granted reindeer protection led to an increase in the number of reinders.
The deadly hunt began when an adult female polar bear went after an adult reindeer that attempted to escape its predator by swimming in the Isbjørnhamna bay
‘Pre-2000 sources state that polar bears do not attack Svalbard reindeer,’ the researchers wrote in the paper published in Polar Biology.
‘This report is the first description and documentation of the complete course of a polar bear hunt for adult reindeer in Hornsund, SW Spitsbergen, and also of the bear’s hunting behavior and the reindeer’s response.’
The paper also contains at least 12 reports from bystanders who saw bears eating reindeer or hunting them. This is said to be evidence that the attacks are increasing in frequency.
Researchers captured the event on August 21, 2020. However, the team is only now releasing the footage.
The polar bear was seen at 328 feet from the Polish Polar Station. This prompted many scientists to go outside to get a better view of the wild animal.
Biologists at the Polish Polar Station, located on Norway’s Svalbard archipelago, released the first footage of a polar bear hunting and eating a reindeer.
The bear ran towards the shore and dived into the cold waters to find its potential meal. It reached the reindeer at 82 feet.
They noticed the bear walking toward the shoreline of the Isbjørnhamna bay, where approximately half a dozen reindeer were grazing.
Most of the reindeer scattered, but one was caught in the bear’s sights and opted to risk it in the bay – rather than being caught on land.
The bear raced towards the shore and dived into the freezing waters after its potential meal. It reached the reindeer just 82 feet away.
The bear grabbed the reindeer’s back with its claws, causing it to stop. The bear then climbed onto the top of the reindeer to submerge it.
It took just over one minute for the Polar Bear to catch up to its prey and kill it. The bear then dragged it to shore, where it ripped it apart to make dinner.
After the fight to the death, the bear dragged the reindeer’s lifeless body ashore where it began ripping it apart for dinner
‘Prey and attacker struggled for a while, parts of each animal appearing alternately on the surface,’ the authors wrote in the study.
‘Then, the bear gripped the reindeer’s neck from below and dispatched it within about a minute.
‘The bear then turned the reindeer over, submerging it repeatedly for about 15 min, even though it was already dead.’
These are images from biologists who witnessed the attack.
After the fight to the death, the bear dragged the reindeer’s lifeless body ashore where it began ripping it apart for dinner.
The bear then covered the remains with rocks, as if to protect other predators. It then went to sleep in a nearby area for 12 hours before returning back to its feast.
The bear slept on its remains, but foxes and birds ate the remains.
‘By noon the next day, the bear alternately lay near the carcass or went to eat the leftovers. In all, it consumed 80% of the reindeer’s flesh,’ the team wrote in the study.