{"id":424842,"date":"2026-02-06T08:47:27","date_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:47:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424842"},"modified":"2026-02-06T08:47:30","modified_gmt":"2026-02-06T07:47:30","slug":"true-mother-jones-polar-bears-are-more-adaptable-than-alarmists-have-claimed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424842","title":{"rendered":"True, Mother Jones, Polar Bears Are More Adaptable Than Alarmists Have Claimed"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Climate Realism<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Linnea Lueken<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A recent article at Mother Jones, \u201cSomething Unexpected Is Happening With Norway\u2019s Polar Bears<\/a>,\u201d expresses surprise that polar bear populations in Norway are actually getting healthier amid declining sea ice. This is true, though it is not truly \u201cnews,\u201d in the sense of something newly discovered, and should not have been unexpected. Previous research, including annual polar bear counts, show that polar bear populations as a whole have increased amid modest global warming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Jones says the message that polar bears would soon die out due to climate change \u201cinfiltrated the public psyche, perhaps more than any other about the scourge of global warming.\u201d This is certainly true, polar bears became the poster children in many advertisements about climate change and were featured\u00a0prominently<\/a>\u00a0in former Vice-President Al Gore\u2019s film \u201cAn Inconvenient Truth.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The polar bear extinction theory, however, is another one of the claims from that film that have long since been debunked, as Mother Jones admits, \u201cthe reality for these iconic bears is more complicated.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Jones references two studies showing that polar bears in multiple locations are doing very well. A 2022 study<\/a> looking at southeastern Greenland and a recent study<\/a> in Scientific Reports<\/em> looking at Norway\u2019s polar bear populations, show bears in those locations have actually become healthier, with their population \u201cstable or growing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They do emphasize that Hudson Bay bears are struggling, claiming that \u201cresearchers have tied<\/a> melting ice to lower bear survival and a shortage of food<\/a>, finding that the population has roughly halved<\/a> since the 1980s.\u201d But overall, \u201cthere are 20 distinct polar bear populations around the world, and they all behave slightly differently. Warming is not uniformly killing them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, this is not new<\/a>, despite what Mother Jones implies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, polar bear scientist Susan Crockford published a State of the Polar Bear<\/a> report, summarizing the findings of previous polar bear counts and research. Her survey of the literature found that of 19 polar bear subpopulations, three are \u201cincreasing\u201d or \u201clikely increasing,\u201d four are \u201cstable\u201d or \u201clikely stable,\u201d and 11 are \u201cpresumed stable or increasing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Previous reports going back to 2017 came to similar conclusions that most polar bear regional subpopulations were stable if not increasing, and there is no doubt that the total number of polar bears has increased since the 1960s. The same studies also suggested the polar bears were healthy and producing multiple cubs that survive to adulthood.<\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"A
Figure 1: Estimates of global polar bear population, 1960-2023. From \u201cThe State of the Polar Bear Report 2023,\u201d by Susan Crockford, The Global Warming Policy Foundation: https:\/\/thegwpf.org\/content\/uploads\/2024\/02\/Crockford-State-of-Polar-Bears-2023.pdf<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Concerning the Hudson Bay bear population, there is significant doubt<\/a> about whether or not bear counts that claim lower numbers are being accurately portrayed by activist scientists and the media. The change in the number of polar bears there since the early 2000s is not statistically significant, and many of the catastrophic projections about Hudson Bay bears are based not on actual counts but on computer model projections of bear mortality. Recent counts do not consider the fact that bears migrate between regions. It is also notable that the West Hudson Bay and Southern Beaufort bear populations are the only places where potentially negative trends associated with ice loss have been found. Despite the same sea ice trends, other bear populations are doing very well. This should suggest that if those populations are in decline, there is more at play than ice trends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The new Scientific Reports<\/em> study is especially interesting, as it found that bears where sea ice is thicker actually have worse body condition<\/a> than those where it is warmer, which should cast even more doubts on any theory where sea ice extent or thickness is directly associated with polar bear health. In her studies, Crockford also noted thick ice could hinder Polar bear flourishing rather than benefitting them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mother Jones is one of the premier climate alarmist websites, so it is refreshing, even somewhat surprising, to see it publish any good news at all, even if the good news is framed as surprising with readers directed towards additional alarmist projections with little connection to reality. Any species\u2019 relationship with its environment is going to be complex and dependent on a variety of factors, especially when it comes to intelligent animals like polar bears. They can easily migrate and adapt to changing conditions, substituting other food stocks for seals. The truth is that they are doing much better now than they were decades ago and Mother Jones serves their readers well by reporting this fact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"A<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A recent article at Mother Jones, \u201cSomething Unexpected Is Happening With Norway\u2019s Polar Bears,\u201d expresses surprise that polar bear populations in Norway are actually getting healthier amid declining sea ice. This is true, though it is not truly \u201cnews,\u201d in the sense of something newly discovered, and should not have been unexpected. Previous research, including annual polar bear counts, show that polar bear populations as a whole have increased amid modest global warming.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":424851,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","advanced_seo_description":"Discover how polar bear populations in Norway are thriving despite climate change, debunking myths and illustrating their adaptability.","jetpack_seo_html_title":"Polar Bears Adapt and Thrive Despite Climate Change Challenges","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":true,"token":"eyJpbWciOiJodHRwczpcL1wvY2xpbWF0ZS1zY2llbmNlLnByZXNzXC93cC1jb250ZW50XC91cGxvYWRzXC8yMDI2XC8wMlwvQVFNUXJJc1BEeWVjUDJaN1dUS2VyNWRTTUxoRzBoYzE1OUsxT09pNHdJN2g4TUo0d09BQTI0LXJQLXprV2RySmNoaS1YdldhcTg2RWxiY0xjQ3NValhhUlFrZXZmY3VPMTVySlJGVU9UTllnQ3hqal9BX3hTRE5rWkJITkd4TGMtMTAyNHg2NzYuanBlZyIsInR4dCI6IlRydWUsIE1vdGhlciBKb25lcywgUG9sYXIgQmVhcnMgQXJlIE1vcmUgQWRhcHRhYmxlIFRoYW4gQWxhcm1pc3RzIEhhdmUgQ2xhaW1lZCIsInRlbXBsYXRlIjoiaGlnaHdheSIsImZvbnQiOiIiLCJibG9nX2lkIjoxNTU4MTI0NDl9.PMgdiNFweDbZSpUBToH7lp8bgOO26gKt3X2KeW3SfOcMQ"},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691841223,691818056,691819743,691836568,691832191,691841222,691818087,691818250,691841221,691818744,691818251],"class_list":["post-424842","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-climate-alarmist-websites","tag-climate-change","tag-climate-propaganda","tag-computer-model-projections","tag-dr-susan-crockford","tag-extinction-theory","tag-global-warming","tag-hudson-bay","tag-mother-jones","tag-norway","tag-polar-bears","fallback-thumbnail"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/AQMQrIsPDyecP2Z7WTKer5dSMLhG0hc159K1OOi4wI7h8MJ4wOAA24-rP-zkWdrJchi-XvWaq86ElbcLcCsUjXaRQkevfcuO15rJRFUOTNYgCxjj_A_xSDNkZBHNGxLc.jpeg?fit=1532%2C1012&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-1Mwi","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":241640,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=241640","url_meta":{"origin":424842,"position":0},"title":"No, Washington Post, Climate Change and Melting Sea Ice Aren\u2019t Driving Polar Bear Attacks","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/26\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"Polar bear numbers have increased significantly during the period of recent modest warming. Greater polar bear numbers are resulting in polar bears expanding their ranges resulting in more contact and conflict with humans. Higher bear numbers are the cause of the reported increased in bear predation.","rel":"","context":"Similar post","block_context":{"text":"Similar post","link":""},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1129.png?fit=990%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1129.png?fit=990%2C676&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1129.png?fit=990%2C676&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/01\/image-1129.png?fit=990%2C676&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":272323,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=272323","url_meta":{"origin":424842,"position":1},"title":"Climate activists are silent on polar bears because their doom-mongering blew up in their faces","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"08\/09\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"While there is an admission that the\u00a0over-hyped lies about starving bears\u00a0promoted by National Geographic\u00a0in 2017 and 2018 were a factor, there is no mention in the article of the\u00a0well-known, documented evidence\u00a0of scientists\u2019 own\u00a0failed assumptions\u00a0that polar bears require summer sea ice for survival have had any impact on public opinion","rel":"","context":"In \"Chukchi sea\"","block_context":{"text":"Chukchi sea","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=chukchi-sea"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Arctic.jpeg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Arctic.jpeg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Arctic.jpeg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Arctic.jpeg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/08\/Arctic.jpeg?fit=1200%2C799&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":258109,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258109","url_meta":{"origin":424842,"position":2},"title":"How is widespread use of helicopters to study polar bears defensible in a warming world?","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"05\/19\/2023","format":false,"excerpt":"If all of us should be doing\u00a0\u201ceverything possible\u201d\u00a0to stop climate change, why is it still OK\u201315 years after polar bears were declared\u00a0threatened with extinction\u00a0because of predicted climate change effects\u2013for researchers across the Arctic to use helicopters to study polar bears? 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It is not ice that bears depend on, but ringed seals. An understanding of seal biology reveals that less ice is good and more ice is bad for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Arctic Ocean\"","block_context":{"text":"Arctic Ocean","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?tag=arctic-ocean"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/0F6pqrD8aAAIKDc6.jpeg?fit=1200%2C571&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":424041,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=424041","url_meta":{"origin":424842,"position":5},"title":"Polar bears on Norwegian islands fatter and healthier despite ice loss","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"01\/31\/2026","format":false,"excerpt":"The Norwegian Arctic Archipelago of Svalbard have become fatter and healthier despite significant sea ice loss due to climate change. 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