Alaska scientists say polar bear encounters to increase

Alaska scientists say the chances of a polar bear encounter ( ) have increased after research reveals ( ) the bears are arriving on shore earlier and staying on land longer, a report said.

Scientists at the U.S. Geological Survey found changes in sea ice habitat ( ) have coincided ( ) with evidence ( ) that polar bears' use of land is increasing.

The polar bears come to land from the Beaufort Sea during the ice-melt ( ) season, when the sea ice breaks up ( ) in the summer and refreezes ( ) in the fall, scientists said.

The bears are arriving "a little bit ahead of ( ) schedule," said Todd Atwood, a research wildlife ( ) biologist leading the U.S. Geological Survey's polar bear research program.

Polar bears usually come to shore in mid-August, but residents ( ) have reported sightings ( ) as early as May in Kaktovik, a small town about 640 miles north of Anchorage, biologists said.

Resident Annie Tikluk was one of the few who encountered a bear before neighbors scared it off.

Her daughter and two nieces were playing outside when "I saw the bear and ran out," Tikluk said.

"The main issue is that bears in the southern Beaufort are now using land to an extent ( ) they haven't used it historically ( )," Atwood said.

"And increasing activities in the Arctic ( ), particularly those related to development, the main consideration ( ) going forward is probably going to be how bears and humans are sharing those spaces."

海冰棲地改變 偶遇北極熊大增

阿拉斯加科學家研究指出，北極熊比過去更早上岸，待在陸上的時間變長，與人接觸的機會也增加。

美國地質調查局科學家發現，海冰棲地改變與北極熊使用陸地漸增的證據不謀而合。

科學家說，北極熊在融冰期間從博福特海上岸；海冰往往在夏季崩裂，並於秋季再度結冰。

研究人員表示，融冰季自1990年代晚期迄今平均增加36天。

地質調查局北極熊研究計畫的野生動物生物學家艾德伍說，北極熊「比預定時間還早一點到來。」

生物學家表示，北極熊通常在8月中旬上岸，但居民早在5月就回報於安克雷奇北方640哩的卡克托維克小鎮看到北極熊的蹤影。

Annie Tikluk是少數曾碰過北極熊的當地居民之一，她的鄰居勇敢驅熊。

Tikluk說，「我看到北極熊跑出來時」，女兒和兩名姪女正在戶外玩耍。

Atwood說：「主要問題是，博福特海南部的北極熊現在利用陸地的程度堪稱史無前例。」

Atwood還指出：「(人類在)北極圈的活動增加，尤其是與發展相關的活動，未來主要的考量將是北極熊如何與人類共享這些空間。」

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