If the lion is the king of the jungle, then the polar bear is the king of the Arctic. Polar bears are majestic, powerful creatur
es that capture our imagination and are a living definition of wild. Unfortunately, polar bears’ habitat is changing so much that they may not survive in the wild beyond this century.
Polar bears’ survival depends on sea ice. They swim from ice floe to ice floe in search of seals and walruses. However, climate change has caused the polar bears’ hunting habitat to shrink in size. Ice floes are smaller, farther apart and farther from shore, making it necessary for polar bears to swim great distances in their hunt for food. These long journeys are dangerous. An Alaska Science Center study found that bear cubs swimming after their mothers had a 45% death rate.
The length of season in which polar bears can hunt has also decreased by almost three weeks in the past twenty years. The reason is that the ice sheets are freezing later and melting earlier. The shorter time for food hunting has caused weight loss and poor health in the polar bears. Their populations have dropped 20 to 40 percent in most areas.
Some people argue that polar bears will adapt to a new lifestyle, eating alternative foods, such as dolphins trapped by ice pockets or Arctic goose eggs. But, according to Karyn Rode, a wildlife biologist in Alaska, these occasional creative meals aren’t going to be enough to save all of the polar bears.
We may lose the polar bear, the wildest creature of the Arctic, because of habitat loss caused by climate change. What can we do? Join the World Wildlife Federation, or Polar Bears International, and send an email to your local congressperson, urging him or her to fight climate change and protect polar bears.
**Which sentence in the opening paragraph is the author's claim?**
A. If the lion is the king of the jungle, then the polar bear is king of the Arctic.
B. Polar bears are majestic, powerful creatures that capture our imagination and are a living definition of wild.
C. Unfortunately, polar bears’ habitat is changing so much that they may not survive in the wild beyond this century.
