Let's not be hasty boys.
The following excerpt is from the FOX News website.
The 1999 study in the science journal Arctic that first reported apparent problems among the Hudson Bay polar bear population (search) suggested that their condition may be related to the earlier seasonal break-up of sea ice on western Hudson Bay —a phenomenon that seems to correlate with the 1950-1990 Arctic warm-up. But, as mention previously, the 1950-1990 Arctic warming period seems to be part of a natural cycle and not due to manmade emissions of greenhouse gases.
Moreover, the notion of a declining polar bear population doesn’t square well available information.
A Canadian Press Newswire story earlier this year reported that, in three Arctic villages, polar bears “are so abundant there’s a public safety issue.” The local polar bear population reportedly increased from about 2,100 in 1997 to as many as 2,600 in 2004. Inuit hunters (search) wanted to be able to kill more bears because they are “fearsome predators.”
An aerial survey of Alaskan polar bears published in "Arctic" (December 2003) reported a greater polar bear density than previous survey estimates dating back to 1987.
A week or so ago, I was looking for that polar bear population survey, and failed. Thanks for giving me a better idea of how to find the source.